Now which rails should I get? Do I need them?

I got rails & follow focus from

http://www.indifocus.com/

looked like the best value to me - with the weight of the Extreme and a lens, I wouldn't be game to go without rails. They are the 18" ones which should give me plenty of room for a long lens and a matte box.

yes there is something missing - I got the wrong adaptor, the correct mount is a couple of days away

Wait for the rails from Letus themselves, It should be out soon according to Hien. The rest of the rails out now , does not allow you to balance your rig. You want the base plate to be separated, so that you can balance your rig. Some does not allow you to mount it high enough for a matte-box too.
The only one on the market that I know that has a separate base plate and is high enough, are the rails from Cinevate

Wait for the rails from Letus themselves, It should be out soon according to Hien. The rest of the rails out now , does not allow you to balance your rig. You want the base plate to be separated, so that you can balance your rig. Some does not allow you to mount it high enough for a matte-box too.
The only one on the market that I know that has a separate base plate and is high enough, are the rails from Cinevate

So what's wrong with the rails pictured above?

I got rails & follow focus from

http://www.indifocus.com/

looked like the best value to me - with the weight of the Extreme and a lens, I wouldn't be game to go without rails. They are the 18" ones which should give me plenty of room for a long lens and a matte box.

yes there is something missing - I got the wrong adaptor, the correct mount is a couple of days away

Sorry side note... How well do you like that Libec H38 head...?

So what's wrong with the rails pictured above?

It is very heavy on the front side. , If you are not using a counter balanced tripod that can take that weight. Not the max weight that the tripod can take but the max counter weight it can take. You are risking it tilting forward. and it will also wear out the head of the tripod if you have it tilting all the time.

If the base plate is separate, you can adjust the position of the camera , adapter, matte-box , follow focus unit and lens forward and backwards along the rails and balance it.

If the base plate is separate, you can adjust the position of the camera , adapter, matte-box , follow focus unit and lens forward and backwards along the rails and balance it.

I can do all of those things -the balance is fine - I assume you have actually tried the rails in question? or are you making an assumption based on the picture?

... the 38 head is great, very happy with the whole thing

I have cavision rails and has the same concept as the indie rails . they are fixed to the camera. I also tried the Cinevate rails and you can adjust the position of the whole rig back and forward which niether the cavision or indie rails allows to do so. Even the more expensive Zacuto rails need to have a counter balance lunch box fitted at the back to balance the whole rig.

Not everybody out there has a long tripod plate to allow balancing. What about those who use a manfrotto 503 or 501HDV or tripod with out long enough plates

Sorry mate you're confusing me -all I know is I'm happy with the indirails.

they fit out of the box and I can do all the adjustment I need

I can do all of those things -the balance is fine - I assume you have actually tried the rails in question? or are you making an assumption based on the picture?

... the 38 head is great, very happy with the whole thing

You can't do those things because the base plate is fix to the tripod and the camera sits above it. you can only adjust the length of your rods , but you can't adjust the position of your camera. The Camera is always siting on the base plate which is above the tripod.

Go here and see this design from Hien and you will know what I mean.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/attachment.php?attachmentid=4341&d=1195001681

And here for the XHA1 with Cinevate rails:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1093472&postcount=29

You will notice that both system here has the camera away from the base plate. Which is what I meant. Which neither your rails or mine can do.

I think I understand your point (I couldn't see the first image )

I've been adjusting the balence by moving the quick release plate back before locking it in place.

When I get the FD mount (any day now) I'll set the whole thing up and take some pictures.

There is a new part that ships with the xtreme version of the indiRAILSpro that allows for the counter balancing of the camera rigs. I'll post some photos on Monday--being Thanksgiving weekend and all.
You can get the indiRAILSpro xtreme version now, for $149. No need to wait 4-6 weeks, or pay over $300.
To purchasers of the indiRAILSpro that would like the new mount peice, we will send them out, no charge, just drop us a line with the address.

To purchasers of the indiRAILSpro that would like the new mount peice, we will send them out, no charge, just drop us a line with the address.

sounds good to me, the balance isn't a problem at the moment but I love getting free stuff :-)

Hi Paul, can you hook your rig with a matte box? There have been reports that the indie rails can't do a vertical off set of to accommodate the Extreme or economy with a HV20 or a DVX with a matte box attached.

I haven't tried the HV20 yet but I'm assuming I just need to add a plate between the rails & the base to get the right height, not a major drama.

As for the matte box I'm undecided what to buy. I've looked at the indian one..

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Matte-box-French-Flag-for-Canon-XL1-XL2-PD150-170-FX1_W0QQitemZ160183625467QQihZ006QQcategoryZ3319QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

for that sort of money I can hack it to fit

Let's face it, not all rails will fit all adaptors with any mattebox etc etc.. you work with what you've got.

I'm happy with the indirails & followfocus for the LEX and the A1 and if I can fit all that together then the HV20 is just a bit higher. In 6 months I may rate it as a bad investment but I don't think so. Our first short with this setup will be shot in 2 weeks - I'm confident it will do the job

set up and tested everything

the follow focus and lenses work well as does the dodgy case I adapted from an old sony case.

Wanna see some footage? ...... gee that looks very grainy - did you remember to power up the adaptor?

bugger....

Great setup, I can't wait for my Letus35 Extreme to arrive. I've got the follow focus and 18" rails from Tim as well.

What kind of monitor are you using with your setup? I saw it in the 3rd picture.

-Dmitry

The monitor was a response brand touch screen 800x400 but it broke - I've got another 7" but the resolution is crap - only good for framing (cost $100 on Ebay)

I'm still looking for a good monitor for focus

BTW make sure he's included the extra mount so you can balence the entire rig - otherwise it's really front heavy.

What monitor mount are you using?

Well actually ... (shuffles feet) I made it out of a piece of aluminium strapping - shaped it into a triangle, painted it black and I mount it on the external mike housing. (don't tell anyone)