RedRock M2 versus Cinevate Brevis : A Review...

The diffuser used in this test was the Cinefuse 1 which is great for low light conditions..

I realized a few days after I did this video test that I COULD have stopped down my HVX's iris to 5.6 - Instead, it was completely wide open because for some reason, that's what I thought it had to be at. With 2 ND filters, cutting out 4 stops of light, I still was overexposed with the Brevis shooting at f/4 with my Nikkor glass. If I stopped the HVX down, you would have seen a much better image, similar to the dynamic range you currently see in the darker m2. As long as you have a few ND filters, the Brevis works just fine outdoors with the standard cinefuse 1 diffuser that it ships with..

As far as the Coke, Pepsi comparison, I don't know about that.. Different adapters out there for different applications. In my humble opinion, the best stuff I've seen has come out of the P+S - The M2 is a great allaround go-to solution, it does the job, the company is all about interchangeable solid gear and it makes a nice picture, albeit for me, some softness and vignetting with my current lenses. The Brevis so far is the only lightweight portable solution out there and in that category it excels. Every shooter has their own taste, whether it be in their image style, portability or in their wallets.
 
Richard, Have you tried the P+S on the HVX? Is that what you thought looked better? i assume uyou didn't do a head to heade comparison with that though. What did you like about the P+S?
 
by bringing the stop down were you able to stilll maintain the same depth of field? Or by bring it down you lost noticable depth?
 
Bringing the stop down on the HVX doesn't really change the DOF at all, it actually makes the image slightly sharper since the camera performs best between f/4 and f/5.6 - And no, I've never used the P+S and HVX but I have friends who have and I've seen there footage and it's always nice and pretty.. Plus the image is right side up, but personally I don't think its smart to buy one of those, rent it if the client wants it and get a brevis or m2 instead, depending on your needs..
 
The mini35 is really nice but it eats too much light. we needed a 2k set up to shoot my friends short. and even then it was slightly under exposed.
 
Peter, basically high shutter speed grain and a bit more noise that I would like. Neither are major issues for 95% of owners, however it's still the 5% we want happy too. Fortunately, we have solutions for both in testing.

Later down the line (still in engineering) we are working on a very elegant movement that will have full user tailorable frequency and amplitude. This will allow inclusion of some option GG's for very specific needs. At that point there will likely be two products...one identical to the current model, and the fancy pants movement version.
 
Hi Dennis,

rgdfilms mentioned in his blog shutter speed 250 for the vibration to start showing. Is this your count to ?

Thanks
Andreas
 
It depends on the diffuser used. I've got my test unit to do 1/500s just fine, but the drive system is not ready for prime time yet. There are a number of variables at play, but ultimately the answer to grain free, high shutter use, lies in a combination of specialized diffuser and some drive tweaks. We should have that sorted in a month or so :) Having the XH-A1 as a test bed here in the shop was long overdue, and has already paid a few dividends in the "Cinefuse 2" final developement :)
 
Dennis have you considered an adjustable speed GG. this way you can have a "high speed" mde for high shutter work. and regualr speed for coventional shootin.
 
The new drive system has that ability to very finely control oscillation. I'm finding it very usefull, particulary now that I can test in-house on HD.
 
Awesome, Dennis. Glad to hear the progress. :)

guskersthecat said:
Later down the line (still in engineering) we are working on a very elegant movement that will have full user tailorable frequency and amplitude. This will allow inclusion of some option GG's for very specific needs. At that point there will likely be two products...one identical to the current model, and the fancy pants movement version.
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This sounds very interesting. Might you estimate a time-frame for this? And price difference?
 
It's partially already done. I was going to hold off for another month or so, but based on my testing with Cinefuse 3, there is little reason not to implement the latest drive setup right away. The ability to tune the oscillations, as well as have the use of on-cam mics with 0 noise picked up, makes it a bit too compelling not to include in the current builds. I've also got a retrofit kit for existing users in the works this week.

There are extra costs both in time and material, but for now at least, we'll absorb them.

As far as the advanced drive system (independent frequency/amplitude control), we have some engineering/developement to do yet. I'd ball park six months. I've never seen even an unrelated application of the technology, so it's definitely new territory for all concerned. It will be modular, and there will be an upgrade path for existing users. Price difference is hard to guess, but I would predict $150 to $200.
 
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Most folks these days (me included) are looking for primes. A nice set would be 28mm, 50mm, 85mm and perhaps a 135. Optimally, nothing slower than f2.8 . There's some stunning HVX footage from Ken Willinger using a fast Nikor 16mm on the Brevis. This is not the hot tip for shallow DOF, but a great lens to have in the collection.

These would combine to give both the best image quality and range.
 
guskersthecat said:
Optimally, nothing slower than f2.8.
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So f1.4 is not so good? Can you elaborate a bit? I'm still very new getting into these 35mm adapters. My experience has always been with the fixed lens, unfortunately. Although I did have and use the old anamorphic adapter with the DVX.
 
DC, f1.4 is faster than 2.8. Dennis means anything that does not open that wide is not very useful indoors. Outdoors even 4.5 lenses are probably fine.

Dennis, does this mean I'm getting the new version? That sounds exciting. As my partner is a sound man, the quietre motor will go a long way for us.

Lenny Levy
 
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