Need some help on M600 pro with Red camera

[dmvara]

I am new to the M600P and I was wondering if anyone on here has some very good knowledge of what accessories I need to get a Red Camera up and running on. I know I need the Ronin MX, but there are some things I am hazy on as far as accessories are concerned. I have read thru some of the online manuals on the dji site and they are so so. Of course it's out of stock and I can just as easily snag a used one. If there is a thread someone can point me to or perhaps a resourceful website where I can learn more I would appreciate it. I did pick up the Z30 as well and that is more plug and play and a lot easier, but anything else requires a bit of knowledge. Thanks !!

 

[dmvara]

The reason I am asking is because there is one component that is called the SRW-60G that has been discontinued and from what I have read is not legal in the states. So without this piece am I screwed in trying to get aerial footage with a Red camera? Thx!

 

[SanCap]

The reason I am asking is because there is one component that is called the SRW-60G that has been discontinued and from what I have read is not legal in the states. So without this piece am I screwed in trying to get aerial footage with a Red camera? Thx!

Amazon.com: DJI SRW-60G Short Range Wireless Transmission System, Includes Transmitter and Receiver : Toys & Games

Buy DJI SRW-60G Short Range Wireless Transmission System, Includes Transmitter and Receiver: Transmitter & Receiver Sets - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[dmvara]

Amazon.com: DJI SRW-60G Short Range Wireless Transmission System, Includes Transmitter and Receiver : Toys & Games

Buy DJI SRW-60G Short Range Wireless Transmission System, Includes Transmitter and Receiver: Transmitter & Receiver Sets - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Thank you. I called B&H and I got all of my answers. Now I’ll have to wait for a good deal to pop up.

 

[niki]

The reason I am asking is because there is one component that is called the SRW-60G that has been discontinued and from what I have read is not legal in the states. So without this piece am I screwed in trying to get aerial footage with a Red camera? Thx!

I have seen youtube videos where the video connection is direct hdmi cable from camera to lightbridge. This obviously is limiting the rotation of the gimbal but is very cheap option especially for flying in usa.
Also there is a youtube video tutorial for mounting red camera on m600 and all needed accessories.

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[dmvara]

I have seen youtube videos where the video connection is direct hdmi cable from camera to lightbridge. This obviously is limiting the rotation of the gimbal but is very cheap option especially for flying in usa.
Also there is a youtube video tutorial for mounting red camera on m600 and all needed accessories.

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Thanks for the assistance!! I’ve been doing some research on red cameras and looking for tutorials as well. They are pretty nice. I think I’ll really enjoy my Matrice pro once I can snag one. All the best!?

 

[SanCap]

Thanks for the assistance!! I’ve been doing some research on red cameras and looking for tutorials as well. They are pretty nice. I think I’ll really enjoy my Matrice pro once I can snag one. All the best!?

From what others have told me and depending on what gear you have attached to the Red Camera and M600 you will have about a 13 minute flight time.

 

[niki]

From what others have told me and depending on what gear you have attached to the Red Camera and M600 you will have about a 13 minute flight time.

I'm also on the same road for hanging a red on the m600 pro. Is that flying time with TB47s or TB48s? On DJI's website they are saying 16min with 47s and 18min with 48s, I guess thats in ideal weather and landing with 10% battery.
Overal 13min sounds to me like inspire1 raw flying time which is not bad but I've had to have atleat 5-6batteries for it to cover a whole filming day with charging them in between the flights. 5-6 battery packs for the m600 will be very expensive.

 

[SanCap]

I'm also on the same road for hanging a red on the m600 pro. Is that flying time with TB47s or TB48s? On DJI's website they are saying 16min with 47s and 18min with 48s, I guess thats in ideal weather and landing with 10% battery.
Overal 13min sounds to me like inspire1 raw flying time which is not bad but I've had to have atleat 5-6batteries for it to cover a whole filming day with charging them in between the flights. 5-6 battery packs for the m600 will be very expensive.

The gimbal is heavy, the camera is heavy, even with the Tb48's your flight time will be around 13 minutes maybe 15 minutes with amazing conditions. That is actually good for what you are carrying, if you need more flight time you need to move to a custom heavy lifter. Landing with that equipment and a 10% battery is a choice you can make if you need more flight time, but not my choice except for emergencies.

