URSA Cine Baseplate 19 question

Hi guys,
I have this base plate and for the most part I like it very well. The back portion of the shoulder rest is not allowing full forward motion on my Condor Blue dovetail. It's a 12 inch dovetail and this restricts it to about 6 inches. It looks like the Arri Dovetails are open between the rails and may allow that back portion of the shoulder rest to pass through. Can anyone confirm this for me? I need a bit more range

Thank you!

[Tim Schumann]

Our URSA Cine Baseplate 19 and URSA Cine Baseplate 15 are made to use with any ARRI Standard Dovetail.

Have you got the kick stand flipped down on the rear of the baseplate by any chance?

If so it can be flipped up to get it out of the way when sliding it on a dovetail. It is a spring loaded mechanism for the kick stand that allows people to stand the camera flat on a bench... but when you are mounting it on a dovetail you flip the kick stand up so it is out of the way and you can slide all the way on.

You can also top-load the baseplate onto a dovetail by pushing in the release safety catch with your thumb and moving the lever into the 'release' position. This lets you load on and off the plate from above quickly and then you can push the lever into the central position for sliding back and forth to balance your camera and then forward into the 'lock' position to lock it firmly in place.

Our URSA Cine Baseplate 19 and URSA Cine Baseplate 15 are made to use with any ARRI Standard Dovetail.

Have you got the kick stand flipped down on the rear of the baseplate by any chance?

If so it can be flipped up to get it out of the way when sliding it on a dovetail. It is a spring loaded mechanism for the kick stand that allows people to stand the camera flat on a bench... but when you are mounting it on a dovetail you flip the kick stand up so it is out of the way and you can slide all the way on.

You can also top-load the baseplate onto a dovetail by pushing in the release safety catch with your thumb and moving the lever into the 'release' position. This lets you load on and off the plate from above quickly and then you can push the lever into the central position for sliding back and forth to balance your camera and then forward into the 'lock' position to lock it firmly in place.

Hi, yes, I do have the kickstand up. The kickstand is a great addition and a nice design touch for balancing the camera on a table, etc. I am using the full release option to top mount the camera to the rails and I appreciate both the slide on and drop on options. The problem I am having is that the mount clamp itself is not quite high enough to allow the rear of the shoulder pad to pass over the Arri rails. This limits the travel on the rails to about 6 inches. Not the worst problem in the world, but it would be nice if in a future version, it cleared the rails. It would only need to be a few millimeters higher at the front.

Please note that I have the 19 and have not tried the 15 which may work fine.

[Tim Schumann]

Perhaps the Condor Blue dovetail is slightly outside of the ARRI spec. I'll reach out to them to see if we can test with it as we have not seen this issue before.

Perhaps the Condor Blue dovetail is slightly outside of the ARRI spec. I'll reach out to them to see if we can test with it as we have not seen this issue before.

I've been looking at the Bright Tangerine Dovetail: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... ndard.html

Have you tested this out with the Baseplates?

I'm looking to buy it whenever the price comes back down for the Cine Baseplate 15. Really hope it drops back to 475 like it was supposed to be before the Tariffs. It was the last item I had to buy, but didn't order since wasn't in stock. Still not in stock, but it is on the list.

[Tim Schumann]

Yes we have tested with the ARRI, the Bright Tangerine, Wooden Camera, Shape and numerous other ones extensively. They work well.

We are getting hold of a Condor Blue one to try to figure out what the issue is there.

We are getting hold of a Condor Blue one to try to figure out what the issue is there.

Thank you, Tim for looking into this for me. Here is an image that shows the issue. I can't make it fit without having the tail overhang the dovetail as pictured.

For dovetail rails that are working, does the back of the shoulder mount rest on the dovetails or hover above them?

Alan, is there an option where you can effectively move the dovetail forward one set of mounting points and adjust the camera moving it backwards so it continues to balance?

Alan, is there an option where you can effectively move the dovetail forward one set of mounting points and adjust the camera moving it backwards so it continues to balance?

