Comparing Cine bundles Shoot35 vs Redrock micro

CraftyClown

CraftyClown

Active member
Hi guys,

looking to invest in a cine bundle (base, rails, Matte box & FF) but having difficulty deciding between;

The redrock micro package http://store.redrockmicro.com/Catalog/digitalcine/AF100

and the Shoot35 one http://www.shoot35.com/products/specialoffers/cineboxcinefocusbaseplate/cineboxcinefocusbaseplatepackageframe.html

I've heard great stuff said about both companies equipment, but I'm just wondering if one package edges the other here?

I'm guessing the redrock setup is going to cost me more as I presume I would need to add import taxes of around 20% to bring it to the UK.

So we would be looking at £1,200.00 + 20% VAT = £1,440.00 ( + international postage ) for the Redrock micro kit

or £1,000.00 + 20% VAT = £1,200.00 for the Shoot35 kit


Ultimately price is not the main factor here, however if the kits are much of a much, then that £240.00 price difference could become more relevant.


Does US import tax work the same way? ie, would it be cheaper for me to buy either of the kits in the US and then bring them back to the UK?

Cheers

Rich
 
shoot35 stuff is top notch, the follow focus is great, dont know about matte box but it has good reviews - & its local, good to support companies in your own country, & any problems should be dealt with quicker & cheaper post etc etc
 
Hey Crafty Clown, I looked at the REDROCK BLUE and I definitely think it's the way forward for me. I don't think we'll go wrong either way, you Shoot35, I REDROCK. I think Shoot35 makes sense if you're in London. You get the matte box and all for £1200 plus shipping. The shoot makes sense for me also here if I don't pay import taxes here in the US. However, for me, even if I didn't pay US tax, I'd still buy the complete REDROCK Blue - at $2200. I liked the v2 and now the BLUE improves on that? Quick release, hardstops, flippable and upgradeable to double-sided? I'm sold. I'll save up and get it for Christmas.

http://www.cinema5d.com/news/?p=5834



shoot35
Thanks for your email.

If you are purchasing and having the packaged shipped to the US, then you do not pay VAT.


If however it is either being shipped to a UK address or being picked up from us in person (that is classed as a UK sale), then VAT will need to be added.


Thanks,
Wayne Kinney
Head of Technical at Shoot35 Ltd


Email: sales@shoot35.com
Web: www.shoot35.com

still I wonder if anyone bought from London and didn't pay US import tax???
 
To bring stuff into the UK you'll get a minimum 3% (sometimes upto 5% or higher) import duty added to the whole amount.

It goes like this: USD value of goods + Postal/Insurance costs + UK VAT (20%) + import duty surcharge on the value of the 'whole' package - this could be 3.9% or 5% (it depends on the designation of the goods - but 3-5% seems to be the level for film/photo/video stuff).

So you need to add shipping/insurance costs and duty surcharge before adding the VAT calculation... we all bail out the Banks and then get a rise in VAT for our efforts... LOL.

Obviously, we can claw the VAT back by being registered... and also put the Import surcharge as a cost in accounting terms, but it is a PITA!

I recently bought a Cinetactics matte box as an experiment/test for my Lomo Squarefronts, and, by the time VAT/Duty etc had been paid, I was only about £35 off the list price of the only UK supplier. It also happens on private sales, had the same with a nice 35mm Angie cine zoom... essentially, once the real value of the goods is declared (as it needs to be for B2B/business insurance) you're in the loop. But there was no way I wanted it undervalued... if it was damaged in transit, I'd want to claim!

If you buy in the US, and then bring it back, make sure you don't have any receipts of docs when you return to the UK... otherwise you may end up paying the all teh same charges.
 
I think that makes sense then DC. You get the Redrock and I'll get the Shoot35. We can't go wrong and we know they're both good setups. If we can both get our kits together ready for the New Year, then we'll be laughing.


MadMonkFish, I am VAT registered, but like you say. Massive pain in the asrse. How did you find working with the Lomos? Just the adapters or full lenses? I've just taken delivery of a Kowa Prominar and keen to start playing.
 
Now, Madmonk, I hope one doesn't get charged that 3% for bringing used equipment into London, does one? That would be egregiously unfortunate!
I'll be bringing in my AF100, my lens and RRM Blue and I most certainly would not appreciate that.



You know what, I'm even considering getting the RRM V2 instead of the BLUE. - $200 difference.
Anything is better than hand, in my opinion, I've been focusing by hand except on a shoot where I had to fortune of working with a RRM v2.

