Heyo!Yeah so I gave in and bought my first gimbal ever and thought I should buy the RS2 Pro Combo and so far I'm very happy about this decision. Very solid, very easy to operate and so far no issues at all.
But....
I've got a rather exotic problem to solve with my setup. I want to use the vertical grip on my A7S, solely for the purpose of battery extension, together with quite short minolta (vintage) lenses. I really hate swapping batteries mid-shooting.
The issue I have is that the rod for the focus motor is just too short to reach the lens.
So i thought I just buy me the extended plate from Smallrig, get the extension and - long story short - it now reaches the lens but can't balance it without putting a literal ton of counter-weights on the back of the plate. Especially when i put on the rather heavy Sigma 1.4 24mm which alone weighs 867g. The whole rig would just get too heavy to effectively work with it but also well below the weight limit the RS2 can lift.
Then if that would be solved there is still the issue of properly securing the lens because the lens support that was included is just useless because in most cases it conflicts wth the focus ring/gear and/or the lens body itself. I thought the Y-shaped one that fits the extended plate from Smallrig would do the job but for this to work i need a flat thumbscrew in order to mount it directly in front of the camera body because otherwise it would block the rail from moving. I mean i can always support the whole lens on the adapter itself by strapping it to the rod directly which in the end does not secure the lens itself but ensures the gear doesn't slip...
So is there anybody maybe who can relate and/or has fixed the problem or am I missing something obvious?
The other way to solve this problem would be to get rid of the grip and power the camera externally but as of now I couldn't figure out how to attach the raveneye, 3d-focus system and powerbank of some sort in such a way that i can't possible fall off....
I have a similar issue. I just posted about it actually.
I have the RS2 and a Nikon Z9. The focus motor isn’t tall enough to reach and engage to the gear strap on the lens. Did you ever find a solution to your problem? If so, would you mind sharing?
Actually I bought a camera cage for the camera and then went ahead and tried out several smallrig parts including several rods and mounts. There is a 15-12mm adapter rod which works flawlessly. Stabilizing the whole thing was on another level. I bought the smallrig plate and mounted the cage onto it using two screws because one wouldn't hold it in place. Then I noticed that the whole camera assembly will shift sideways because of tolerances in the body and the rubber padding on the mounting plate. So the rod pushes away the whole camera with cage. Also it will bend the rod and this is why I then developed a 3D printed rig that wraps around the lens body and the rod so they can't deviate. The bad thing here is that you would need a special rig for every type of lens. I'm currently seeking for another solution but as of now it kinda works.
Overall this has been a rollercoaster of emotions so far because the focus motor is so powerful it will push your lens in any direction it fancies which speaks for the product but also has the nasty habit of slipping through notches. This is why it is important to find something that holds both rod and camera body and lens in place rigidly. Even the slightest play will yield a considerable gap between motor and gear belt which then, after a short while, will of course result in slipping.
I can show you a picture of the whole setup but right now I don't have the time to assemble the rig. Hit me up and remember me if you're interested so I don't forget!
lvl.3
lvl.1