 

[niki]

The gimbal is heavy, the camera is heavy, even with the Tb48's your flight time will be around 13 minutes maybe 15 minutes with amazing conditions. That is actually good for what you are carrying, if you need more flight time you need to move to a custom heavy lifter. Landing with that equipment and a 10% battery is a choice you can make if you need more flight time, but not my choice except for emergencies.

DJI enginiers also know the gimbal and the camera are heavy but are stating 18min with 5.5kg payload and TB48s batteries. From what you are saying I understand that you don't have personal experience with m600 pro and red camera but just what you have heard about?

A little off topic. Landing at 10% is completelly fine with good batteries, if one is doing proper and frequent maintanance of the batteries he will know what those batteries are capable for. At 10% the cell voltage is usually around 3.5v, the battery shuts down when goes below 3.3v. In very cold weather or strong winds not, but in all other situations it is pretty safe to land at 10-15%. For the last 10 years I've never had battery accident by simply knowing what my equipment is capable of.

 

[SanCap]

DJI enginiers also know the gimbal and the camera are heavy but are stating 18min with 5.5kg payload and TB48s batteries. From what you are saying I understand that you don't have personal experience with m600 pro and red camera but just what you have heard about?

A little off topic. Landing at 10% is completelly fine with good batteries, if one is doing proper and frequent maintanance of the batteries he will know what those batteries are capable for. At 10% the cell voltage is usually around 3.5v, the battery shuts down when goes below 3.3v. In very cold weather or strong winds not, but in all other situations it is pretty safe to land at 10-15%. For the last 10 years I've never had battery accident by simply knowing what my equipment is capable of.

Thanks for your input.

DJI engineers are known for their honest opinions and factual statements (input sarcasm). Real world experience will yield different results from their statements on many different platforms regarding batteries and flight times. I have flown a couple of different M600 payloads and have friends that have flown what we are talking about with different flight times, mostly far less than what DJI states.

I am glad you are happy flying your batteries to what ever the low voltage/percentages you choose. Myself and many people try to maintain a higher standard of safety when it comes to battery voltage/percentages. It is very easy to land and insert another set of batteries.

It is all good, we all operate with different standards and I appreciate your thoughts.

 

[niki]

Thanks for your input.

DJI engineers are known for their honest opinions and factual statements (input sarcasm). Real world experience will yield different results from their statements on many different platforms regarding batteries and flight times. I have flown a couple of different M600 payloads and have friends that have flown what we are talking about with different flight times, mostly far less than what DJI states.

I am glad you are happy flying your batteries to what ever the low voltage/percentages you choose. Myself and many people try to maintain a higher standard of safety when it comes to battery voltage/percentages. It is very easy to land and insert another set of batteries.

It is all good, we all operate with different standards and I appreciate your thoughts.

I appreciate your input as well!

I understand that in some cases there are safety protocols that have to be followed.

DJI say 28 min flight time with m600 and x5r using TB47S on their site. I do 28 min when I land at 12%. I don't have experience with other payloads than x5r so far. It's the same with the Inspire and Mavic that I fly as well. I can do the time they state with all of them when flying with good batteries in good weather by 10-12%, by that time the drone is already on the ground with motors off. According to my experience with those aircrafts I found that what is stated on DJI web site is achievable. Of course there is always a risk when flying drones, and the risk comes as soon the bird is in the air despite battery levels.

I'm used to track the cell voltage for estimating how much juice I have for safety operation. On a recent flight with Inspire 1 raw and -10° despite the initial battery warming I've got 3.5-3.6v at 40% battery level, as I know those voltages are comming at a much lower percentage than 40% I have landed immediatelly. In such a case if one rely only on the battery % only then the flight could easly end in the air with followed crash. That's why I say that safety comes with better knowledge, the drone may fell with 30% battery left if one doesn't understand how the things work.

It will be great if you have the time to share some info about your personal experience with what payloads you flew on the m600, the batteries used and the flight time you've got with that rig as well at what percentage the drone was landed with motors off?

