hirohhhh Posted January 17, 2020 Share #1 Posted January 17, 2020 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm willing to get more into the video, as 99% of the time I was shooting photography with my Leica SL. Do you know if there are any rigs specifically designed for SL, or if not which ones does really good job with the SL body, so I can pull out the battery, access the sockets, memory cards even if the rig is mounted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 Hi hirohhhh, Take a look here Leica SL Rig. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Jonathan Levin Posted January 18, 2020 Share #2 Posted January 18, 2020 How about This: LOCK CIRCLE “METAL JACKET” CINEMA PRODUCTION CAGE FOR LEICA SL (TYP 601) google Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirohhhh Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share #3 Posted January 18, 2020 Yeah, I just found that after posting the topic, but I didn't find quite a lot information from the users. Couple videos from the creators and handful of reviews. Not even a mention on this forum. It's a beautiful piece of metal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Levin Posted January 18, 2020 Share #4 Posted January 18, 2020 Yes it is really cool. I think it is a very small company but hard to find any info. I emailed them with a question a month or so ago and never heard back. I am looking for a rig like this for SL2 for my video work. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardC Posted January 18, 2020 Share #5 Posted January 18, 2020 I have an SL (601) LockCircle cage. What do you want to know? The cage serves two main functions for me, it allows me to mount a follow-focus (LockCircle's titanium 15mm rods are gorgeous), and it allows me to mount an Atomos recorder on an arm. To be honest, I think people often buy these cages because they look cool. I don't bother mounting it much of the time, especially if I will be using the Atomos remotely with a long HDMI cable. It makes sense for certain setups, but it's extra bulk if you don't need to mount extra gear on the camera. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirohhhh Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share #6 Posted January 18, 2020 Thanks Bernard, I'm trying to get more into video after being in photography for a past couple years and almost never recorded a video on my SL or any camera. The only videos I ever too was the kids on my iPhone lol. Now I'm becoming more interested in video, but want to utilize my SL as much as possible, and all the lenses I already own, instead of switching to another ecosystem that is probably better for video. As I go with learning I discovered so many things that are absolutely necessary for any serious video shooting and also things that are nice to have, such as external displays, extra storage and other things that can be mount on a rig such as Metal Jacket. So, it's not that I absolutely need it, but it might become necessary and it's also cool looking Also, I hate to buy a rig that is not specifically designed for a particular camera, and then have a problem with pulling out the battery or accessing the sd cards, so I think Metal Jacket is the best, and the only SL solution as far as I know. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caissa Posted January 19, 2020 Share #7 Posted January 19, 2020 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Film and Digital Times https://www.fdtimes.com/2019/11/06/leica-sl2/ "Lock Circle Metal Jacket 2" for the SL2. Even more from cinema5d https://www.cinema5d.com/lockcircle-metaljacket-2-cage-leica-sl2/ I don't know about availability (maybe ask the author of the article about details or directly lockcircle). https://www.lockcircle.com is an Italian company. They write about the beauty of titanium.... It makes me shudder. (Thinking of implants after breaking bones.) Edited January 19, 2020 by caissa Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardC Posted January 19, 2020 Share #8 Posted January 19, 2020 5 hours ago, caissa said: I don't know about availability Go to lockcircle.com. They still have one SL cage in their bargain section 16 hours ago, hirohhhh said: I want to utilize my SL as much as possible, and all the lenses I already own What lenses do you own? I haven't found a good solution for adding lens gears to M lenses, especially ones with focus tabs. Of course you don't need to use lens gears and a follow focus, but the gears help with short-throw lenses, even without a follow-focus. R lenses and other manual focus SLR lenses are easy to use. SL and other AF lenses can be more trouble than help, unless you really need auto focus. The problem is that the focus action isn't predictable or repeatable. I agree with you that a dedicated, high-quality cage is best. Before I got the Lockcircle, I tried to adapt a "generic SLR" cage that I already owned. It didn't fit right, moved around a bit, got in the way of controls, and it was needlessly bulky. If you are going to get a cage, you should definitely get the LockCircle while you still can. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Levin Posted January 19, 2020 Share #9 Posted January 19, 2020 Thanks BernardC. They have a small group of resellers and the two in the US Abelcine and B&H. Both special order. So LockCircle definitely small batch company. I wish they had a contact in the US to ask questions. My first question I suppose would be how many $$$ are these? I probably wouldn't be shopping for the 15000.00 or > .on a Leitz Cine lens unless I win the lottery. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardC Posted January 20, 2020 Share #10 Posted January 20, 2020 I bought mine straight from the factory. Leica R lenses are highly sought-after by the cine crowd. It's really easy to slip-on rubber rings if you have any of those lenses. