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Heden Carat FF - Review

Discussion in 'MōVI M10' started by Wolf Schiebel, Feb 11, 2014.

  1. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    Hi all,

    as promised i would like to give a short review of the new Heden Carat follow focus.

    The system arrived in a neat case complete, including a M-26 VE motor, 4 gears, rx/tx, 2 scale-rings, and all cables...
    2014-02-05 14.24.07.jpg

    Weights and dimensions:

    Tx: 130 x 80 x 30 mm, weight: about 420 g
    Rx: 70 x 60 x 30 mm, weight: about 125 g
    Motor: 25 x 40 x 116 mm, excl. gear and clamp, weight: about 250 g

    2014-02-10 14.36.07.jpg

    2014-02-10 14.37.49.jpg

    The build quality is superb and what one would expect from a company which is in business for about 50 years now.
    The wheel knob feels similar to an Arri Wcu-4, and calibration can be done automatically, which doesn´t work on the most dslr-lenses, or manually, also lens- and knob limits can be programmed very easily. The calibrations and last settings is still valid after turning on and off, even after battery-change. That saves much time on set. The rx can be powered by 12-30 volts with included d-tap to lemo cable, the tx is powered by a standard 9V battery.
    I did some range - tests since i was a bit sceptic, because the wireless protocol is bluetooth, what i didn´t think to be reliable and safe. But i tested ranges up to 350 m outside and about 150 m in buildings which is more than enough in average set situations. The reconnect after losing range is very fast (< 3 sec). The system works flawless and very fast and accurate, the latency is nearly non existent.
    I must admit that the motor is quite heavy, but very powerful and silent. It worked on big Optimo-zooms as well as old Zeiss Distagon units. I am fortunate to own a smaller Heden motor (M21-VE) also, which i am using most of the time on the MōVI, since it is much smaller and weighs only 150 gr.
    2014-02-05 14.23.52.jpg
    All in all i am very happy with my decision!
    Open for further questions and discussions…..


    Best,

    Wolf
     
  2. Justin Marx

    Justin Marx Active Member

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    Hi Wolf nice setup!!
    What's the price for this kit? Thanks!
     
  3. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    Hi Justin,

    i paid about 4100,00 $ for the complete package, but it may be higher now, since they had an IBC special deal, i was fortunate to get...
    I think it´s sold by Abelcine in U.S.….

    Best,

    Wolf
     
  4. Ben Hughes

    Ben Hughes Member

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    Hi Wolf,
    It sounds like the ff to buy, do you not miss having the second channel? Iris as well as focus?
    Thanks
     
  5. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    Hi Ben,

    no, not really. But in case i have a c-motion 2-channel in the shelf ;-) The Carat can also control the Fujinon Cabrio Zoom on all three channels….

    Best,

    Wolf
     
  6. Ben Hughes

    Ben Hughes Member

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    Why did you buy the carat if you already have the c motion?
    Ben
     
  7. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    Because it´s much smaller and lighter…. and the c-motion is out in rental quite often, and i wanted a system
    for the MōVI exclusively.

    Wolf
     
  8. Ben Hughes

    Ben Hughes Member

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    Thanks Wolf, that's good advice. I will go for the carat. The only other contender was rt motion, but they seem to be moving office and it's impossible to get hold of them.
    Thanks
    Ben
     
  9. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    Did some additional tests yesterday, and:

    The Carat is much faster and more responsive than the C-motion 2-channel.
    So the 1st ac chose it to be the main ff device for our upcoming feature film, to be shot 85% on the MōVI.


    Wolf
     
  10. Ben Hughes

    Ben Hughes Member

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    That's great to know Wolf, looking forward to seeing the film!
    Ben
     
  11. Nick Forster

    Nick Forster New Member

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    Hey Wolf, could you explain in more detail your tests and findings for the tests you did on c-motion vs the carat?

    Which c-motion was it?
     
  12. Wolf Schiebel

    Wolf Schiebel Active Member

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    Hi Nick,


    sorry but this testing was nestly 1 1/2 years ago and i can't remember the details. The Heden is faster and more accurate and i still love it. But i'm also looking forward to get my WCU-4 with C-Force motors together with my Alexa mini in about 4 weeks....


    Best Wolf
     
  13. stephanus ino prayudhi

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    does anyone have a difficult times contacting Magnus? Does anyone know where to buy potentiometer for Heden? It's a fast response remote focus but very slow response customer service...
     
  14. David Blair

    David Blair New Member

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    Is it possible to rig up a thumbwheel with the Heden system, for single operator mode?
     
  15. stephanus ino prayudhi

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    As far as i know they dont make thumbwheel, Axis one and RTmotion has thumbwheel for their system...
     
  16. David Blair

    David Blair New Member

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    Cheers, I'm looking into RTmotion at the moment. I wish all cameras had Canon autofocus!
     
  17. stephanus ino prayudhi

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    If you wish to have fast response system go with axis one...
     

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