Thanks!

 

[niki]

Thanks for the assistance!! I’ve been doing some research on red cameras and looking for tutorials as well. They are pretty nice. I think I’ll really enjoy my Matrice pro once I can snag one. All the best!?

Hello,
Do you have some progress on your M600+RED setup? It will be very helpful if you have time to share some info about it. What lens do you plan to use, focus or aperture control if any and etc. I'm only waiting for the battery distribution adapter and that will complete my setup and I will begin with some tests and when everything is set and working I'll share what I did on that matter.

 

[dmvara]

Hello,
Do you have some progress on your M600+RED setup? It will be very helpful if you have time to share some info about it. What lens do you plan to use, focus or aperture control if any and etc. I'm only waiting for the battery distribution adapter and that will complete my setup and I will begin with some tests and when everything is set and working I'll share what I did on that matter.

It has been a long journey trying to find a good deal on a Red camera. They are extremely pricey especially sine my interest is towards a more modern DSCM2 body. The Gemini is wonderful, but gosh it’s so expensive. So yea I’m still on the hunt for a bargain. I’ll probably have to wait a while until prices drop and new technology comes out until I find a great deal on a Red. Bummer.

 

[niki]

It has been a long journey trying to find a good deal on a Red camera. They are extremely pricey especially sine my interest is towards a more modern DSCM2 body. The Gemini is wonderful, but gosh it’s so expensive. So yea I’m still on the hunt for a bargain. I’ll probably have to wait a while until prices drop and new technology comes out until I find a great deal on a Red. Bummer.

Yeah that's the most expensive thing in such a setup. Last year the production company I'm working for got 2 Gemini cameras and after shooting a bit with them in my opinion the low light feture of gemini isn't much better than the regular Dragon-X. We had a few very dark scenes to shoot and the DP decided to shoot them with minimal light setup (no fill lights, natural lighting). As I was making some VFX on that show I found in post that the amount of noise in the shadows was frustrating, there where some vertical artefacts which I recognize as the usual patterns that digital sensors produce when under exposed and then pushed in post. So in my conclusion for such filming there is still the need to lit up the scene shadows with some fill lights and then to make the image darker in post so to avoid those artefacts. Saying that I think that if I had to choose which camera to buy I would get the Dragon-X, a little less expensive but with a little more megapixels at 6K and almost the same sensitivity. I'm planning to fit DSMC1 Epic/Dragon camera to get used with much less expensive one Are you looking for used or a new one?

 

[dmvara]

Yeah that's the most expensive thing in such a setup. Last year the production company I'm working for got 2 Gemini cameras and after shooting a bit with them in my opinion the low light feture of gemini isn't much better than the regular Dragon-X. We had a few very dark scenes to shoot and the DP decided to shoot them with minimal light setup (no fill lights, natural lighting). As I was making some VFX on that show I found in post that the amount of noise in the shadows was frustrating, there where some vertical artefacts which I recognize as the usual patterns that digital sensors produce when under exposed and then pushed in post. So in my conclusion for such filming there is still the need to lit up the scene shadows with some fill lights and then to make the image darker in post so to avoid those artefacts. Saying that I think that if I had to choose which camera to buy I would get the Dragon-X, a little less expensive but with a little more megapixels at 6K and almost the same sensitivity. I'm planning to fit DSMC1 Epic/Dragon camera to get used with much less expensive one Are you looking for used or a new one?

Interesting take on this matter. Sorry for the late response. I’ve been off the forum and busy with other things. A used one for sure. I want a DSMC2 body. Now that you have given your input on the Gemini I’m not so sure that is the way to go. Hmm. And true the dragon x is less compared to the Gemini. The noise factor does not sit well with me. I’ll have to chew on that one. Evilbay prices are out of this world. I’m just a hobbyist and I don’t need to spend a lot of bling on a camera. Looking for a darn good deal. Keeping fingers crossed. Thanks again.