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted January 20, 2020 Share #11 Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) Can I suggest starting slowly? Worry about getting good sound as that is half the quality that goes with doing a video well. (check B&H for clip-on directional or semidirectional mikes if you want to keep things simple.) Then put your SL or SL2 on a tripod with any reasonable pan head (not ballhead, unless you just want to fix it in position) and shoot a family event. In good light, and in 4K or Cine4K resolution. You will be gobsmacked, but see if anyone else cares... Then if you are still convinced to go on to master video, it's time for the cage and external monitor. The microphone can be about $100-200, but the cage and external monitor and some of the other gadgets (a gimbal?) are about ten times as much of an investment. P.S. get a furry wind cover for your mike. Be sure to refer to it as a "dead cat" and you will be on your way to projecting a professional approach. Edited January 20, 2020 by scott kirkpatrick 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirohhhh Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share #12 Posted January 20, 2020 Hi Scott, Thanks for the step-by-step guide. Very useful for a video newbie :) I bought the mic couple days ago (Rode VideoMic NTG), just to realize that SL doesn't have 3.5mm audio jack, so I'm now waiting for $200 Leica adaptor to arrive in about couple weeks. Until then, it just sits on my shelf. And yeah, I also bought the compatible fur. As for the tripod, all I have is a ballheaded that I used for photography, but I'm considering buying one for video. As for the gadgets, like gimbal - I rented Crane 2, also to find out it does not support Leica, so I cannot connect it and control it from the gimbal, but rather from the camera which I found very hard to use and not using the full potential of it. Not sure if DJI can be connected with SL, but on their website it's not listed in the support cameras. If anyone uses gimbal with SL, I'd love to hear experiences. On the other note (if it's even politically correct to say that on this forum), although I love my SL and I'll certainly keep it for the photography. I'm considering buying Lumix S1H for the video. It seems like a great camera for video and connects with each and everything. Also, if any SL user here has or used S1H, I'd love to hear more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted January 21, 2020 Share #13 Posted January 21, 2020 (edited) I've heard good things about the S1H. In particular, it can run more than 29 minutes without stopping for overheating or customs tariff reasons, but it does impose an AA filter, which makes it less interesting for stills. On "speeds and feeds" Leica's SL2 and the S1H are probably equal today, but who knows in the future. I doubt that the SL can keep up, with all of its little annoyances like the special audio connector (the SL2 fixed that one). But the SL does make gorgeous 4K images so go ahead and try that part out while you hunt for the connector. I've used an audio recorder to accept balanced XLR inputs and cover the 29 minute limitation when recording theatre performances. They range from cheap but adequate up to Sound Devices' MixPre3, which puts lovely sound on an SD card and has great controls, still not very expensive and has multiple other uses. Edited January 21, 2020 by scott kirkpatrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocalHero1953 Posted January 21, 2020 Share #14 Posted January 21, 2020 As an alternative L-mount for video, consider the Sigma fp. Much smaller, lighter & cheaper than the S1 series. No customs tariff time limitations. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirohhhh Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share #15 Posted January 21, 2020 Both of you mentioned "customs tariff" - can you explain what do you mean by this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted January 21, 2020 Share #16 Posted January 21, 2020 Since long ago, in some countries there have been tariffs applied to the import of video cameras that did not apply to still imaging equipment or projectors. I think this goes back to the early days of Japan beginning to effectively compete with European manufacturers like Philipps and Thomson. So when still cameras became capable of shooting video, someone came up with the limitation to 30 minutes to show that they were not video equipment. This is all hearsay, may not still be true, or may only apply across some specific borders, but that is how I heard the story. I remember the battles over VCR-era equipment, and this would have made sense then. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocalHero1953 Posted January 23, 2020 Share #17 Posted January 23, 2020 Nothing to add to what Scott has written on the tariff limit, but overheating can impose limitations as well. I was comparing video recording with my TL2, SL and fp, and the TL2 wouldn't run for more than about 25 minutes before shutting down to cool off. No such problems with the other two. The SL does have the 30 min limitation for internal recording, but will output to the HDMI socket for external recording as long as the battery lasts (towards 2 hrs). The fp of course has a heat sink on the back, so is designed for this purpose. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted January 23, 2020 Share #18 Posted January 23, 2020 (edited) The Panasonic S1H has air-cooling and no time restrictions. All of the recent models, e.g. S1 or SL2, offer external power inputs using USB-C. So power is becoming less of a problem, and as far as I know all still cameras that export to an external monitor and recorder are no longer time-limited. I saw a forum post complaining that one of the recent still camera models stopped for overheating at about 5-10 minutes, but I don't know what codec (internal bandwidth) was used. If the stopping is for a software limit, it is easy to catch a scene blackout or some other opportunity to pause a second and restart. Overheating puts you out of action for much longer. Edited January 23, 2020 by scott kirkpatrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm1 Posted December 27, 2021 Share #19 Posted December 27, 2021 I finally got the SmallRig Cage for the Lumix S1 - model 2345. I modified the metal on the Right Vertical side (Battery side) of the Rig around the SL2 strap lug. That was the only point where the SL2 differs from the S1. Easy to do with a Tungsten carbide bur in a dental lab handpiece. Hardest part was cleaning the metal dust later. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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