The FM lounge (Discussion of anything not related to FM price and discount)

[Hans Punk]

 

I need help , if any of you have another way to locate Mindaugas . The problem is that my FM leads from the 18th sent but fails to Spain , is turning the world again and again. And from the 23 Mindaugas not answer my emails . Fedex does not give any solution.

 

​

From what you have explained so far, it sounds like a FedEx issue.

FedEx will be able to check your shipment and investigate what is going on. You need to talk to a customer service member over the phone who can put out a call to halt and re-direct your shipment to the correct address. The good thing about FedEx is that they a big company who can (and will) investigate and rectify a problem if you tell them all the details. Over the phone is always much better than email.

I imagine Mindaugas may possibly be away for the Christmas period?...I would expect anyone to be slower to contact at this time of year, so I would not panic if you are not getting replies. He won't be able to do anything more than you can in relation to your shipment, it's up to FedEx to rectify.

I don't know if this is relevant but my FM delivery had a hand written address that my Fedex delivery guy could not read properly. He got the house number wrong so it kept being returned to my local FedEx depot as 'unoccupied address'. By the time I got FedEx on the phone to investigate - the delivery was delayed by almost a week, making my priority shipping not very cost effective.

As a complete wild guess - I wonder if the shipment is being rejected by unclear destination address being displayed on the package? I thought it was all done by barcodes and robots these days, but after my delivery delay was due to a short sighted delivery driver - I've learnt not to underestimate human error. A couple of phone calls to FedEx will get to the root of the problem for sure, worst case scenario you will get a refund on the PayPal or credit card payment you made.

 

 

[Julio Garcia Fernandez]

Thank you for answer. Im calling FEDEX everyday, they says that the lens is going to Spain in every call i make... Of course i prefer the lens but the money. Mindaugas answer me today, he is going to call FEDEX tomorrow and told me don't trust the tracking... i don't know, im really desperate.

This is the last update:

 

Fecha/hora	Actividad		Ubicación
29/12/2014 - Lunes
01:24	En tránsito		GUANGZHOU CN
28/12/2014 - Domingo
22:31	Llegado a la ubicación de FedEx		GUANGZHOU CN
14:54	En tránsito		MUMBAI IN
00:32	Abandonó las instalaciones de FedEx		ROISSY CHARLES DE GAULLE CEDEX FR

[Cosimo murgolo]

 Mindaugas answer me today, he is going to call FEDEX tomorrow and told me don't trust the tracking... i don't know, im really desperate.

 

Ok that's good news, please let us know when your FM arrives.

I am sure this inconvenience will be sorted out.

Take care

[Hans Punk]

I commissioned RAF Camera to make me a metal focus gear for my FM lens, he's now selling them on his site. I expect to receive mine in a few days (so I'll see if my measurements were correct!) and I'll report back when I've got it up and running...in case others here might be interested in purchasing, here's the link:

http://rafcamera.com/en/gear-fm-lens-88-107-32mm

I don't have any association with Raf other than me being a happy customer of his for a couple of years...so I'm not getting a discount or kickback for sharing this link - I just thought a few people here might be interested in getting a quality metal gear for their FM lens.

 

I'm sure AnamorphicShop will release their own focus ring in the new year in ABS or metal, but I needed to get one made before then.

[Cosimo murgolo]

I commissioned RAF Camera to make me a metal focus gear for my FM lens, he's now selling them on his site. I expect to receive mine in a few days (so I'll see if my measurements were correct!) and I'll report back when I've got it up and running...in case others here might be interested in purchasing, here's the link:

http://rafcamera.com/en/gear-fm-lens-88-107-32mm

I don't have any association with Raf other than me being a happy customer of his for a few years...so I'm not getting a discount or kickback for sharing this link - I just thought a few people here might be interested in getting a quality metal gear for their FM lens.

 

I'm sure AnamorphicShop will release their own focus ring in the new year in ABS or metal, but I needed to get one made before then.

 

​Hans, it looks nice, I am going to buy one too,  or shall I wait for yours to arrive, just to make sure it will work.

Will it work with my fotga dp500? or do I need to replace something on it?

Where is  Raf located ? Is it in Europe?

Thanks again!!!!

[Hans Punk]

Raf is based in Belarus and offers standard or EMS shipping on his products. 

I hope to have my gear in the next few days and will be happy to confirm compatibility for anyone considering getting one. I'm 99.9% sure I measured everything correctly to get the optimum width for standard follow focus drive gear (to cover the focus travel distance) - so I'll post a mini review as soon as I can, as I'm not sure the gear has yet been confirmed or fitted to an actual FM lens yet!

