Problem with Extreme and IndiRails...

L

livelikeriley

Well-known member
I just got my Extreme in the mail today and am trying to set it up. I have the IndiRails system and the baseplate that is provided with the letus when tightend (to the point that it WILL NOT tighten anymore) is still loose on the rods...is this a problem with the rods or the Extreme part? Any help?

Thanks,
Mark.
 
did you realize the screws are different sized? maybe you didn't put them in the right position? I don't know, but maybe that's the problem.
Regards
 
No, it's literally the base of the letus - the part that connects to the rods that when tightened with an allen wrench is still sliding back and forth on the rails...
 
Either the Letus unit is sized incorrectly, which I doubt, or your rails are to thin. You should be using 15mm rods. Go measure. The only other size is 19mm, and obviously that would not fit the LEX bracket. Measure the braket holes and measure the rails and tell us what those numbers are. You will then know what your problem is.
 
...confused? I thought the indifocus rails were standard 15mm...I don't have a measuring tape right here or I would check....but just to confirm, the bracket should not slide up and down...and then an unrelated question, how much do I want to raise the bracket that touches the letus extreme...I don't want to push it up too far and bend the threads that way, but I want to make sure it's supported. Sorry for the random questions, but I've never put anything beyond a UV filter on my camera.

Thanks,
Mark.
 
Did you buy 5/8" rods in place of true 15mm rods? Despite what you might be told, they're not close enough to put under thousands of dollars of kit.

e
 
I'm not sure? They don't have much info on indifocus.com's website...but I wrote and asked about using it specifically with the letus extreme and was told it would work without any problems. Grrrr! I wanted to play with my new toy, but I don't feel safe not having it supported properly! Damn you indifocus!
 
Don't damn them. They're trying to provide a usable product at a truly affordable price; the learning curve is still there, though.

I think I know what the issue might be. I've heard it's apparently difficult for makers of Carbon Fiber things to get them to end up being specific, precise sizes (after the resin in the CF cures completely). As a result, variations of a half millimeter or so are common. That's not good for us, needing rods at precisely 15mm.


I just bought a set of rods from Cinevate (which are about double the cost of the IndiRails, incidentally), and had the same issue. Cinevate took them back and refunded me without question.

Try using the Letus support bracket on stainless rods, if you have access to any.
By the way, 5/8" rods are fatter than 15mm rods, so if you had them, the Letus bracket probably wouldn't fit on at all.
 
I'm having similar issues, just that the rods are too tight instead of too loose. I just got the pair of 60cm rods from cinevate. I had a hard time trying to inserts the rods into the mounts, ended up with tons of scratches on the rods. I guess rods like these just had tiny variations that may give problems when precision is sorta necessary.

But thats just my point of view. And this is my first time using a rod support system, maybe I'm just being a little too bitchy.

Jiekai
 
benhuddleston said:
I think I know what the issue might be. I've heard it's apparently difficult for makers of Carbon Fiber things to get them to end up being specific, precise sizes (after the resin in the CF cures completely). As a result, variations of a half millimeter or so are common. That's not good for us, needing rods at precisely 15mm.
Click to expand...

Makes sense. I have a pair of Cavision rods and one is definitely smaller than the other (or one is larger...either way they are not precisely the same size).
 
Yeah, fatter. Bad things happen when you try to force carbon fibre beyond it's limits. It won't be the metal rods plate that gives out, it'll start to scratch the rods and then... the bad thing happens.

e
 
But just to be clear, in ordder to receive support the bracket SHOULD in theory be tight around the rods? If that is the case I will just e-mail indifocus and ask for a replacement/refund...but I want to be clear that that is what I should want to happen ;)

Thanks,
Mark.
 
Just contact Tim Ovel. Studio4 has stellar customer service and he [almost certainly] will make it right.

e
 
Just like to note that I received my Cinevate carbon fiber rails setup, and I had no problems with it. Fits with all my accessories that are made for standard 15mm rails. Sorry you ran into problems with yours.

I will say that the carbon fiber coating is easily scratched but that's to be expected. There were already some scratches on the rods when I opened up the shipment. It wasn't a big deal to me though.
 
Keep in mind that the support bracket on the Extreme is simply taking weight off of your thread ring. So, even though it is not tight (as it should be), using your Extreme with the current rods should be fine. Your adapter won't slide off the front of your rods because your thread rings hold it latterly.

Of course you should get the rods switched out with ones that do fit properly but don't let the loose fit hold you back from trying out the Extreme while you wait for the replacement rods :)
 
Although my Letus Rails Support isn't tightening to my "standard 15mm" IndiRAILS, I am able to screw it in to the DOF lens mount very tight. Check out how I am using it along with my IndiFOCUSpro:

letusRailSupport.jpg
 
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