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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

WARNING! Do not use Wooden Camera Easy Top Plate!

James Codeglia

James Codeglia

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Website
www.ghostlightdigital.com
My Red Weapon just came back from a $10,000 repair after the Wooden Camera Easy Top plate fried the video board. The top monitor port was working, then after attaching the Easy Top, it didn't. This happened to three DSMC2 cameras at a rental house, so the Easy Top is to blame. This is not an isolated incident as I've been hearing other cameras are being repaired with the same circumstances. Please avoid using this top plate at once until there's a remedy. Don't suffer the same fate. I guarantee RED will remove the "RED Approved" badge for this item from their store shortly. Cheers!
 
Man what a costly experience. Since they do have a "RED Approved" badge on it then would it be covered under the RED Armor warranty?
 
Actually it killed already two 5' Screens from me and I cant get them repaired...fried in the same way...
 
Looks like the warnings from RED all these years had substance
 
Josh Birch said:
That is frustrating. I've got a WC Pass Through Top Plate but this definitely concerns me...
Click to expand...

Because the Pass Through is passive and the Easy Top is active, I don’t believe the Pass Through would have similar issues. The Easy Top has some sort of watch battery built into it, and I’m under the assumption that this is what’s causing shorts if the power balance is improper.

I actually thought Wooden Camera had a big battery replacement campaign for the Easy Tops a while ago because they were causing issues then as well.
 
How old was it? I know they've updated both the R/S trigger circuit (which now does't need a battery) and the male pogo connectors. I've had mine for 2+ years with the only problem being some "tearing" on the touchscreen from the Pogo having a poor connection (usually fixable by adjusting tightness of the screws into the DSMC2) which has now been fixed with the updated connector.
 
Is this the Easy Top with the battery in it or the newer one that does not have a battery? I have the older one with the battery and it has been working for me. I never sent it in for the upgrade to the batteryless version.
 
Yikes, good to know - I won't be buying this guy anytime soon. Any thoughts about off brand or wooden camera LEMO cables? Would that have the ability to fry a monitor? I sometimes will use off brand ones on my MOVI.
 
WC, if your are reading this . . . Recall all the fuckin things today. Just do it - it's not going to get better
 
I haved texted Ryan from WC and him and his amazing staff are looking into it, WC has the best customer service in the industry and I trust them with my life. Please contact WC they will take good care of any issues you have.
 
John P. Murray said:
Is this the Easy Top with the battery in it or the newer one that does not have a battery? I have the older one with the battery and it has been working for me. I never sent it in for the upgrade to the batteryless version.
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Sorry but I wasn't aware of multiple versions or upgrades at the time, so I didn't note which version it was.
 
Joshua VP said:
Yikes, good to know - I won't be buying this guy anytime soon. Any thoughts about off brand or wooden camera LEMO cables? Would that have the ability to fry a monitor? I sometimes will use off brand ones on my MOVI.
Click to expand...

It was some kind of internal video board or something that was fried, not my monitor. The top monitor pogo just failed to work. The side pogo continued to work just fine, so we were able to shoot before submitting for repairs. I used a Wooden Camera RED Male LEMO to Female Pogo LCD/EVF Cable that worked just fine, but those adapter cables now make me equally nervous.

Hoping RED releases more variants of their DSMC2 top plates, especially one with a pogo pass-through since I love having my monitor attached right on the top of camera. And if they're listening, I'd love an official RED pogo extension cable, too. Though I guess 3rd party ones pose less of a threat than something like an Easy Top that does actual conversion.
 
Neil Dearman said:
I haved texted Ryan from WC and him and his amazing staff are looking into it, WC has the best customer service in the industry and I trust them with my life. Please contact WC they will take good care of any issues you have.
Click to expand...

Since it wasn't my Easy Top, the rental house will be reaching out to them. But thanks! I'm sure their customer service is great.
 
James Codeglia said:
Sorry but I wasn't aware of multiple versions or upgrades at the time, so I didn't note which version it was.
Click to expand...

No problem but it would be nice to eventually figure it out. I assume Wooden Camera is working on it.

Donald MJ Anderson said:
I dont think WC sent that fix out to avoid this problem. At least I saw that upgrade as optional.
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I saw it as optional as well. It was something I wanted to do but the timing was not right at the time. Now I am wondering if it makes a difference and if I am in danger using the older one.
 
James Codeglia said:
My Red Weapon just came back from a $10,000 repair after the Wooden Camera Easy Top plate fried the video board. The top monitor port was working, then after attaching the Easy Top, it didn't. This happened to three DSMC2 cameras at a rental house, so the Easy Top is to blame. This is not an isolated incident as I've been hearing other cameras are being repaired with the same circumstances. Please avoid using this top plate at once until there's a remedy. Don't suffer the same fate. I guarantee RED will remove the "RED Approved" badge for this item from their store shortly. Cheers!
Click to expand...

Hey James, Michael from Wooden Camera.

We are actively looking for more information on the mentioned incident as a support ticket was never filed. Please reach out to info@woodencamera.com to provide any details you might have and we will thoroughly look into it. If anyone ever has an issue with a Wooden Camera product, please reach out to us directly and we will respond right away. We know you all have a fast paced life and we try to match that with our customer service.

For reference, the upgrade for the Easy Top Weapon is to change from a battery powered communication module to a camera powered communication module. This PCB talks to the camera at start up to enable the run stop capability and does not have anything to do with the LCD/EVF signals. We are still able to provide this upgrade at no charge. Please email us to take advantage of the program: info@woodencamera.com

Thanks,
Michael
 
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