 

[niki]

Interesting take on this matter. Sorry for the late response. I’ve been off the forum and busy with other things. A used one for sure. I want a DSMC2 body. Now that you have given your input on the Gemini I’m not so sure that is the way to go. Hmm. And true the dragon x is less compared to the Gemini. The noise factor does not sit well with me. I’ll have to chew on that one. Evilbay prices are out of this world. I’m just a hobbyist and I don’t need to spend a lot of bling on a camera. Looking for a darn good deal. Keeping fingers crossed. Thanks again.

I suggest you rent both cameras for a day or two and do a couple of tests to build up confidence in your decision. From all the tests that could be made I would definitelly do under and over exposure and see how that handles in post. If you're not in hurry there is a good chance to find a good deal

 

[dmvara]

I eill have to find a good deal for sure. I’m sure anyone would agree that when you design something that can manipulate natural light there will probably be some trade offs when it comes to quality..

 

[dmvara]

I suggest you rent both cameras for a day or two and do a couple of tests to build up confidence in your decision. From all the tests that could be made I would definitelly do under and over exposure and see how that handles in post. If you're not in hurry there is a good chance to find a good deal

So I was speaking to a rep from BH photo and they gave me a parts list to make a Red gemini work. I was wondering if you had any success in your setup? I feel a little less confident in this endeavor because some of the items are no longer in production so if I find used one on evilbay, but it breaks later am I totally screwed and will it just be a waste of money. I just don't know if putting so much effort and money into making a Red camera work on the MX is worth it. It sure would be nice if there were more cameras that would work on the MX like the alexa for example. That camera is awesome, but way too **** expensive for my taste. Then there are the issues with the Red where people who use them say they have a high failure rate. That worries me especially since this is just for fun. Most people who invest in Reds use them for a living and will realize some ROI perhaps. So it's a decision that I am still pondering before I delve in to buying a bunch of parts for the Red to work. I have the gimbal and if I change my mind on this project I can always just sell it. At that point I would just use my Z30 which is simply plug and play with the M600 pro.

My head hurts from thinking on how to solve this. LOFL...

Any input from anyone with experience would be much appreciated! ?

 

[niki]

So I was speaking to a rep from BH photo and they gave me a parts list to make a Red gemini work. I was wondering if you had any success in your setup? I feel a little less confident in this endeavor because some of the items are no longer in production so if I find used one on evilbay, but it breaks later am I totally screwed and will it just be a waste of money. I just don't know if putting so much effort and money into making a Red camera work on the MX is worth it. It sure would be nice if there were more cameras that would work on the MX like the alexa for example. That camera is awesome, but way too **** expensive for my taste. Then there are the issues with the Red where people who use them say they have a high failure rate. That worries me especially since this is just for fun. Most people who invest in Reds use them for a living and will realize some ROI perhaps. So it's a decision that I am still pondering before I delve in to buying a bunch of parts for the Red to work. I have the gimbal and if I change my mind on this project I can always just sell it. At that point I would just use my Z30 which is simply plug and play with the M600 pro.

My head hurts from thinking on how to solve this. LOFL...

Any input from anyone with experience would be much appreciated! ?

Yes, I already have the whole setup ready.


I've done an extensive search worldwide for all the accessories I need but because I'm from Europe I got focused on shops in my region to avoid customs. The only part I couldn't find was the Battery Extender which I bought used from ebay USA. Everything else I've got brand new. I'll attach my research list but be aware that some of the links are already sold out but all those things still exist in other shops, the list was made with the lowest possible price in mind.


The Ronin can carry other cameras than red which are much more affordable like Black Magic Pocket which have raw recording and can carry much better and heavier lenses than X5R or X5S (inspire2). Most of the accessories are needed for the other cameras to work. But the few things that are speccific for using red on that setup are the start/stop cable for red, power cable for red, battery extender, second battery 4350mah and extender kit for red.

Doing all this only for the fun is not very reasonable, especially buying a red camera. The red also have to have some accessories to make it work and thus make it very expensive at some point. For example 24mm T2.1 prime lens costs around $15,000, if you want to have a few different prime focal lenghts this will be way over the price of a few red brains.

I'm going to use my setup with rented camera and lens as this is the only way I can afford, the only reasonable purchase of such an equipment is to make money from renting them to other production companies.