How long of rails for HVX+LetusEx+matte box?

benhuddleston

benhuddleston

Well-known member
I have been slapping the plastic down left and right to gear up for an upcoming feature, and am wondering how long of rails I should need. Here's the likely setup:

-HVX200 on a Cinevate baseplate/rails
-Letus Extreme
-Minolta prime (28mm, 50mm, 85mm)
-Arri MB-17b matte box

I'll probably get the 60cm rails for long zooms and to be able to hang an IDX V-mount off the back for handheld, but I want one set of shorter rails to streamline. How short can I go?
 
^^That set up just looks so beautiful, and so impressive to clients I bet. Then when they see the quality of the video footage? Sexy.

Sorry for not contributing.
 
Thanks. Yeah, the Arri matte box is really the frosting on the cake. I bought it for $150 at a rental house going-out-of-business sale. It cost them more than 10 times that!
 
hey ben,
what lenses do you exactly use? I also plan to go with Minolta.
First because that´s what my DSLR is (SONY/MINOLTA) and second they are much less on ebay ;-)
 
alpi69 said:
hey ben,
what lenses do you exactly use? I also plan to go with Minolta.
First because that´s what my DSLR is (SONY/MINOLTA) and second they are much less on ebay ;-)
Click to expand...

I thing Minolta MD lenses won't fit the SONY alpha..(without adapter with optical element)..
 
I use the 45cm system 99% of the time with a full lens kit, flip module and mattebox. All of our rails systems are actually longer then the rods as the base plate projects rearward another 15cm or so.

The 60cm system is good if you plan on using a shoulder mount down the line. We had them made for use with a battery pack, rails-mounted out back for counterbalance.
 
leteeci said:
I thing Minolta MD lenses won't fit the SONY alpha..(without adapter with optical element)..
Click to expand...

Yeah, that´s right. But when you get a 100mm Macro lens, why not use it with an adapter on the DSLR also....that´s my thinking.
 
What is the best setup to use with the extreme. i have seen picturea nd understand that because of the L shape to it, the camera has to hover a good 3 inches higher than the lens. What have people done about this setup? What is an easy way to go about it once my extreme comes in?
 
hey ben,
what lenses do you exactly use? I also plan to go with Minolta.
First because that´s what my DSLR is (SONY/MINOLTA) and second they are much less on ebay ;-)
Click to expand...
I use the older MD mount. I inherited an SLR package from the 60's that has several fast lenses, and they are incredible. My brother is a photography major at the San Fran Institute of the Arts, and he calls them legendary.

And good point about cheaper on eBay; any time you buy a lens on eBay though, KNOW that you are rolling the dice. Sure, sometimes you hit double-sixes, but I've rolled snake eyes before too....

What is the best setup to use with the extreme. i have seen picturea nd understand that because of the L shape to it, the camera has to hover a good 3 inches higher than the lens. What have people done about this setup? What is an easy way to go about it once my extreme comes in?
Click to expand...
Yep, this is where more money flies out of your pocket (it'll be fun to spend, though). You'll need a rails/baseplate setup. I just ordered the one from Cinevate (link below), which allows you to adjust for that vertical offset.

http://www.cinevate.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=64
 
Have you guys looked into Cavision? I have an RS System and 18" Redrock rails waiting for the Letus. That should help the offset.

Ryan Walters has a similar setup and I believe Disjecta as well. Search Ryan Walters' name under the 35mm ADapter forum, there should be a post with his rig (HVX) put together.
 
Kholi said:
Have you guys looked into Cavision? I have an RS System and 18" Redrock rails waiting for the Letus. That should help the offset.

Ryan Walters has a similar setup and I believe Disjecta as well. Search Ryan Walters' name under the 35mm ADapter forum, there should be a post with his rig (HVX) put together.
Click to expand...

Cavision and a set of 18" rails will work just fine- I got the 24" rails just to be safe. It is overkill for any lens below 100mm, but it is nice to have the extra length just in case. (The 18" rails should do you just fine 99% of the time.)
 
Ryan is right. 18" should be really fine. That's what I have and I have plenty of rod space because of my little tricks placing the camera on double mounted plates tilt backward allowing ample space for my pro Jumbo Matte Box even with long Canon Telephoto FD lenses (attached to my Extreme) plus my Follow Focus. The only issue was camera height (because of my Jumbo Matte Box with rod support). That's why I did a combination of 2 different rod base plates for more flexibility.

The center of the setting tends to fall on the tripod head plate. Which is a balance ltmus test (not that it's perfect, if such a thing exists for such mecanical and manual venture).
 
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