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Weapon First Impression

Tom Gleeson

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I have just unboxed my Weapon and its a freakin' awesome machine but here are some initial observations


The camera is so small and light which is awesome but unsure how I am going to get this camera into production mode. The top handle kinda hogs the mounting points on the built in top plate and the large fans mean there is not much space left. I am very interested on how others will deal with this issue.


Reading the manual I see there is no hot swapping of LCD or EVFs. This is going to be a big problem. ACs are very used to hot swapping on Epics and Weapon owners will need to make it VERY clear that this is no longer possible.


My Epic WC Base plate with LW 15mm rod adaptor fits the Weapon.


Can anyone help me and tell me what the screw holes are for in the attached picture?


Plan on doing some exposure tests next week and will test against the Dragon and Alexa and will publish ASAP
 

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Congratulations
 
In anticipation to the weapon, I moved from my 15mm rail system where everything was basically hanging off the camera to a 19mm rail system where everything hooks to the 19mm rails. On the 19mm I'm basically copying some feature film guys, is a lot heavier but but I noticed my total setup time is about 70% faster (also went with a camera cart that has the major components in milk crate compartments all neat and tidy).
 
No idea what those are for. Been wondering myself too. Also, there is a screw under the SSD module. Its the focus hook.

Are you using the new LCD/EVF or the old style? I think the old style may still be hot swappable with the Lemo connectors. It may only be the cable-less versions that are not. I would confirm with RED either way.
 
Patrick,

I would love to see a photo of your rig?

Stacey thats a good point about the hot swappable possibly only applying to the new style of direct attachment. I will try and get some clarity on this from Red.
 
I have just unboxed my Weapon and its a freakin' awesome machine but here are some initial observations


The camera is so small and light which is awesome but unsure how I am going to get this camera into production mode. The top handle kinda hogs the mounting points on the built in top plate and the large fans mean there is not much space left. I am very interested on how others will deal with this issue.

This is why I posted a request for a new Top Plate from RED. WC makes them one and I've heard ET is making one, but don't see it on their website.

M
 
I think at some point Jarred mentioned ET making "half-plates" which would be cool. I interpret that as being little plates that screw into the 1/4 20 holes on the top/middle and give you mounting points along the top edge of the camera on either right or left sides of camera. Maybe a row along the top and a row along the side, hugging that top curve. I like the idea, keeps weight down and like you said, not much use for mounting points directly below the handle, or along the sides really if one is using the sidekick.

The WC top plate for Weapon looks pretty cool too, albeit for larger studio and maybe shoulder rig setups. Love the 4pin(?) run/stop adapter built in, hoping it works with the Origo in my Mantis. My only criticism of it is that I might want to remove the operator side LCD adapter connection to use the new EVF without it just dangling there...

...I've been wondering what those M4 mounting points were for since the teaser photos started popping up....
 
This is why I posted a request for a new Top Plate from RED. WC makes them one and I've heard ET is making one, but don't see it on their website.

M

The Top Plate from WC looks very interesting and you can also attach the new DSMC² Top Handle
WC Easy-Top-Weapon-Raven
 
Patrick,

I would love to see a photo of your rig?
NP, you can see I have plates running off of the 19mm. I btw had Abelcine help me on the setup of the rig, and T2/Tekserve as the systems integrator to the production computer network.
0925151253a-e1445282537450.jpg
 
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Ok on further testing I was incorrect to state that my Epic WC Base plate with LW 15mm rod adaptor fits the Weapon. While the Base plate mounts to the base of the camera there is an approximate 5mm horizontal offset so the matte box no longer aligns on the horizontal axis.:cry:
 

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yep, they got yah, tom.. I THINK the 15mm rod adapter will fit the new baseplate, however i think they modified the new one to rest closer to the camera body.. I think the reason for this is the Bottom fan not being there anymore..
 
Element Technica W-V Mount Battery module

Element Technica W-V Mount Battery module

I have purchased and fitted the Element Technica W-V Mount Battery module to the Weapon and while it is a sturdy and elegant design the communication from my Red Bricks is not passing through and instead of Battery status i get the message "unknown." Is anyone else using the Element Technica W-V Mount Battery module and what are their experiences? There are no instructions with the module and Red don't mention it in its "DSMC Power Operation Guide" Using Red Battery's on a module made by a company owned by Red I would be very surprised if i can't be sorted out?

I have also tried resetting the camera and rediscover hardware to no avail
 
Not sure there are any other brands that talk directly to the camera via the module pins rather than the DC plug? WC have promised one.
 
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