There are a lot of talk about using 35mm still camera lenses on RED ONE and several of us has requested different lens mount adapters to fit the RED camera. The RED team has indicated in different occasions that they will provide Nikon and Canon FL mounts initially but users have to go to 3rd party manufacturers for other brands because they will be too busy to do it.
But the suggestion is not really viable, in my humble opinion. Here is my hypothesis. There are over 1,000 reservations of the camera at this point. Let's say 1000 units will actually take delivery when the camera ships. Maybe 300 units belong to rental houses and cinematographers with existing PL mount cine lenses. Another 400 buyers are totally satisfied with Nikon and Canon PL optics and have no intention of trying something else out. That leaves only 300 guys who might want a different mount for various reasons between Contax/Yashica, Minolta, Leica M, Leica R, Olympus OM, Pentax K and 42mm screw or even Rollei 35SL...After taking into account RED's future customers that might also want some of these mounts, the demand are still tiny compared to other professional products, not to mention consumer stuff.
It is simply bad economics for sane business people to take care of those like me who want to use best affordable lenses on this camera. Other lens mounts will be absurdly expensive if anyone would make it at all. We need help from the RED team. Only you guys will care enough, if my imagination proves to be correct, to help your customers out. Please do it as a bonus service to your customers. Realistically, I think the most needed lens mounts are Zeiss Contax RTS, Leica M and Leica R at this point. It will be great if you can make a Canon FD lens stop down its aperture easily as well. Do it as a favor and offer alternative lens mounts at an affordable price. Don't send us to the 3rd parties.
About the time issue, I believe making a lens mount with absolutely no complex mechanism or any electronic parts at all is more about precision machining than tedious design. It shouldn't cost too much of your energy. If the MovieTube people can it, the RED team can do it. You can also contract an experience machine shop to do it under your supervision. By ordering in batches from one place will lower the manufacturing cost and hopefully make everybody happy.
I hope somebody at RED will listen and consider my plead seriously.
But the suggestion is not really viable, in my humble opinion. Here is my hypothesis. There are over 1,000 reservations of the camera at this point. Let's say 1000 units will actually take delivery when the camera ships. Maybe 300 units belong to rental houses and cinematographers with existing PL mount cine lenses. Another 400 buyers are totally satisfied with Nikon and Canon PL optics and have no intention of trying something else out. That leaves only 300 guys who might want a different mount for various reasons between Contax/Yashica, Minolta, Leica M, Leica R, Olympus OM, Pentax K and 42mm screw or even Rollei 35SL...After taking into account RED's future customers that might also want some of these mounts, the demand are still tiny compared to other professional products, not to mention consumer stuff.
It is simply bad economics for sane business people to take care of those like me who want to use best affordable lenses on this camera. Other lens mounts will be absurdly expensive if anyone would make it at all. We need help from the RED team. Only you guys will care enough, if my imagination proves to be correct, to help your customers out. Please do it as a bonus service to your customers. Realistically, I think the most needed lens mounts are Zeiss Contax RTS, Leica M and Leica R at this point. It will be great if you can make a Canon FD lens stop down its aperture easily as well. Do it as a favor and offer alternative lens mounts at an affordable price. Don't send us to the 3rd parties.
About the time issue, I believe making a lens mount with absolutely no complex mechanism or any electronic parts at all is more about precision machining than tedious design. It shouldn't cost too much of your energy. If the MovieTube people can it, the RED team can do it. You can also contract an experience machine shop to do it under your supervision. By ordering in batches from one place will lower the manufacturing cost and hopefully make everybody happy.
I hope somebody at RED will listen and consider my plead seriously.
