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NPR 15mm Rods


Scott Bryant

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Well, that is the thing. Les Bosher is one of the few techs that still bothers making accessories for NPR's. He is kinda the only game in town. I know some of the camera shops in LA will do some of this work, but not really who or where; so it is not much help I am afraid.

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Well, that is the thing. Les Bosher is one of the few techs that still bothers making accessories for NPR's. He is kinda the only game in town. I know some of the camera shops in LA will do some of this work, but not really who or where; so it is not much help I am afraid.

 

Hi Saul,

 

that's not really true. There is Bernie at super16inc, there is Alan Gordon, AZ Spectrum and I am sure that there are more. Thing is to build something like an adapter to mount Arri Lightweight rods on the NPR you wouldn't really need an NPR specialist. I'd say that was rather easy to do...

 

Regards, Dave

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Hi Saul,

 

that's not really true. There is Bernie at super16inc, there is Alan Gordon, AZ Spectrum and I am sure that there are more. Thing is to build something like an adapter to mount Arri Lightweight rods on the NPR you wouldn't really need an NPR specialist. I'd say that was rather easy to do...

 

Regards, Dave

 

 

Hi Scott.

 

I recently made a 15mm rod mounting system for my NPR using a micro lens support from redrockmicro.com. It's $100 for the mount. If you drill out the hole that is threaded for the lens support adjustment, you can then add a large bolt and nut that then fits into the std. lens support mounting hole on your NPR. Works like a charm... I can mount my matte box, follow focus, and other accessories with very little to no flex at all in the system when fully loaded. I'm more of a do it yourself kind of person... this one def saved me some coin. Make sure you use a drill press and carefully drill the hole out - you want to make sure the hole/bolt is at a 90 degree angle to the support bracket so your rods align correctly with your lens.

 

Here's the piece you need: http://tinyurl.com/9ry46p

 

Hope this helps.

 

-KP

 

post-21065-1231801219.jpg

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Hi Scott.

 

I recently made a 15mm rod mounting system for my NPR using a micro lens support from redrockmicro.com. It's $100 for the mount. If you drill out the hole that is threaded for the lens support adjustment, you can then add a large bolt and nut that then fits into the std. lens support mounting hole on your NPR. Works like a charm... I can mount my matte box, follow focus, and other accessories with very little to no flex at all in the system when fully loaded. I'm more of a do it yourself kind of person... this one def saved me some coin. Make sure you use a drill press and carefully drill the hole out - you want to make sure the hole/bolt is at a 90 degree angle to the support bracket so your rods align correctly with your lens.

 

Here's the piece you need: http://tinyurl.com/9ry46p

 

Hope this helps.

 

-KP

 

post-21065-1231801219.jpg

 

What size bolt did you use? someone seems to have already tried doing some sort of modification to the rod support interface on my npr so im not sure if there will be enough material left once i've tapped a thread in it for it to have any strength left. Does the micro lens support already have a largish hole? Do you think it would be possible to offset slightly for use on a s16 npr??

 

Thanks.

Edited by Stephen Smith
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What size bolt did you use? someone seems to have already tried doing some sort of modification to the rod support interface on my npr so im not sure if there will be enough material left once i've tapped a thread in it for it to have any strength left. Does the micro lens support already have a largish hole? Do you think it would be possible to offset slightly for use on a s16 npr??

 

Thanks.

 

 

Hi Stephen. The bolt I used is 1/2" diameter x 2" length, with a 1/2" nut on the back side. There is a small threaded hole in the micro lens support that uses a thumb-locking screw to adjust the height of the lens support - the lens support piece is discarded and then the threaded hole is what I used as a starting point to drill the 1/2" hole for the bolt - since it's already all nice and centered up. Pretty sure that offsetting the hole for use on a S16 setup is possible... you will want to carefully drill a smaller pilot hole first, before drilling the 1/2" hole for the large bolt/nut. I tightened the nut and bolt with some pretty good torque, to make sure it wouldn't rotate at all. My NPR has the original lens support interface with the set screw/bolt. I simply place the large bolt into that hole and tighten the set screw/bolt. If your NPR is missing the original lens support mount on the camera body or it's modified so it won't work like this, then, it shouldn't be too difficult to fashion a way to mount the rod bracket to that same area - you'll probably have to modify the design to fit your needs from there. If you'd like, post some photos of what you're working with and I'll see if I can make some suggestions.

 

-KP

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Hi Saul,

 

that's not really true. There is Bernie at super16inc, there is Alan Gordon, AZ Spectrum and I am sure that there are more. Thing is to build something like an adapter to mount Arri Lightweight rods on the NPR you wouldn't really need an NPR specialist. I'd say that was rather easy to do...

 

Regards, Dave

 

I guess I should have said Les is the person who does the best job within my parameters: turn around time and price. Most of the techs in the US that you mention are either too expensive or take too long before they even look at the camera. But the DIY solution Kevin talks about seems to be the best one, anyway.

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Thanks for the reply kevin. Looks like someone has drilled out the thread on my npr rod mount, i'll take a picture when i get a chance.

This may be a stupid question, with the rod support interface on the npr, will using an arri mattebox or similar work or will it be too high/too low and not centred for the lens, or are all matteboxs pretty standard?

thanks

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I guess I should have said Les is the person who does the best job within my parameters: turn around time and price. Most of the techs in the US that you mention are either too expensive or take too long before they even look at the camera. But the DIY solution Kevin talks about seems to be the best one, anyway.