Lens change would be super quick on the BLUE, you have hard stops but I've no problem without hard stops - I'm not blind. Hard stops could be
useful if you're operating and pulling focus at the same time. No need to take your eye off the screen as talent hits their marks.
 
dtzfilms said:
Now, Madmonk, I hope one doesn't get charged that 3% for bringing used equipment into London, does one? That would be egregiously unfortunate!
I'll be bringing in my AF100, my lens and RRM Blue and I most certainly would not appreciate that.



You know what, I'm even considering getting the RRM V2 instead of the BLUE. - $200 difference.
Anything is better than hand, in my opinion, I've been focusing by hand except on a shoot where I had to fortune of working with a RRM v2.

Lens change would be super quick on the BLUE, you have hard stops but I've no problem without hard stops - I'm not blind. Hard stops could be
useful if you're operating and pulling focus at the same time. No need to take your eye off the screen as talent hits their marks.
Click to expand...

Don't shoot the messenger! :)

There shouldn't be any import charge on kit coming in that's to be used for a job and isn't staying in the UK... but, who knows, if the customs people have a bad day... anything can happen...
 
CraftyClown said:
I think that makes sense then DC. You get the Redrock and I'll get the Shoot35. We can't go wrong and we know they're both good setups. If we can both get our kits together ready for the New Year, then we'll be laughing.


MadMonkFish, I am VAT registered, but like you say. Massive pain in the asrse. How did you find working with the Lomos? Just the adapters or full lenses? I've just taken delivery of a Kowa Prominar and keen to start playing.
Click to expand...

The Lomos are a set of Squarefronts (OCT-19 that were converted to PL) - so they're the full lens type (that focus as a normal lens). They're antique and have an 'olde worlde' (LOL) charm :)
 
CraftyClown said:
How do you find focusing with them? The Kowa is a *****! lol
Click to expand...

Lomo Squarefronts are pretty easy... they're old cine lenses so they were designed to work for film crews. So it's not a dual focus system (personally, couldn't do that - too much stress!)... essentially just focus like any other lens. Focus pullers don't like to rack on them though, as they breathe heavily (the Roundfront anamorphics breathe less and are better for racks).
 
MadMonkFish said:
Lomo Squarefronts are pretty easy... they're old cine lenses so they were designed to work for film crews. So it's not a dual focus system (personally, couldn't do that - too much stress!)... essentially just focus like any other lens. Focus pullers don't like to rack on them though, as they breathe heavily (the Roundfront anamorphics breathe less and are better for racks).
Click to expand...

Of course. I forgot they are a single unit, so no dual focus nightmares. They are 2 x though aren't they? Do you have a particular workflow for managing that? Crop it down etc?
 
CraftyClown said:
Of course. I forgot they are a single unit, so no dual focus nightmares. They are 2 x though aren't they? Do you have a particular workflow for managing that? Crop it down etc?
Click to expand...

Nothing special, still investigating options really. Currently, I'm using a program called SpeedEdit - I simply correct the A/R and then crop. Used Premiere in the past, didn't like it much, but I think that's where the future is headed. I was going to get a Mac/FCP system this year (using PC at the moment) but I'm now waiting out to see how the land lies at the end of the year (as that's when something I'm involved with moves forwards).
 
I cannot praise the Shoot 35 kit enough, its well made, great quality and terrific value for money.

Importantly I had to make some alterations to it in order for it to work as I wanted on the 101, and the guys at Shoot35 did this for free and by return of post. Great service.
 
peterrance said:
I cannot praise the Shoot 35 kit enough, its well made, great quality and terrific value for money.

Importantly I had to make some alterations to it in order for it to work as I wanted on the 101, and the guys at Shoot35 did this for free and by return of post. Great service.
Click to expand...

Hi Peter, what did you need to have done to make it work? Was this prior to them having a dedicated 101 baseplate?
 
CraftyClown said:
Hi Peter, what did you need to have done to make it work? Was this prior to them having a dedicated 101 baseplate?
Click to expand...
The problem I had was with the bulge in the camera body at the front which houses the electronic aperture adjustment wheel.

I have a set of Canon FD prime lenses, and these are quite compact, short and small diameter compared to a 35mm cine lens. The follow focus unit wouldn't engage with the focus band on the lens for two reasons:
- The unit couldn't be pushed in far enough for the cog to engage because the "bulge" was preventing it. Shoot 35 solved this by supplying a bigger diameter cog.
- the unit couldn't be pushed back towards the camera body far enough for the cog to engage because the "bulge" was preventing it. Shoot 35 solved this by cutting off the rear spindle of the focus unit allowing it to be slid nearer to the camera body.

These are not problems that would be solved by the new baseplate, the follow focus unit still has to be in the same position relative to the camera body to engage the lens.

I'm not sure how the new baseplate differs from the original, but I had no problem finding a suitable set up with the many screws and shims they supply with the baseplate.
 
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