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Shaky Dovetail/Bottom Plate

Frank Mirbach

Frank Mirbach

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Hi guys,

we´ve just detected a little problem with out new Red: There is some play between the Red Shoulder Dovetail and the Red Bottom Plate when mounted
together with the quick release closed. It is not possible to fasten the quick release of the Dovetail in a way the there is no movement between those two parts, which leaves the whole construction to be somewhat shaky on the tripod. Is that a known problem maybe?

Thanks,

Frank
 
Jones said:
Hi guys,

we´ve just detected a little problem with out new Red: There is some play between the Red Shoulder Dovetail and the Red Bottom Plate when mounted
together with the quick release closed. It is not possible to fasten the quick release of the Dovetail in a way the there is no movement between those two parts, which leaves the whole construction to be somewhat shaky on the tripod. Is that a known problem maybe?

Thanks,

Frank
Click to expand...

yes it is...the ET stuff is rocksolid and build for tripod use
 
K.Berlin said:
yes it is...the ET stuff is rocksolid and build for tripod use
Click to expand...

wish I´d known that prior to my order. Does Red make an exchange for the Arri stuff they offer ?
 
K.Berlin said:
if you purchased the base production pack chances are low
Click to expand...

I did...:umm: Just wrote to Marco. Can´t be ok to get something that´s supposed to be professional shaking on a tripod. I mean it´s MADE for that purpose, isn´t it ?

Same thing happened to you ? And you bought the ET stuff ?
 
Alexander Christ said:
It's a known problem, use the cheese plate for tripod work, that's rock solid.
Click to expand...

well, if Red does not offer something to get rid of that problem, we have no choice, I guess...
 
Jones said:
I did...:umm: Just wrote to Marco. Can´t be ok to get something that´s supposed to be professional shaking on a tripod. I mean it´s MADE for that purpose, isn´t it ?

Same thing happened to you ? And you bought the ET stuff ?
Click to expand...

no, its not be made for tripod use....its for handheld, the tripod ability is for free.

---my ET stuff was here long before my RED.
 
K.Berlin said:
no, its not be made for tripod use....its for handheld, the tripod ability is for free.

---my ET stuff was here long before my RED.
Click to expand...
I see. Well, cheeseplate, then...
 
For what it's worth, my RED dovetail/shoulder mount is solid on the tripod. You might have just gotten a bad one. Maybe Marco can arrange a swap out.
 
Jones said:
well, if Red does not offer something to get rid of that problem, we have no choice, I guess...
Click to expand...

Wait. Try some gaff tape or another spacer underneath the little pad on the dovetail that pushes up against the bottom plate. I have a bottom plate and dovetail that fit very securely once I did that.

(though I did have a custom cheese plate built in order to reduce overall weight. I just throw it on a shoulder pad when handheld)
 
yah, mine is too solid, I have to use a screwdriver to pry the locking lever open once it's locked. no movement though...
 
Cheese Plate NOT rock solid !

Cheese Plate NOT rock solid !

Alexander Christ said:
It's a known problem, use the cheese plate for tripod work, that's rock solid.
Click to expand...

No, the Cheese Plate is NOT rock solid.

The Bottom Plate Dovetail problem is effectively a well documented problem, and Red has still not really resolved this.

However, let it be known we have had severe problems with the Cheese Plate also. As has been well documented, the Bottom Plate (at least mine and many others) is slightly wider than the Red body, therefore when you tighten it with the four screws on the sides, it makes the bottom part of the Bottom Plate curve slightly. The Cheese Plate being attached with only two screws in it's center, it is not flush against the Bottom Plate. If you shake the camera left to right it will wobble. This has been very problematic on shots with the camera at the end of a moving crane, or any long camera support, in movement. As movement will often create slight vibrations, amplified by the long support, the camera will vibrate slightly.

The Cheese Plate is NOT the solution. Save those $300 and go straight for the Arri Base Plate, and I'll say it once again, I find it inapropritate that the 19mm Arri Base Plae is $300 (50%) more than it's 15mm equivalent.

Red please :

1. Sell the 19mm Arri Base Plate at the same Price as its 15mm version
2. Offer a new Base Production Pack without the Bottom Plate and Dovetail, but with choice of 19mm or 15mm Arri Base Plate, with a slight price increase naturally.

Cheers,
Damien

Who loves all things Red, except the Bottom Plate, Dovetail and Cheese Plate.
 
IMO the main problem with the Red cheese plate is TOO many steps to put it on/off combined with the TIME it takes to go from hand held to studio ....

a month or so ago somebody was offering a custom made dovetail ( for tripod use) that would slide into the Red bottom plate ... i think it was called ?? Allstar ?? it seems that would be a quick way to switch between hand held ( using Red dove tail) and studio ( Allstar) tripod use ...

using the Red hand help dove tail on a tripod might work if you keep the weight to under 20lbs ??

added ...I see ALLstar has posted above this post
 
Larry McKee said:
For what it's worth, my RED dovetail/shoulder mount is solid on the tripod. You might have just gotten a bad one. Maybe Marco can arrange a swap out.
Click to expand...

Er... I have yet to see one that I would consider truly "solid". Not without extra modification and even then, it's still somewhat suspect.

If you want solid, the RED cheese plate is an absolute necessity. Or even better, get an Arri base and companion Arri dovetail plate. IMO, you should have this anyway. It's industry standard and will provide for a much better experience overall, especially if you rent your gear out and clients expect to place the camera on their tripods, dollies, etc...
 
my bottom plate/shoulder dovetail is also ROCK solid. no issue at all.

If you're trying to save, I'd recommend talking to RED about replacing the faulty plate/dovetail. If you have the cash, then by all means buy the arri plate. everyone seems very happy with that.

One thing I don t understand are people saying "don't get the RED plate. Get the ET plate, it's industry standard". besides perhaps build quality, are the specs the same? Why is the ET plate called "industry standard"?
 
The ET plate is "industry Standard" because it locks onto an Arri dovetail, which you will find all over the place. The RED plate is proprietary and uses a proprietary dovetail system to fit their shoulder wedge. There are a lot of advantages to using the Arri base system over the RED bottom plate.
 
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