 

Hi Saul,

that's interesting! Even with shipping, customs and all the other hassles of dealing over the pond. So the US competition must really be quite expensive and/or slow! I figured that it would usually be the other way round. At times the US (particularly the West Coast) seem like paradise for film related stuff. I can't even dream of a store like Filmtools anywhere close! And they don't ship to the EU!

 

Regards, Dave

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Hi Saul,

that's interesting! Even with shipping, customs and all the other hassles of dealing over the pond. So the US competition must really be quite expensive and/or slow! I figured that it would usually be the other way round. At times the US (particularly the West Coast) seem like paradise for film related stuff. I can't even dream of a store like Filmtools anywhere close! And they don't ship to the EU!

 

Regards, Dave

 

Yeah, those are the techs I know. But I don't live in LA. So that is the catch, there must be some out there who are cheaper and work fast, but I can't find them. When I priced converting my ACL and Aaton LTR to S-16, prices in the US were 2 to 5 times higher than what Les Bosher would charge, not including shipping, but still.

 

Bernie would do it cheaper than most but he is so busy there is an 8 to 10 week waiting line at his shop pretty much permanently. I have priced lens mount adaptors, camera support, matte box rods and the like in the US and Les always is cheaper in my experience.

 

Now with the econ tanking it may change, but here in the US tech's are used to charging high fees because of Hollywood. Perhaps Les charges cheaper because there is not so much going on in the UK, I don't know . . .

 

Too bad FilmTools doesn't ship out to the EU. It is a cool store, no doubt.

Edited by Saul Rodgar
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Yeah, those are the techs I know. But I don't live in LA. So that is the catch, there must be some out there who are cheaper and work fast, but I can't find them. When I priced converting my ACL and Aaton LTR to S-16, prices in the US were 2 to 5 times higher than what Les Bosher would charge, not including shipping, but still.

 

Bernie would do it cheaper than most but he is so busy there is an 8 to 10 week waiting line at his shop pretty much permanently. I have priced lens mount adaptors, camera support, matte box rods and the like in the US and Les always is cheaper in my experience.

 

Now with the econ tanking it may change, but here in the US tech's are used to charging high fees because of Hollywood. Perhaps Les charges cheaper because there is not so much going on in the UK, I don't know . . .

 

Too bad FilmTools doesn't ship out to the EU. It is a cool store, no doubt.

Hey I just got my ACL back from Bernie. No waiting list. Also I asked him about the rods and he recommended me to a guy Dave Kuntz, I believe, in PA. I dont have his info on me now but if you call Bernie hes more than willing to help.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

thought i'd post a few pictures of what i made for my eclair based on kevins original idea. Mine is offset for super 16, im pretty happy with it, with some decent handgrips on the rods handholding the nps is about 100 times easier.

 

eclairsupport.jpg

 

based on the arri sr rods and support, i got off ebay pretty cheap. a 15mm brass rod is wedged in the nprs original rod mount, with an offset hole drilled into it. a second piece of brass rod fits into this with the support bolted to the end, i tapped into the 15mm rod from the bottom and put a bolt up through the original npr rod mount. another smaller bolt goes through the bottom of the SR rod support piece to stop any rotation. I've kept the SR support untampered so i can put it back together and sell it as an SR support bracket if i ever get fed up with it. Hopefully this explanation makes sense, also the pictures probably are a better explanation.

 

DSCN1528.jpg

 

just to say thanks kevin for sharing your original idea.

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thought i'd post a few pictures of what i made for my eclair based on kevins original idea. Mine is offset for super 16, im pretty happy with it, with some decent handgrips on the rods handholding the nps is about 100 times easier.

 

eclairsupport.jpg

 

based on the arri sr rods and support, i got off ebay pretty cheap. a 15mm brass rod is wedged in the nprs original rod mount, with an offset hole drilled into it. a second piece of brass rod fits into this with the support bolted to the end, i tapped into the 15mm rod from the bottom and put a bolt up through the original npr rod mount. another smaller bolt goes through the bottom of the SR rod support piece to stop any rotation. I've kept the SR support untampered so i can put it back together and sell it as an SR support bracket if i ever get fed up with it. Hopefully this explanation makes sense, also the pictures probably are a better explanation.

 

DSCN1528.jpg

 

just to say thanks kevin for sharing your original idea.

 

 

Nice work Stephen - very professional looking setup using the arri sr rods - great idea. I've been handholding my NPR by the rods alone and the rig balances out much easier than before. Handgrips are my next step and should only make things easier.

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Great looking set up both of you. I got the redrock lens support and now I have to drill it out, but I'm waiting to get my camera back from Bernie. I can't wait to see the conversion and the laserbrighten. Comes in on friday! then I'll start working on the rods again. I'll post some pics when i get it worked out. Thanks again kevin and stephen for your help with this.

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  • 8 months later...
Great looking set up both of you. I got the redrock lens support and now I have to drill it out, but I'm waiting to get my camera back from Bernie. I can't wait to see the conversion and the laserbrighten. Comes in on friday! then I'll start working on the rods again. I'll post some pics when i get it worked out. Thanks again kevin and stephen for your help with this.

 

 

in order for the 15mm adapter to be of any real use it has to align with Arri S16mm gear. For that you have to drop the single rod that comes out of the NPR down 14mm (center to center). Otherwise any rental gear (matteboxes, follow focus') you get may not fit centered on the mount.

 

Below is a picture of my camera with a custom built drop down. I can build the same for you for $150 plus shipping. It would be a couple of weeks to get it down.

 

I have built a few others for other NPR owners and they work great. simple and effective.

 

olivernpr%2001.jpg

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