The fotga dp500 setup looks like it will work well, the RAF gear will be a bit of a large beast - but I can see you can space the fotga focus drive gear to accommodate the diameter.

[racer5]

yes, I am astounded by the cineluxes I've been testing.  85mm f1.4 no sweat on full frame.  As i said on a previous topic, the lack of multiple elements of these modern lenses (only 2 elements in the cinelux) are going to seriously limit the amount of character the cinelux imparts on the image - we wont see magic like you see from the old Panavision or Todd-AO lenses as used in Apocalypse Now.  

​richg - late reply here as I'm still catching up on this thread, but on the topic of Apocalypse: I started an ASC subscription 20+ years ago, and this subject has come up in the magazine more than once over the years. In fact I've noticed that if you go further back in the archives, the Apocalypse issues tend to sell out, starting with the May 1980 issue (a retrospective of notable films from '79 - I don't think it was featured before that).

While I've also seen reference to Panavision and Todd AO being used on the film, Storaro and the second unit DP have always said they filmed it with Cooke zooms adapted by an Italian company that Storaro had a longstanding relationship with - going back to his relatively low budget work with Bertolucci. The anamorphic adapters they used sat behind the Cooke sphericals. I think a sequence may have been filmed by Coppola in Panavision before Storaro arrived. 

 

[robbing]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oa3tmrtw8d3stn6/Screen Shot 2014-12-22 at 9.43.18 PM.png?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6v9z5z6eim4kc88/Screen Shot 2014-12-22 at 9.42.56 PM.png?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9rcnqo8etwrcwfh/Screen Shot 2014-12-22 at 9.43.27 PM.png?dl=0

Screenshots and the video should be live below shortly.

 

 

 

​F****g awesome!

If this module may fit on a Square-front Lomo could be the most powerful tool of the world.

I´ve Sankor 16D,Hypergonar and others projection lenses too,but tele-anamorphic is not very practical to shot films.

[robbing]

Thank you for answer. Im calling FEDEX everyday, they says that the lens is going to Spain in every call i make... Of course i prefer the lens but the money. Mindaugas answer me today, he is going to call FEDEX tomorrow and told me don't trust the tracking... i don't know, im really desperate.

This is the last update:

 

Fecha/hora	Actividad		Ubicación
29/12/2014 - Lunes
01:24	En tránsito		GUANGZHOU CN
28/12/2014 - Domingo
22:31	Llegado a la ubicación de FedEx		GUANGZHOU CN
14:54	En tránsito		MUMBAI IN
00:32	Abandonó las instalaciones de FedEx		ROISSY CHARLES DE GAULLE CEDEX FR

​Paciencia tio.

También tuve que esperar para recibir una BMC. Es una putada pero al final llega.

Suerte!

[Julio Garcia Fernandez]

Robbing gracias por los ánimos, pero salió el 18 de lituania y ha dado ya 4 vueltas al mundo!!!!!.......

[robbing]

Robbing gracias por los ánimos, pero salió el 18 de lituania y ha dado ya 4 vueltas al mundo!!!!!.......

​Hostia que locura!

Lo mío fue retención en barajas por dos semanas aun habiendo pagado aranceles por adelantado.  FedEx no es barato como para que hagan estas cosas!

El vendedor me echó una mano,pero el marrón me lo comí yo.

Tienes que llamarles a saco todos los días,no esperes a que contacten contigo porque pasan de todo. Se todo lo diplomático que puedas al teléfono,muerdete la lengua,ponerse borde es peor.

A ver si tienes suerte,estas cosas frustran mucho. Animo!

[Kristoferman]

​You will need some sort of lens support bracket that clamps to the rails and screws into the 1/4 hole on the FM ring clamp.

I would highly recommend a support that clamps/ locks to both rails - as most quick release lens support brackets only lock to one rail and are not totally secure when holding the full weight of the FM lens.

After trying two different lens support brackets this is what I went for, as it enables height adjustment for different cameras, allows locking of the 1/4 screw pillar (many supports like this don't lock against twist) and it's made from a quality supplier: http://store.berkeysystem.com/lens-support/

there are cheaper alternatives out there that will do the job for sure...if the jag35 baseplate allows decent height adjustment, it will be fine to use a rail lens support that is at a fixed height. There are many rail/ lens support brackets out there...might be useful for others to share what works for them?

​Looking around, it's actually pretty tough to find quality support for less than that!

 

Which would you choose between the Berkey or this one?

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/750896-REG/Shape_wlb_LENSSUP1_Lens_Support.html

 

I only ask because I'm buying a bunch of filters from BHPhoto and would prefer them shipped at the same time

[Kristoferman]

Also which follow focuses are ya'll using?  I was either going to go with the Sidekick Pro from jag35, or go really cheap and grab the Fotga...Unsure of the quality i'll be receiving though.

