What the thread found

• A RED Epic camera equipped with production accessories such as motors, lenses, mattebox, filters, wireless transmitters, and batteries can easily reach 25 pounds or more, which may exceed the capacity of a gimbal arm with standard springs.
• An onboard battery mounted low and toward the rear of the camera serves dual purposes by adding useful ballast weight and helping to balance the gimbal without requiring additional lead weights.
• Using an Arri dovetail plate on the Epic provides useful adjustment range for fore/aft positioning and adds weight low on the camera platform, improving gimbal placement without requiring high-mounted ballast that shifts the center of gravity.
• Vibration problems with heavy lenses on a RED Epic can be reduced by ensuring the screws attaching the mount to the camera body are tight and by adding a solid lens support locked to the iris rods rather than foam padding.
• Flying with multiple batteries on an Epic can result in a balanced setup comparable to larger cameras like an Alexa, though the Epic's shorter body length reduces pan inertia characteristics.

Depends on

• Recommendations are based on experience with the RED Epic and may not apply identically to other camera models.
• One participant advocated removing the Arri dovetail as dead weight while others found it essential for balancing, indicating different valid approaches depending on specific project needs and accessory configurations.
• Solutions for vibration issues were discussed theoretically and through partial troubleshooting rather than complete resolution documented in the thread.

Parts

Dovetail Plate

Same gear or parts

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