Markus Foerderer
Member
For those who are looking for a robust and streamlined wireless video solution for RED DSMC2 cameras, there's finally a solution.
I had the chance to use one of the first DSMC2 Bolt transmitters on my current production.
We are shooting a science fiction film, the majority of it in and around water and hot and humid environments. We use many wireless devices on set, like wireless focus, wireless DMX, sound and other network connected devices.
The Bolt DSMC2 performs flawlessly even under these circumstances.
For initial setup of the Bolt DSMC2, we used a laptop to connect it with the Bolt 3000 receivers. Ever since, it lived on the camera. It powers up and is ready to transmit a perfect picture by the time the camera is ready to shoot.
It is great for hand held setups, gimbal and steadicam, where a compact camera setup is a big time saver, especially when switching back and forth between different camera platforms.
Most connection issues we had in the past, with regular wireless video transmitters, lead back to bad cables and not the transmitters themselves.
The Bolt DSMC2 makes the camera system more robust as it eliminates the need for a power and video cable. The unit receives power and video straight from the camera brain.
What we found tricky at first were the long antennas that can get in the way when you quickly wanna grab the camera. We tested different antennas and ended up using antennas from our OMOD module.
These are shorter and come in an 90 degree angle, so that they stay close to the camera. Even with these short antennas, the connection is rock solid.
Wireless transmitters tend to become quite hot. I was surprised to find out that there seems to be no impact on the temperature of the camera itself.
Final thoughts:
Pretty amazing cable-less design, that saves you time in prep and on the day with easy mounting of the transmitter. If you want to go super compact and don't need wireless video, it comes off with four screws within seconds. It is compact and sits directly behind the camera, keeping the weight distribution centered, which makes the camera easy to balance on a gimbal, steadicam or remote head.
I had the chance to use one of the first DSMC2 Bolt transmitters on my current production.
We are shooting a science fiction film, the majority of it in and around water and hot and humid environments. We use many wireless devices on set, like wireless focus, wireless DMX, sound and other network connected devices.
The Bolt DSMC2 performs flawlessly even under these circumstances.
For initial setup of the Bolt DSMC2, we used a laptop to connect it with the Bolt 3000 receivers. Ever since, it lived on the camera. It powers up and is ready to transmit a perfect picture by the time the camera is ready to shoot.
It is great for hand held setups, gimbal and steadicam, where a compact camera setup is a big time saver, especially when switching back and forth between different camera platforms.
Most connection issues we had in the past, with regular wireless video transmitters, lead back to bad cables and not the transmitters themselves.
The Bolt DSMC2 makes the camera system more robust as it eliminates the need for a power and video cable. The unit receives power and video straight from the camera brain.
What we found tricky at first were the long antennas that can get in the way when you quickly wanna grab the camera. We tested different antennas and ended up using antennas from our OMOD module.
These are shorter and come in an 90 degree angle, so that they stay close to the camera. Even with these short antennas, the connection is rock solid.
Wireless transmitters tend to become quite hot. I was surprised to find out that there seems to be no impact on the temperature of the camera itself.
Final thoughts:
Pretty amazing cable-less design, that saves you time in prep and on the day with easy mounting of the transmitter. If you want to go super compact and don't need wireless video, it comes off with four screws within seconds. It is compact and sits directly behind the camera, keeping the weight distribution centered, which makes the camera easy to balance on a gimbal, steadicam or remote head.
