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2010Steadi-Newbies forum

Flying RED One cameras on Steadicam rigs and weight management strategies

16 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.

What the thread found

  • A stripped RED One body weighs around 10 pounds, but a fully equipped setup with lens, matte box, focus motor, battery, hard drive, and monitor typically reaches 35 pounds or more
  • Weight can be reduced significantly by using clip-on matte boxes, shooting to compact flash cards instead of external hard drives, removing the RED baseplate and using top brackets for rod support, and powering the camera from the sled rather than onboard batteries
  • The lightest documented RED configuration achieved was 19 pounds including an 18-50mm zoom lens, two focus motors, hard drive, timecode device, and wireless video transmitter
  • Different RED camera sources have different weight implications: privately owned cameras often lack lightweight third-party brackets, while rental house cameras may include weight-saving accessories
  • Steadicam rigs with 28 to 35 pound payload capacity can handle RED One setups, but configuration choices directly determine whether a particular rig will be sufficient
  • Using external hard drive mounts designed for Steadicam use can significantly reduce weight compared to the RED-supplied battery and hard drive bracket

Depends on

  • Exact final weight depends heavily on lens selection, accessory choices, and whether power is delivered from sled or onboard
  • Weight reduction strategies require advance planning and may not be available on all RED cameras depending on ownership and available accessories
  • Experience described is from 2010 and specific to RED One model; does not account for newer RED camera models
  • One operator reported payload concerns even with a 28-pound capacity arm when using RED prime lenses

Parts

Base Plate

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