The first part of my 35mm setup arrived today, a nice set of Cinevate Proteus rails. I had to post a piccy because I think they look lovely with the ex1... well if you like that kind of thing :)

The ordering process was really efficient and my rails were delivered to the UK from Canada within 3 days of placing the order.

First impressions were that the rails seem very well built, the carbon rods are certainly very strong and light and I can't wait to get some bits to slide on there! The adjustment system is also very flexible, yet feels extremely solid.

My only criticism would be the way the bolt that goes into the camera fits, it just jams into the metal plate and has to be forced through wherever you want it to go scratching all the nice metal up in the process. Once through, the bolt cannot be slid along the slot to adjust the cameras position as the fit is too tight in the slot. I'd have preferred a setup like other plates where there is a larger hole at the end of the track with a bolt that is only part threaded giving you the ability to loosen the bolt and slide the cam either forward or backward.

One thing I'm not sure about is whether the height of the camera will be a problem with any of the adapters the way I have it configured. I guess things like the Letus, Brevis and SGblade would be fine as they can be adjusted vertically on the rails anyway, but something like the SGpro may be an issue given it sits at a fixed height. The rails can be configured with both supports in opposite directions allowing the camera to drop lower, but I'd definately need longer rods in that config (mine are only 45cm).

Cinevate also make some shorter links, so that may be an option too if it turns out to be an issue.

I just need to make a decision about the adapter to go for now... that's the hard part!

Paul.

For Letus Extreme 35mm adapter, camera has to be positioned at certain height to match.

I thought it was safer to just buy the rails + appropriate riser from LetusDirect. Worked out fine.

For Letus Extreme 35mm adapter, camera has to be positioned at certain height to match.

I thought the rail mount for the Extreme was height adjustable? In any case the proteus rails are height adjustable too so it should all go together somehow :)

I too just received my proteus rails, only I am using the short links. I have no adapter at the moment, just I am simply attaching my camera to the RR matt box. The short links work fine for me, but then I have a small camera. I also had the same problem with the screw fitting into the camera plate. Mine was just as tight, so finally I took a metal file to the plate and opened up the slot enough that it slides nicely. I used a rubber O ring on the screw end to keep it from falling out and it seems to work OK now. I mentioned this to Dennis at Cinevate and he advised me that he was reworking the drawings to fix this and provide a proper screw with a safety ring for future product. Aside from this issue, the rails work well. Very light, secure and very adjustable.

Paul thanks for your kind words. The issue you referred to has been addressed, but I suspect the parts are not in the shipping queue yet. We also added 2 more adjustment slots on the left and right of the baseplate for XL2 and XLH1 users where the tripod mount is so off center, our rails won't adjust for it. With the two slots, lots more adjustment.

On the adapter front, the Brevis35 is the only unit on the planet that is microprocessor managed, has interchangeable imaging elements, onboard power and is completely modular to take advantage of future improvements. It's also the lightest, and only system to incorporate the micro-collimation front end for all of our lens mounts. Like your rails system, our standing "unpublished" goal is to have orders in owner's hands within 2-3 business days worldwide.

Of course I'm a bit biased :-)

Cheers,
Dennis Wood
www.cinevate.com

Dennis

If I ordered the new rails kit would I get the updated version this week or would it have the
tight slot?

Chuck

As of Friday, the XL2 mod'd/wider slot versions were just inbound and being prepped for final assembly. The slot width is only a matter of about .002" of powder coat..but if you are using an XL2, you'll want to make sure you're getting the new version. A message added in the order note area (provided during an order) would tip off our shipping crew to make sure.