CPM Film Tools NAB Sale!

Thanks Steve!

Im on the fence about the Sidewinder, here is what I've got...tell me what you think and how much flex you think I would get on the rig...

5Dmk2 w/zacuto
24-70mm 2.8L
Genus clip on Matte Box
Genus follow focus

Thanks! The rigs look beautiful!
 
I like that geared head you guys are making, please tell me the gears are not plastic. Im seriously interested in this head. when will it be available?
 
As jambredz said, you get very little if any flex from the rigs at all. The handle grip issue he mentioned is we re-worked on grips to allow a second "A" frame to placed on the top handle to minimze flex from just a signle handle. If you plan to really load the rig up then this second "A" frame is a good investment. We are also modifying several of the molds to add additional material both around the inserts and around the hole to allow customers to install the metal threaded inserts where ever they might need them. There are several tools that are getting this upgrade so we are trying to sneak them inbetween the geared head molds one by one.

Thanks,

Steve
 
maranfilms said:
I like that geared head you guys are making, please tell me the gears are not plastic. Im seriously interested in this head. when will it be available?
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The gears are made out of plastic.... just kidding. We know our limitations, or I should say the material limitations. The proto type as it sits has cast steel main gears (both pan and tilt) and tool steel worm gears. These were the items available to us 'off the shelf' and work great for the proto type but they are HEAVY. As it sits the entire geared head right now tips the scale at just over 10 pounds. Since we targeted its ues to DSLR and small camera users and want to make sure it works with 75mm ball head tripods we wanted to keep the weight as low as possible. So the production units will utilize 7075 aluminum main gears with a silicon hard coat and the worm gears will be brass. That should get the weight closer to9 - 9.5 pounds. We figure the lighter the head, the more camera and rig you can put on it.

I shot some video of it in use, two camera type shoot, picture in picture so you can see what its taking and the head in motion at the same time. I can honestly say that it is the best performing proto type we have ever built, and we proto type everything. But from an assembly point of view and how well it works I was extremely pleased with the function. Tilt on the unit gives you a full 110 degrees of motion! Add a tilt plate (in the works, super low cost) and zero to 90 is a piece of cake! I'm just seriously behind on editing and uploading. The geared head video and several instructional videos are on the slate for this weekend. NAB once again caught us off guard. You would think with us not being there it would be business as usual, but the orders came flying in. Spring is in the air and it seems shooting cinema is on everyones mind!

As for lead time on the Unit, all the raw material for the tooling is in house. 50% of the programming is complete and the first sets of tools are set to go in the tool room next week!

Steve
 
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Steve, just got the rig..it's awesome! The grips on the Sidewinder.. are those compatible with bicycle grips? I'd like to switch to something with softer rubber for my hands..
 
dantakesphotos said:
Steve, just got the rig..it's awesome! The grips on the Sidewinder.. are those compatible with bicycle grips? I'd like to switch to something with softer rubber for my hands..
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Thank you! Yes, the grips are 7/8 diameter and 4.5 long. If you have a source of compressed air you can simply blow on the end of the grip (with the core pointed down or away from you!) and the core will pop right off. To put the new grip on you have a couple of options. For a removable grip use windex. If you want a more permenent application use hair spray and install while still wet. When the hair spray 'cures' it acts as a lightweight tac adhesive.

Steve
 
Man, I almost bought some CPM stuff - but nobody answers their "contact us" form - I had a simple question about a $30 part, ended up getting my rig elsewhere. Their stuff looks killer, but I think I mentally put them on my "waiting for answers list"... and B&H answered questions within an hour. Kind of surprised me, big guys vs. little guys and all. C'est la vie. (But I still want a lightweight manfrotto-style release plate - or two...)
 
What's the deal with your sliders? Just saw them on the website. Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen anything posted on here about them. Teflon bearings should be smoother than igus and quieter than metal bearings. Using existing 15mm rods is a good idea. I was wondering when somebody was going to do that. I'd like to see a little more info about the belt-driven versions especially.
 
Michael Carter said:
Man, I almost bought some CPM stuff - but nobody answers their "contact us" form - I had a simple question about a $30 part, ended up getting my rig elsewhere. Their stuff looks killer, but I think I mentally put them on my "waiting for answers list"... and B&H answered questions within an hour. Kind of surprised me, big guys vs. little guys and all. C'est la vie. (But I still want a lightweight manfrotto-style release plate - or two...)
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Hey Michael try emailing Steve directly at steven@cpmfilmtools.com . Usually pretty responsive.

I 2 wanna know when the sliders will be ready.
 
As Jambredz mentioned we are really good about answering emails. The cpmfilmtools site does not have a contact form, just a list of three email address at the bottom and our phone numbers. Now if you stumbled on our tooling site, cpmfastools.com, that site has a contact form and sometime those go to spam if the options boxes are not clicked off. Maybe that’s what happened? Either way B&H carries our rigs so you could always order one from them as well, they also carry several of our piece parts and have our full product list. They currently have several rigs in stock so testing and handling is an option.
The Slyder... this has to do with tooling, as an example the geared head we are currently working on has 4 tools being generated in support of that product. We then have two follow focus units behind that each with two tools. In between there are smaller tools we work into the mix, like the rod mounted tool kit. The slyder was a product that was just developed, right behind the other two items. So it's on the slate for this years tooling, just towards the end. It takes us about 3-4 weeks to cut one tool, we can do more but usually the mold shop is also running DOD/military tools as well. We are right in the middle of two Navy Stations and of course all the contractors that support both. They tend to keep us pretty busy as well. I apologize if I was not able to answer any questions. If you still would like me to answer any you can PM me here, email through the web site, post on the face book page or give us a call.

Thanks,

Steve
 
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