Letus Extreme with Cinevate Rails System??

[Danny Salazar]

Hey everyone, i wanted to get people's opinion of my option of getting the cinevate (brevis) rails system with my new letus extreme. Is the letus compatible with the rails? Im going with cinevate cuz their rails system is way cheaper and they say that its stronger than aluminum. hmm......?????......what do you guys think? I dont want to be stupid and get it with out any advice.

HELP A BROTHA OUT!! :smile:

 

[Contact_Therapy]

The Cinevate rails are cheaper for a reason. There is nothing but single screw torque holding the camera baseplate in place and it just doesn't feel secure. There's no doubt that there's an accident waiting to happen if you use these rails.

If I were you, I'd spend the extra money to invest in a more secure rails system that has double supports under the camera baseplate.

 

[Essami]

I have the Cinevate rails and have been using them in action with EX1 + LEX. To me they feel very secure and tight. Im having trouble with the LEX support bracket though as thats really difficult to tighten properly and it keeps getting loose.

sami

 

[Dennis Wood]

Our rails are inexpensive because we feel our customers shouldn't have to bend over a barrel for a set. We also sell them directly, so you are missing a layer or two of profit sharing. I would place them up against any system, for weight, stiffness and quality. We now have the only adapter quick-release system out there. Additionally, the base plate is about to get an ENG option, usable on smaller cams ... so if you don't like the baseplate, you'll have an option in about two weeks.

Matt Jeppsen over at FreshDV did have some comments on our new carbon rails system: http://www.freshdv.com/2008/01/freshdv-hands-on-review-brevis35-flip-adapter.html

 

[PaPa]

rails work fine with me

Essami, get rid of the tightening screw that is on the Riser of the letus rail mount, and replace it with a screw that you can tighten with a screw driver. This solved the problem for me, and it hasnt budget since.

Dennis, here is a little schematic i drew up, and i wanted your opinion.

Right now, with my letus extreme, as i understand it is almost the same shape as the brevis with flip ( in terms of the vertical offste the camera goes through )

What i wanted to know is if this sounds logical. Instead of paying 300 for the zacuto Z riser, i wanted to purchase another set of the letus rail mount to attach another set of ( hopefully ) small cinevate rails so that i have enough clearance space for a mattebox. What do you think? Does this physically make sense?

 

[Dennis Wood]

P, our rails blocks support 5/8" stainless steel risers. This means your diagram is 100% doable with two of our rails blocks and two short stainless risers. We can custom cut these here if required for you

Btw, if you need more height from our base plate, just remove the base plate support block, flip the assembly 180 degrees, and slide it back on. That will give you a few inches of extra height for free

Cheers

 

[PaPa]

im trying to avoid having my camera too high

 

[Leo Versola]

The Cinevate rails are cheaper for a reason. There is nothing but single screw torque holding the camera mount in place and it just doesn't feel secure. There's no doubt that there's an accident waiting to happen if you use these rails.

If I were you, I'd spend the extra money to invest in a better, higher quality rails system.

Do you own or have used these rails or just taking a wild guess on how sturdy they are? I've been using the Cinevate rails with my LEX for a few months now and they've been rock solid. In this case, and others can attest, price does not equate to level of quality.

Im having trouble with the LEX support bracket though as thats really difficult to tighten properly and it keeps getting loose.
sami

Essami, it's been posted before, but the tightening screw for the LEX adapter support is tad bit too long. You can snip it down about a millimeter and then it will tighten down just fine. Or, you can just replace it with a shorter one as PaPa suggested.

 

[Contact_Therapy]

Do you own or have used these rails or just taking a wild guess on how sturdy they are? I've been using the Cinevate rails with my LEX for a few months now and they've been rock solid.

Yes, I own them and unfortunately, use them regularly with an HVX/LEX. If you look at the following image, there is too much distance between the two vertical supports so that if there is any vertical or horizontal give, and there is since it's a single screw, the pressure is all going to the middle where your camera's lens mount is. Sure, it might feel solid if you're always locked down on a tripod and shoot full auto but if you want to make any manual adjustments to your cam or if you want to shoot on a handheld rig, be prepared to have your camera mount become loose or even break sooner rather than later. Like I said, accident waiting to happen.

http://www.freshdv.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/brevis_flip_ex1_rrrods.jpg

I hope this ENG option will have at least a second support for the base plate. Is there a pic online of it anywhere?

The baseplate that used in the Letus rails system seems like a much safer and sturdier design.

price does not equate to level of quality

ok :huh:

 

[Willis Chung]

rails work fine with me

Essami, get rid of the tightening screw that is on the Riser of the letus rail mount, and replace it with a screw that you can tighten with a screw driver. This solved the problem for me, and it hasnt budget since.

Dennis, here is a little schematic i drew up, and i wanted your opinion.

Right now, with my letus extreme, as i understand it is almost the same shape as the brevis with flip ( in terms of the vertical offste the camera goes through )

What i wanted to know is if this sounds logical. Instead of paying 300 for the zacuto Z riser, i wanted to purchase another set of the letus rail mount to attach another set of ( hopefully ) small cinevate rails so that i have enough clearance space for a mattebox. What do you think? Does this physically make sense?

PaPa, that is an interesting follow focus, what is that?

 

[Leo Versola]

Yes, I own them and unfortunately, use them regularly with an HVX/LEX.

Just checking Opinions from first-hand users are more valuable to prospective buyers than ones based on conjecture.

You raise good points and yes, I shoot primarily locked down on a tripod, but I've also 'gone mobile' without any issues. That said, if an option became available to increase the rigidity of the baseplate without interfering with the balancing flexibility and it was inexpensive, I'd buy it; not because I'm worried about an accident but I'd take safe over sorry any day.

ok :huh:

You're not starting a Toyota vs. Range Rover debate are you? :happy:

 

[Danny Salazar]

Wow.....thanks guys for the help! Papa....those pics of ur rig are jaw-dropping. lol i cant wait to have my rig up and running!

 

[PaPa]

it's the new indifocus with the grip wheel. I only pop on the geared rings when im actually shooting something important.