Rycote Invision Video - Mini Review

[Andy Wilkinson]

Here is a link to my thoughts on the new Rycote Invision Video hot shoe mounting system for a shotgun microphone on a camera and the simple modification I've done to it, with explanatory pictures, to make it MUCH easier to slide on the camera hot shoe.

Invision

Below is the thread about the Rode NT-SM3 shock mounts (that I was previously using but which were starting to disintegrate) which resulted in the suggestion that I tried the new Invision Video.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...nt-broken.html

It's a great system and I hope this information (especially my simple mod to the Invision Video) is of some use to some of you!

[John Willett]

Interesting review thanks.

I like your suggestion of the little spring.

Regarding your complaint about the clip - I use the Rycote S-series XLR tail with all my mounts. Vibration easily travels up the cable to the mic. and the thin and flexible S-series tail effectively eliminates this noise - and the clip is perfect for that cable - retails at only £15 +VAT in the UK so is pretty cheap.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Thanks John. That's very good information about the flexible Rycote cable and the little clip on the mount. I've updated that point in my mini review so anyone who reads it is now fully aware of this.

Also, even though it's Saturday, Tim at Rycote has been in touch thanking me for the customer feedback and to tell me that they will be reviewing my little spring idea next week.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Andy Wilkinson

Thanks John. That's very good information about the flexible Rycote cable and the little clip on the mount. I've updated that point in my mini review so anyone who reads it is now fully aware of this.

Also, even though it's Saturday, Tim at Rycote has been in touch thanking me for the customer feedback and to tell me that they will be reviewing my little spring idea next week.

As I know people at Rycote I sent them the link to your review and mentioned that I thought the spring a good idea.

I had a reply last night and it looks like the spring idea will be incorporated into the product quite quickly. The one thing I really like about Rycote is that they like and listen to customer feedback. They often ship out pre-production samples to a list of users before putting into final production - funny that you were the first to suggest a spring, though. Though the best ideas always seem to be the simplest with that "why didn't I think of that?" response.

Actually - looking at your pictures, you probably have done it the best way if you are using that thick cable. If you have a thick flexible cable, you can easily use a releasable tie-wrap or double-sided Velcro strip to hold the cable to the grip.

[Chad Johnson]

Wow those Rycote S-series XLR tails are expensive! 60.00 is too rich for my blood.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Chad Johnson

Wow those Rycote S-series XLR tails are expensive! 60.00 is too rich for my blood.

They are only 15 in the UK.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Following the comments I made in my mini review (linked to at the start of this thread), I met with both Tim Constable and Simon Davies (the MD of Rytcote) at ProVideo 2010 in Coventry today.

They tell me that they are currently implementing 2 small improvements to the Invision Video on camera microphone mount, namely;

(1) A new design of cable clip that has more flexibility to accept thicker cables - if desired. Of course, the advantages of using a thin, highly flexible cable (as mentioned by John earlier in this thread) is now well understood, i.e. it allows the Lyre suspension system to do its job without fighting a thick (potentially more stiff) cable.

(2) My spring idea will be used (they are looking at either leaf or coil spring), so aiding much easier/less fiddly mounting to the camera's hot shoe.

These changes should be in the product very soon as the small component parts needed are manufactured locally to Rycote.

I must say I've been thoroughly impressed by Rycote's whole approach to my suggestions and comments on this product. Nice to see such a customer focussed company here in the UK, making great products and always keen to make them even better.

Enough said!

[Chad Johnson]

I wonder if we can get them to send out a spring to retrofit our mounts?

[Allan Black]

Hi Andy,

congratulations on the Rycote mod, good work. I don't want to pour cold water on your achievement but mentioning it on a public forum before this new stock is at all the dealers will likely kill sales of current stock on their shelves.

From my experience .. as Rycote haven't started yet this new mod can take many months to filter through and reach the stores and you don't know who picks up your post here and passes it on via other forums. Just so you're prepared if dealers complain.

Don't worry mate, the royalties should still come in :)

Cheers.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Good point Allan.....Gulp!, and Chad.

But don't worry, Simon told me that the small parts will soon be available for those that have already bought the Invision Video (and can be easily retrofitted by the user). New stock will also see these changes very soon.

I'm sure some owners might not even see or feel the need for these "tiny upgrades", after all the product works pretty damn well already - and certainly won't fail in the way my 2 previous Rode shock mounts did....

Bottom line, the spring only really helps if you're frequently mounting/dismantling the shock mount to/from the camera (as I do). My EX3 is so blumming big to pack away after a shoot it won't fit in the Petrol bag I use without taking all the mic assembly off.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Allan Black

Don't worry mate, the royalties should still come in :)

LOL

I don't get any for the stereo MS mount I designed for them - by putting standard bits together in a different way.

But Rycote are great chaps and always listen to customers comments.

[Andy Wilkinson]

They certainly do! One other thing I discussed with them was my desire to fit my stereo Sennheiser AT825 mic inside my Rycote S330 wind shield system. It works great with my (mono of course) Rode NTG-3 using the supplied short flexible "tail" cable but the thing that prevents me using it with the AT825 is the narrow hole in the S330 assembly, complete with dog leg (to reduce drafts/gently clamp the cable at the desired point I suspect). This cable exit hole is too narrow for a typical stereo mic cable like the thick one I have for the AT825 - which I well understand might have compromised the Lyre suspension system's effectiveness even if I'd got it through anyway. See the pictures in my little summary review here:

http://www.shootingimage.co.uk/Rycot...teSSeries.html

So discussing this with Simon last week and guess what. For a very modest price the've made me a special short stereo cable using the thin, highly flexible Mogami W2893 cable they use for the S300 Series. This cable has an outer jacket of 4.8 mm and will comfortably fit through the S-series cable channel and will have 5 pin XLR plugs on either end (one make, one female, so I can just hook up my existing AT825 cable using the handle "plug grip" as usual).

Got a call this afternoon that it's in the post to me. Been meaning to sort this out for so long now - at last - wind shielded stereo ambient sound here we come! I expect I'll be out and about with the Fostex and this little rig over the next few weeks!

PS, I have n't had any hate mail from Rycote dealers yet.....;-)

[Mike Beckett]

Andy,

Thanks to your review I am now the proud owner of the Universal Camera Kit (I had to go one better!), complete with the mini blimp. An excellent piece of kit, although it does make my HMC41 look a bit scary. Construction is excellent, I will be testing the performance at the weekend, including comparing it to the regular Rycote Softie.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Mike Beckett

I am now the proud owner of the Universal Camera Kit (I had to go one better!), complete with the mini blimp. An excellent piece of kit, although it does make my HMC41 look a bit scary. Construction is excellent, I will be testing the performance at the weekend, including comparing it to the regular Rycote Softie.

The Windshield supplied in the Universal Camera Kit is actually better than the Softie if you use it with the supplied Windjammer.

[Chad Johnson]

I just had the opportunity to take out my Universal Camera Kit with my NTG-3 mounted on the camera for some B-roll. The wind protection is great! BUT..... The mount itself constantly comes loose and flops around. It's got two knobs to tighten, one to tighten it to the cold shoe, and one to tighten the elbow of the arm, and the main one came loose many times no matter how tight I adjusted it, and the elbow knob came loose a few times. I'm a little bummed about that. Perhaps there is another way to configure it. I just wanted to share this feedback to see if anyone else has had the issue. When you have a mic mounted on a camera, you need to pick up the camera often and move around, so I would think they would have expected that.

Any thoughts?