Jonathan, The new design on the M15 eliminates the need to perform 1 of the 2 steps, when doing pan balance. The "rotational adjustment" is no longer needed. Just like on the M5.
Hi Austin, from your experience - would you think it is now possible to balance an Epic with a v-mount attached on the back of the camera ? Thanks -Markus
While I haven't tried it, I think maybe so. I had an Epic Dragon with a GL Optics 70-200 balanced up the other day, and it was surprisingly easy to balance. I thought the physical length of the lens would make the rear of the camera hit the roll bar, but there was tons of space. Now, if you tried to put a rear-mounted v-mount with that lens, it might be tough, but a "normal" -sized prime with rear v-mount seems possible. If I get more time to tinker in the near future, I will try it, although with a baby coming any day, I doubt I will get too many free moments!
Here's a photo from that setup. I didn't take a photo specifically showing the rear clearance, but you can kinda see it here. I'd say there were about 2 inches there, and if you had a shorter lens, you'd have more.
Hi Austin, thanks a lot. That makes me kind of confident that the use of the painful-low power side handle batteries might go away. But - more important - all the best for your upcoming luck ! Me myself became a dad of a little sunny son in March of this year, what actually drove me a little back in exploring my Movi-business, but - you don't care about that anymore. Great jobs are coming and leaving - your new luck gonna stay ! So all the best again for you and your family - Markus
Is it possible rigged it up the M15 with a RED Scarlet and a Cooke S4? I would like to know if somebody tried this configuration. Not the Cook MiniS4, I ask about the S4 lenses Thanks
Yes. I had an 21mm S4 on my Epic, which weighs 4.4lbs, and it balanced beautifully. Even had an LMB-25 Mattebox with two filters in it
I recently setup a Demo M15 (see pic) with an Angenieux Anamorphic 56-152mm lens without a problem. It weighs 4.8 lbs and is 210mm in length (longer than any of those Cooke lenses). So you shouldn't have any issues with the RED and Cooke lenses. **Note: You will obviously have to take into account the addition of other accessories/devices (i.e. FIZ, power, cables, etc) when balancing and setting up your specific MoVI, as that will influence how the entire package is balanced.**
We tried the M15 with the Optimo 16-42mm on Dragon. It will not balance when you add the necessary accessories of filters and follow focus. So, that pic is to be taken with a grain of salt...
Thanks Ben, I apologize for any confusion. Maybe I should have made the font size bigger, when I said..."**Note: You will obviously have to take into account the addition of other accessories/devices (i.e. FIZ, power, cables, etc) when balancing and setting up your specific MoVI, as that will influence how the entire package is balanced.**"
The problem with a picture like that is that an enthusiastic Director or Producer sees the image. Out of context, and then calls us up and requests that we run that lens on-set. We explain to them that it does not have provision for necessary accessories (ie. do they want it exposed correctly and in focus?) They then reply, 'Well, we saw that other operators are doing it overseas. Why can't you do it?' It confuses the marketplace, and puts your actual paying customers, the people who use the product, into a difficult situation. If you are going to demo the system at these trade shows, at least build it up into a system that can be used on a real world set.
Chris, are you saying you were able to balance the build in your pic with a follow focus, power cables, etc.?
I'm sure everyone can agree, that my image was not meant to mislead anyone intentionally or 'confuse the marketplace', and was keeping within the essence of why Austin and Charles were sharing their personal experience (and images) as well. With that being said, I would like to clarify a few things, that will hopefully put some at ease. 1) When Freefly is at any trade show, we do set up all our MoVI's as fully functional unit's that can be used on real world sets. 2) The person in the image I posted owns the RED camera and lens that you see in the image, and is currently using the setup successfully on the M15. 3) In the same way Austin had his M15 setup with a RED and lens (not a Cooke) I was merely showing it as an example/reference, nothing more. While follow focus and filters may be common in many situations, those accessories are not required or necessary as every shot is different. If anyone has any other questions or concerns. Please contact me directly at support@freeflysystems.com Thanks and Best regards, Chris HarrisonFreefly/MoVI Technical Support
I don't think Chris's image adds any confusion. Those who know what they are looking at can clearly see there is no follow focus motor attached, and those that do not know what they are looking at will most likely defer to the opinions of the specialist, when the topic comes up. And just for clarification, on that particular day with that 70-200, I did get a WFF attached after that photo was taken. In that specific setup it was not an issue.