[Hans Punk]

​Looking around, it's actually pretty tough to find quality support for less than that!

 

Which would you choose between the Berkey or this one?

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/750896-REG/Shape_wlb_LENSSUP1_Lens_Support.html

 

I only ask because I'm buying a bunch of filters from BHPhoto and would prefer them shipped at the same time

​I'm still waiting for my Berkey support to arrive, but I can say that a non quick-release type rail clamp is the way to go (needs locks on both rails - full 15mm holes).The issue that I can see with the support you linked to is that it has a curved support cradle and would not mate with the flat base with 1/4 hole on the FM ring clamp. 

If you are using the jag35 or Fotga then you can easily grab a much cheaper support bracket that is fixed height - as you can easily adjust the camera height to compensate.

In this case, a support like this will work: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DSLR-15mm-Rod-Clamp-1-4-Screw-Thread-Rail-Block-For-DSLR-USB-Follow-Focus-5D2-/281120986471

The only reason I went for the Berkey support is because I wanted to use on my camera cage/ rail base that is fairly limited in it's height adjustment. I also wanted flexibility to use the FM on other camera rigs - where different offset heights are sometimes needed.

I tried this support recently and was not successful, as the locking screw on the support post does tighten enough to prevent twist. It broke within 2 mins, so I ordered the Berkey to replace: http://www.fotodioxpro.com/studio-lighting-backdrops-camera-support-systems/fotodiox-pro-yoke-universal-telephoto-long-lens-support-bracket.html

 

'Also which follow focuses are ya'll using?'

I plan on using my Edelkrone focus one pro - I'll be interested to see if the single rod clamp is tight enough to deal with the torque of the focus gear I've got coming. So far I've been really impressed with the Edelkrone.

Most follow focus' should work fine, as long as they can be adjusted to deal with larger lenses - most do, even the cheaper ones. As with anything - you get what you pay for...so if you can, aim for a good brand.

[Kristoferman]

Thanks for your input. I went ahead and just got the Berkey for the flexibility and (hopefully!) quality.

 

 

[Hans Punk]

After playing around for a VND solution for the taking lens on the FM I've found a good solution.

I've used a Cokin double-threaded 72mm VND. (The front filter thread is 77mm).

I screwed a collapsible rubber lens hood to the 77mm front and folded back to form a rubber ring grip that controls the VND spin. The cool thing is that the lens hood is also double threaded, so the internal thread ring of the hood provides a barrier when positioning to the cinelux rear or FM aluminium mounting tube (although 77-67mm step down ring would be safer to protect from FM tube rear) .

This means that there is less risk of the ND glass or anamorphic rear touching - yet it provides a very nice close alignment, without having to hard mount together.  

I've used:

72mm Cokin PURE Harmonie Variable NDX filter

Kood 77mm 77 Universal Rubber Lens Hood (nice knurled grip on outside)

49-72mm step ring (or whatever starting diameter for your taking lens)

If an additional 77-72mm step ring is inserted into the lens hood front - it is also possible to make a semi-hard linkage to the 72mm FM cinelux thread adapter ring.The VND can spin a few 360 degree rotations until the thread would eventually tighten and come to an stop. This is a good solution if you want 100% light/ dustproof connection as well as know that the taking lens is perfectly aligned. 

 

[Cosimo murgolo]

After playing around for a VND solution for the taking lens on the FM I've found a good solution.

I've used a Cokin double-threaded 72mm VND. (The front filter thread is 77mm).

I screwed a collapsible rubber lens hood to the 77mm front and folded back to form a rubber ring grip that controls the VND spin. The cool thing is that the lens hood is also double threaded, so the internal thread ring of the hood provides a barrier when positioning to the cinelux rear or FM aluminium mounting tube.

This means that there is no risk of the ND glass or anamorphic rear touching - yet it provides a very nice close alignment, without having to hard mount together.  

I've used:

72mm Cokin PURE Harmonie Variable NDX filter

Kood 77mm 77 Universal Rubber Lens Hood (nice knurled grip on outside)

49-72mm step ring (or whatever starting diameter for your taking lens)

 

​lovely Hans, I am going to give it a go, thank you so much!!!!

[Cosimo murgolo]

Meanwhile I found a better solution for the FM+ sankor 16D combo

[VLFV]

Great work guys. Long time reader in the background, but hope to contribute soon. Already bought my Schneider Cinelux, now just need the FM lens. Facebook says the sold out already, so a bit of a wait for those of us who didn't invest into the first batch.

@Hans Punk how is that gear from Raf working out for you? Will definitely buy one once I get the FM.

 

[Kristoferman]

What's going on there exactly?