Upgrading the Redrock Mattebox with ARRI bellows?

[Rick Darge]

Anyone out there have luck attatching an ARRI bellows unit with a rotating stage? If so, do you guys know the specific part numbers to get, the cost & how to attatch the unit to the RR? Pics always help! Thanks in advance!

 

[NateWeaver]

I've been researching this since getting mine last week. It's parts:

K2.65028.0 (bellows plate) $512 list

and a mess of bellows units available depending on what lens diameter you need to interface with, and what round filters you want to put in it (138 vs 4.5inch)

Somebody mentioned in one of the big Redrock threads that Filmtools had the stuff in stock. Total price is gonna be around $800 (ironic, eh, for the Redrock?

 

[NateWeaver]

In fact, given that the RR will take Arri trays as well, I'm considering a sort of long-term MB-20 upgrade program.

The only question is that the bellows adapter comes with all the Arri MB-20 bundles, but the bellows and filter trays do not. So the question becomes if you build a MB-20 out of the individual parts and leave out the bellows adapter because you bought it earlier for the Redrock, can you still get a price break on the Arri parts?

Might be a question for Mitch.

 

[Larry McKee]

I wanted to use the bellows from my Chrosziel MB on the Redrock. Since the RRMB had a 140mm opening and the Chrosziel bellows has a 142mm OD, I opened up the RR bellows a bit and it works great. The parts look like they are made for each other. The Chrosziel bellows fits snugly, but I can still easily remove it if I need to go back to the RR donuts. It's the best of both worlds.

 

[NateWeaver]

Larry, we need pics!

 

[Mitch Gross]

In fact, given that the RR will take Arri trays as well, I'm considering a sort of long-term MB-20 upgrade program.

The only question is that the bellows adapter comes with all the Arri MB-20 bundles, but the bellows and filter trays do not. So the question becomes if you build a MB-20 out of the individual parts and leave out the bellows adapter because you bought it earlier for the Redrock, can you still get a price break on the Arri parts?

Might be a question for Mitch.

It might be possible, but I doubt it. That's like asking to buy a Honda without the steering wheel and asking for money off for the lack of steering wheel. It's all or nothing. Of course you could buy the Honda by purchasing each of the 10,000 components that make up the car sans steering wheel, but then I suspect your $20,000 Honda would cost you about $200,000. It wouldn't be so bad with the Arri, but I doubt we could really do much for you in this regard.

 

[NateWeaver]

Right.

Well, it's only $512 for the bellows plate list, which would be the only part duplicated in a K0.60024.0 purchase. So not the end of the world.

I wish I could have gotten a MB20 right off the bat, but there's just many bigger fish to fry with the kit, so to speak.

 

[Damien Molineaux]

I wanted to use the bellows from my Chrosziel MB on the Redrock. Since the RRMB had a 140mm opening and the Chrosziel bellows has a 142mm OD, I opened up the RR bellows a bit and it works great. The parts look like they are made for each other. The Chrosziel bellows fits snugly, but I can still easily remove it if I need to go back to the RR donuts. It's the best of both worlds.

Hi Larry,

That sounds perfect. Which Chrosziel Mattebox do you have ? Do you have any idea of what part numbers one would need ? Pictures would be really great. The RedRock is a fine Mattebox, but the ruber donuts are not ideal. Do your Chrosziel bellows have an 80mm opening which fits snuggly on Arri primes for example ?

I need a solution asap as my camera with RedRock mattebox is on a shoot and I have ben asked to find a solution to the RedRock belows.

With my regards,
Damien

 

[Larry McKee]

Hey Damian, I got your PM and responded. The best thing I can suggest is maybe checking with Mitch to see if he can find a bellows with an O.D. as close to the 140mm I.D. on the RR bellows as possible. Just be careful not to take too much meat out of the RR bellows or the new one will be loose.

 

[Morgan Schmidt]

Have one right here

Have one right here

Hi Richard,

I have one right here, got my parts from Abel. RRMB+ Arri bellows plate, Arri bellows, and a 114-->100mm adapter ring. You can then go down from 100mm with (yet another stupidly expensive) ring to your lens diameter. I also use a 5.65x5.65 Arri tray when I put a grad ND in the MB, allows for more range in positioning.

Cheers,
Morgan Schmidt
DP LA

 

[Rick Darge]

Thanks Morgan, do you have any pics of your setup?

 

[Damien Molineaux]

Hi Richard,

I have one right here, got my parts from Abel. RRMB+ Arri bellows plate, Arri bellows, and a 114-->100mm adapter ring. You can then go down from 100mm with (yet another stupidly expensive) ring to your lens diameter. I also use a 5.65x5.65 Arri tray when I put a grad ND in the MB, allows for more range in positioning.

Cheers,
Morgan Schmidt
DP LA

Hi Morgan,

Thanks for the info, sounds great. How does the Arri belows plate attach to the RR Mattebox ?

Also which lenses have 114mm and 100mm diameters ?

There are two belows options, one straight to 100mm and one to 114mm, if you then want to go to 80mm, you need two additional adapters, one from 114 to 100mm and another from 100 to 80mm. As I have a set of Zeiss standard speeds, which are 80mm. I think I'll get the straight to 100mm belows and then the adapter to 80mm so as to minimize the number of parts. Or does someone strongly advise against this option ?

Cheers,
Damien

 

[Mitch Gross]

Go for the 114. Some 114 lenses include:

- baby Optimo 15-40
- baby Optimo 24-76
- RED 18-50
- RED 50-150

In addition there are a number of primes that are around in sizes larger than 100mm, such as the Cookes in 104. Why needlessly limit yourself if you needed to rent some of this glass one day?