Hi Rick,
If you mean changing the position of the Condor Blue dovetail on the Sachtler plate, yes. I have a second Sachtler plate coming. They are 6 inches long so I plan to mount two end to end under the Dovetail to get more range that way. I don't love the Sachtler mount for adjustments and the BM latch would be much prefered, but this should work.

I like the idea of drop on, slide and shoot, so maybe I will eventually grab a proper Arri Dovetail if the Condor Blue is the issue.

Thanks

… I like the idea of drop on, slide and shoot, so maybe I will eventually grab a proper Arri Dovetail if the Condor Blue is the issue.

Thanks

That’s what’s it’s all about so hopefully you find the solution soon. Best.

[Tim Schumann]

For dovetail rails that are working, does the back of the shoulder mount rest on the dovetails or hover above them?

Yes the URSA Cine Baseplate 19 and 15 clears and hovers above ARRI standard dovetail plates like those mentioned above.

Unfortunately the safety release mechanism on this particular plate you have is obstructing that area.

For dovetail rails that are working, does the back of the shoulder mount rest on the dovetails or hover above them?

Yes the URSA Cine Baseplate 19 and 15 clears and hovers above ARRI standard dovetail plates like those mentioned above.

Unfortunately the safety release mechanism on this particular plate you have is obstructing that area.

Thanks for that additional info. I appreciate your consideration. The problem I am having is that even if the tail of the shoulder mount is placed in front of the safety release mechanism (on either side) the clamp will still not attach. The dovetail itself lifts up the tail enough so that the clamp and camera is at a downward angle and will not attach to the rail as it usually does and as pictured in the image below where the tail is behind the rail. Also, if I try to slide mount from the rear, the tail of the shoulder pad contacts the back of the dovetail becuae it is a few mm lower thant the dovetail when in the clamp (as I hope is illustrated by the image). Possibly my unit is incorrectly constructed? Thank you!

Alan, you mentioned a “picture below” but I don’t see an additional picture.

Alan, you mentioned a “picture below” but I don’t see an additional picture.

I could've been more clear about that Rick. I was referring to the original image and just saying that I hoped that it showed that the tail of the shoulder pad is lower than the dovetail when it is positioned behind the dovetail. Because of this, I cannot slide the tail portion past the dovetail from the rear using the slide-on method (the corners of the dovetail would gouge into the pad's foam even before hitting metal to metal), and it cannot be mounted from above using the drop-on method if the tail is over the rail as the tail of the shoulder pad is lifted up by the dovetail, and the clasp will not function in that position.

I'm wondering if I am missing a spacer or similar, which would lower the clamp in relation to the tail so that the tail could hover above any dovetail. It seems because the rail is planar, and the clamp also has a planar contact point that this could not work on any dovetail on my unit, but possibly I am missing something.

PS: This is a minor point with a workaround and I love the camera and all other accessories so far!

Thank you

Yes the URSA Cine Baseplate 19 and 15 clears and hovers above ARRI standard dovetail plates like those mentioned above.

Could you post an image of that where the shoulder pad tail is hovering above the dovetail on a known-good combo? I would love to see what the design hover looks like to see how much I am off.

Thanks so much for sticking with me on this

Curious have you checked if your Kondor Blue dovetail is perfectly flat ? I almost wonder if it somehow got slightly bowed in production or shipping, so that when mounted the rear end is rising up slightly and contacting the back of the baseplate. In the pic it almost does look that way, although may be an illusion from the angle.

Curious have you checked if your Kondor Blue dovetail is perfectly flat ? I almost wonder if it somehow got slightly bowed in production or shipping, so that when mounted the rear end is rising up slightly and contacting the back of the baseplate. In the pic it almost does look that way, although may be an illusion from the angle.

Hi Eric, yes, I had that thought as well, and the plate itself is flat. I also tried mounting it in both directions to see that it was not something specific to one side of the dovetail.

I also checked that the Blackmagic clamp itself is firmly and evenly mounted, as even a slight angle in the mount from uneven tightening or similar might aim the dovetail into the shoulder pad tail but it appears to be even.

If anyone has one of these shoulder mounts, it would be great if you could post a picture of it mounted with the whole shoulder mount hovering over the rail. I have not been able to find that online.

