What 15mm support to use for Zeiss CP2s?

CraftyClown

CraftyClown

Active member
Hi guys,

we have a shoot next week, for which we are hiring in a set of CP2s. I have been advised to use lens support with these, as the hire company says that the combined weight of the adapter and the lenses is a real strain on the m43 mount.

I was hoping someone could suggest a suitable (preferably inexpensive) support system for our 15mm rods.

Any thoughts?
 
I'm not sure you need support for the CP.2. I rented a set for a shoot and it came with the Hot Rod Tuner Kit and lens support. I used the system as is and it worked great.
Does your set come with PL adapter? if so why didn't the rental house advise you.
The AF-100 max lens weight is 2.2 LBS or 1 kg.

I would also like to know what people are using as PL adapters and how they use lens support with them. That Hot Rod kit is expensive. I found a $300 PL adapter on Ebay from ciecio7. Not sure if there is a generic support for adapters.

Your avatar scares me. I have clown issues :)
 
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With the CP2s clocking in at around 1kg each sans adapter, is it not a touch risky putting that much weight on the mount without support? Or am I just being a Scaredy Cat?
 
The native m43 CP.2 mount sticks the lens out on a rather thin adapter, one that doesn't use the rest of the camera body for any support, like some of the PL adapters do. That arrangement almost certainly needs bracing (Zacuto, Redrock, and others make 15mm supports: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sugexp=kjrmc&cp=17&gs_id=32&xhr=t&q=15mm+lens+support). With prices ranging from $10 in hardware from Lowe's to $150 for a high end solution, it's very cheap insurance against breaking the mount, having the glass drop to the floor, and trying to finish the shoot that day without both.



Pssst! Erik! It's avatar, not aviator.
 
It depends on how you're mounting them to the camera. If the lenses have m43 mount, then yes I'd recommend using some sort of support under the mount. If they're PL mount, then most PL adapters ride on rails anyway, and you definitely wouldn't need any additional support beyond what the PL adapter's rails mount provides.
 
Barry_Green said:
It depends on how you're mounting them to the camera. If the lenses have m43 mount, then yes I'd recommend using some sort of support under the mount. If they're PL mount, then most PL adapters ride on rails anyway, and you definitely wouldn't need any additional support beyond what the PL adapter's rails mount provides.
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Cheers Barry, just had a chat with the guy at the rental company and he said their CP2s were PL mount, however the adapter they provide does not have rail support.

Would I be better off trying to get hold of a mount adapter with rail attachments? I'm aware of the Hotrod tuner kit, but $1700 is out of my price range. I have also contacted MTF who can provide me with a two part PL to M43 adapter and support system for £630.00. The other option is a company called Movie Camera Support who have an adjustable lens support that can be mounted to rails for £500.00.

I'm not really sure what my best option is here. It all seems very expensive though!
 
CraftyClown said:
Cheers Barry, just had a chat with the guy at the rental company and he said their CP2s were PL mount, however the adapter they provide does not have rail support.

Would I be better off trying to get hold of a mount adapter with rail attachments? I'm aware of the Hotrod tuner kit, but $1700 is out of my price range. I have also contacted MTF who can provide me with a two part PL to M43 adapter and support system for £630.00. The other option is a company called Movie Camera Support who have an adjustable lens support that can be mounted to rails for £500.00.

I'm not really sure what my best option is here. It all seems very expensive though!
Click to expand...

I would suggest renting from a rental house that takes protecting their equipment (and your shoot!) seriously. Most better rental houses rent the Hot Rod PL System, so your chosen vendor could certainly sub-rent a Hot Rod Tuner Kit for you from another rental supplier, it happens every day. If your rental provider doesn't want to sub-rent, or is not yet reputable enough that other rental houses will rent to them, you could always rent a Tuner Kit for about $100 from Lensrentals.com and they ship all over - http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/video/lenses/adapters/hot-rod-pl-tuner-kit-for-micro-4-3

Hope this helps!
 
Illya Friedman said:
I would suggest renting from a rental house that takes protecting their equipment (and your shoot!) seriously. Most better rental houses rent the Hot Rod PL System, so your chosen vendor could certainly sub-rent a Hot Rod Tuner Kit for you from another rental supplier, it happens every day. If your rental provider doesn't want to sub-rent, or is not yet reputable enough that other rental houses will rent to them, you could always rent a Tuner Kit for about $100 from Lensrentals.com and they ship all over - http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/video/lenses/adapters/hot-rod-pl-tuner-kit-for-micro-4-3

Hope this helps!
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Cheers Illya, Lensrentals.com looks great, but unfortunately I'm UK based and I don't think they'll send them that far :)

I know a rental house that has the hotrod kit for their GH2. Would the same kit work with the AF101?
 
Do you have a lens support from the 35mm adapter days you could use to support the PL adapter? That should do the same job as the PL kits with support no? Would probably need a riser to get to the correct height though.
 
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