basspig
10-07-2008, 09:30 PM
B&H Shipped Monday and I took delivery of a Manfrotto 521EX remote zoom controller earlier today.
My first impression was "very light". And when I took it out of the box, I thought the cable was missing. But actually, it ships, wrapped around the controller.
It seems lightweight and plasticy and very small. Okay, enough for impressions.
Functionality: Clipped it onto the pan bar of an Impact VT2500 tripod. Clamp assembly seems a bit weak, but adequate.
The speed control dial is very thin and this controller can not be left on the pan bar when shipping the tripod, or one bump and this protruding dial will break.
Easy hookup, with the 8-pin plug mating to the EX1's socket on the hand grip.
Powered on the EX1 and the remote immediately worked.
The zoom rocker could be smoother, in my opinion. The first 1/3 of the travel does nothing, then a smidge further and the zoom lens "jumps" to action at a fairly fast speed.
Using the rotary speed control at the lowest setting, I found I was able to get more satisfactory 'creep zoom' startups, but it is still tricky and takes some practice.
The two fast zoom in/out buttons have their usefulness in these slow dial modes. The top button previews the last clip recorded. The big, red REC button does, well, you know.
Now the buttons are a bit close together. I would be concerned about hitting the REC button when I was meaning to hit one of the snap zoom buttons. We'll see how this works out. I have an Oct 18 symphony concert coming up and I'll have to go over this with my camera operators well in advance.
Bottom line: It seems a bit chintzy compared to my 532-PRO that I use with the V1U, but it does do the job. The $249 price tag seems high, once you get the unit in-hand and see how insubstantial it is in terms of construction. Will I buy another? Sure. I need matching controllers for all of my EX1s and this is "good enough" at this price.
My first impression was "very light". And when I took it out of the box, I thought the cable was missing. But actually, it ships, wrapped around the controller.
It seems lightweight and plasticy and very small. Okay, enough for impressions.
Functionality: Clipped it onto the pan bar of an Impact VT2500 tripod. Clamp assembly seems a bit weak, but adequate.
The speed control dial is very thin and this controller can not be left on the pan bar when shipping the tripod, or one bump and this protruding dial will break.
Easy hookup, with the 8-pin plug mating to the EX1's socket on the hand grip.
Powered on the EX1 and the remote immediately worked.
The zoom rocker could be smoother, in my opinion. The first 1/3 of the travel does nothing, then a smidge further and the zoom lens "jumps" to action at a fairly fast speed.
Using the rotary speed control at the lowest setting, I found I was able to get more satisfactory 'creep zoom' startups, but it is still tricky and takes some practice.
The two fast zoom in/out buttons have their usefulness in these slow dial modes. The top button previews the last clip recorded. The big, red REC button does, well, you know.
Now the buttons are a bit close together. I would be concerned about hitting the REC button when I was meaning to hit one of the snap zoom buttons. We'll see how this works out. I have an Oct 18 symphony concert coming up and I'll have to go over this with my camera operators well in advance.
Bottom line: It seems a bit chintzy compared to my 532-PRO that I use with the V1U, but it does do the job. The $249 price tag seems high, once you get the unit in-hand and see how insubstantial it is in terms of construction. Will I buy another? Sure. I need matching controllers for all of my EX1s and this is "good enough" at this price.