Birger Mount

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Focus looks smooth to me. I also don't mind about the steps in the aperture control, not a big issue for "fiction work". Can't wait to buy one....
 
Hey Philip you rock, great review. How is the collimation? Is it hitting infinity focus?
Also I left a comment on your blog (my first there) pointing out that ebay has cheap adapters for m43 to sony NEX,
collimation may not be perfect but it means you can get this glass on fs100
 
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Not sure what I can say...

Not sure what I can say...

As some of you know, I shot a music video with this mount a couple months ago. And the video I did on the RED version of this mount is on Erik's home page. We'll have an AF-100 specific video made on this in the not too distant future, since the two versions are very different.

Suffice to say, I've been around this mount for a long time.

That said, the improvements Erik has made for this version has been nothing short of amazing. There are still a few tricks up his sleeve and I don't think it will be too long now before the cat's out of the bad.

Here are a couple points for those who do not know a lot about the mount. (Hope I don't screw this up)

Pulling focus... How smooth is it?
The weakest link here will NOT be the mount, it will be the lens. A good "L" series lens will be butter. A cheap $300 lens will look rough and jumpy. So you're still going to be investing in some nice glass.. But most canon people I know already have L series lying around.

Build quality:
Excellent. Erik does not mess around here. And this is something worth talking about. Erik has been developing this software for a very long time, and it's not easy. Every lens speaks a little differently, and Erik has had to tweak the software for every single one of them. There is no way around this issue.. It takes a lot of time. Be aware of that when you look at other mounts.

When I shot the music video, I had a very early version, but it still performed for the entire day like a champ. Now, last I heard you cannot "pull iris" but I do seem to remember in the RED version there was a way to fake this.. I will need to do some digging to see what we did.

I know it's taken a while, but we're close, and the Birger Mount is worth the wait.

I have to state up front, that Erik's a good friend.. So I am NOT nuetral, and hence I try to stay out of these discussions as much as possible since I have an agenda.. I want Erik to succeed, and I love his stuff. That said, truth is truth, and his stuff rocks. The wait sucks, I know, but it's his total focus right now, so it will be done A.S.A.P.

Jay
 
do you think the Panasonic af100 version of the follow focus will use Panasonic bats?

it would be really stupid if it doesn't
 
There's some of us who'd be interested in a cutdown version for GH2 use - no follow focus, just aperture dialogue. Likely?
 
sofresh said:
do you think the Panasonic af100 version of the follow focus will use Panasonic bats?

it would be really stupid if it doesn't
Click to expand...

Needed to check to see what I can say here.. But....

I cannot speak to the follow focus, but for the mount itself, It does one better than that. On the AF100, the mount is powered off the camera. There is NO external power source needed for the Brger Mount on the AF-100.

In case anyone is wondering.. Yes... This is a HUGE deal.

Jay
 
HI Jay,

thanks for getting back to me

The Birger mount being powered from camera (af100) has been made clear by Erik, like you say this is good news!!!

but what about the FF?

many thanks

suresh
 
sofresh said:
HI Jay,

thanks for getting back to me

The Birger mount being powered from camera (af100) has been made clear by Erik, like you say this is good news!!!

but what about the FF?

many thanks

suresh
Click to expand...

Well, I need to check with Erik at some point on this one.. Give me a little time. If I recall, I think one of the main focuses for power was to make sure it was a common enough battery that was not very expensive, and that you could buy almost anywhere. But I am not sure. Let me look into it.

Jay
 
sofresh said:
do you think the Panasonic af100 version of the follow focus will use Panasonic bats?

it would be really stupid if it doesn't
Click to expand...

By the way, I wanted to bring up something to think about.. Are we sure that the follow focus will ONLY work with a single mount? I'm talking out of my rear end here, but I do know that Erik is planning mounts for multiple cameras. So making the follow focus use a Panasonic battery (Specifically the AF-100 battery) when it's designed for multiple cameras may not be as obvious as it seems.

Jay
 
Jay A. Kelley said:
By the way, I wanted to bring up something to think about.. Are we sure that the follow focus will ONLY work with a single mount? I'm talking out of my rear end here, but I do know that Erik is planning mounts for multiple cameras. So making the follow focus use a Panasonic battery (Specifically the AF-100 battery) when it's designed for multiple cameras may not be as obvious as it seems.

Jay
Click to expand...

I think it would be really stupid of the follow focus did use a panasonic battery. The energy required to power such a circuit would be overkill with a battery like that AND add a bunch of extra weight that is just not necessary. My guess is that it would have a few powering options including just hooking it up to a common source like people do with other setups with EVF or LCDs. I bet on a set of 4 AAA batteries it would last A LONG time.
 
Erik could smack me in the mouth for using this comparison, cause I could be WAY off base, but I can tell you that on the 1st Gen follow focus using the Impero (I think it was called) we got a little over 4 hours out of a new set of batteries. Of course I don't know if that info translates to the new FF at all.

Jay
 
Heres something that would be awesome:
controlling through bluetooth via iPad or iPhone
I know theyre selling the remote control and all but this should be made a prirority. it makes controlling the lens so much flexible
 
dcloud said:
Heres something that would be awesome:
controlling through bluetooth via iPad or iPhone
I know theyre selling the remote control and all but this should be made a prirority. it makes controlling the lens so much flexible
Click to expand...

I think releasing the product should be made a priority over any new features;)
 
dcloud said:
Heres something that would be awesome:
controlling through bluetooth via iPad or iPhone
I know theyre selling the remote control and all but this should be made a prirority. it makes controlling the lens so much flexible
Click to expand...

i would think that would add significantly to the cost and reduce battery life as well.
 
sofresh said:
I think releasing the product should be made a priority over any new features;)
Click to expand...

Having built a remote head that ran off an iPad, I can tell you it's a bag of hurt.

1. The iPad's bluetooth standard is a little wonkey. Connection and distance issues plagued our head design.
2. Alot of expertise has to be placed in writing code that compensates for lag and data loss to the head.
3. Designing a useable, elegant interface. Do not forget the importance of good UI/UX design!
4. Alot of people are just used to a wheel that goes forward and reverse to drive focus! (Mitch Hedberg Voice) We do not need to bring a battery and touch screen into the equation.
 
As an iPhone app developer myself, and a programmer in general at times, I would stay away from bluetooth altogether. I am REALLY disappointed with it's performance on EVERY phone, headphones, computer, keyboard, mouse, etc I have used. I don't like the standard and it's always plagued with issues.

That said, I use apps on my iPad that communicate over Wi-Fi that I've done events with 300-400 people and NEVER had a lost connection. I use the iPad as a control interface to control a computer doing videos etc. LOTS of communication back and forth. If I were working on something that used the iPhone or iPad to control remote features on a camera, I would DEFINITELY use Wi-Fi. I also believe one of the future modules for the Red Epic is using Wi-Fi to send data to iPhone/iPad. (I think it is video, but I cannot remember exactly).
 
Man!

I saw the Birger thread bumped and I was hoping we finally had some good new. Ugh! July 27th and still no word yet. :(
 
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