My apologies for going on and on about a shoulder mount. We have an amazing piece of gear here and I am off on a minor detail

Many thanks!

Hi, I saw this video today and at 7:43 it sounds like he is saying that black magic has designed a dovetail plate for this camera. Is that correct?

Hi, I saw this video today and at 7:43 it sounds like he is saying that black magic has designed a dovetail plate for this camera. Is that correct?

No, he was saying that Blackmagic designed the Baseplates around standard ARRI Dovetail design. That’s how I interpreted it during the original live stream and rewatching the video.

The thing that strikes me is that there are some level of hints of things to come. Working with third party companies on features it sounded like. For example a mention of working with Preston. Sounds like there’s possibility for more features in future for FIZ and using the EXT Lemo Port on the camera. Mainly because it sounded like none of the companies are taking full advantage of it yet.

But I also love how Tor pointed out that there’s no hard stop for the 15mm rods anymore. That’s great! Means you can adjust lightly longer rods to be deeper into the baseplate without having to buy shorter rods for only a handful of lenses or adjusting position of baseplate in relation to body to adjust rods slight length difference for a lens.

This certainly makes me know I want to get the URSA Cine 15mm Baseplate whenever it is available. And, hopefully at non-Tariff pricing.


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Agree the remarks about working with Preston sound intriguing for those shooting with URSA Cine cameras. Will that have any applicability to a future Pyxis?

No, he was saying that Blackmagic designed the Baseplates around standard ARRI Dovetail design. That’s how I interpreted it during the original live stream and rewatching the video.

Yup, probably wishful thinking on my part . He is also hanging the tail of his shoulder mount behind the dovetail that he is using. I'm seeing a lot of of that from images and videos. It doesn't really look like this shoulder mount can slide forward over a dovetail. Possibly it could be top mounted on top of the dovetail although in my case that is not working.

It's a bit of a bummer on this camera where we have heavy batteries of various sizes and weights, as well as potentially other heavy accessories mounted behind the camera. As we swap those out, it would be really nice to be able to simply slide forward and back, but unfortunately, the tail of this shoulder mount cannot slide over the dovetail. If anyone has a working set up where this is not the case please post some images and I'm a buyer. Otherwise worry not, I will live

[Tim Schumann]

It doesn't really look like this shoulder mount can slide forward over a dovetail. Possibly it could be top mounted on top of the dovetail although in my case that is not working.

Alan we have designed our plate to work with ARRI Standard Dovetail plates. We have designed to the spec and it works with them.

Unfortunately the release mechanism on the particular dovetail plate you have does not adhere to the ARRI standard in that particular spot. It's unfortunate and we like the equipment that Condor Blue makes but in this case the plate won't work with full movement back and forward on our Baseplate 15 or 19.

As I mentioned above our Baseplate 15 and 19 work well with full backwards and forwards movement for balancing when used with plates from Bright Tangerine, Wooden Camera, Shape, ARRI and many others as they are made to the standard.

Has anyone provided this feedback to Condor Blue?

It doesn't really look like this shoulder mount can slide forward over a dovetail. Possibly it could be top mounted on top of the dovetail although in my case that is not working.

Unfortunately the release mechanism on the particular dovetail plate you have does not adhere to the ARRI standard in that particular spot. It's unfortunate and we like the equipment that Condor Blue makes but in this case the plate won't work with full movement back and forward on our Baseplate 15 or 19.

Hi, and thank you again for this response. It wouldn't be the release mechanism, as that never comes in contact with the Cine Baseplate. The release mechanism is about 2 cm past where the problematic contact has already occurred. For what it's worth I have also removed the full release mechanism on one end and it still doesn't work. I will order one of the wooden camera baseplates in the hopes that will correct the problem. I am not seeing how it could, but possibly I am missing something. Again, thanks.

Hi guys, I received my Wooden Camera dovetail from B&H with a bit of a mixed result.

It has helped me see the problem that I was having before very clearly. There are actually a lot of these Arri style dovetails that are going to be either sub-optimal or will not work at all.

As you can see in my picture below, the wooden camera dovetail does allow the black magic base plate to mount above and even slide on with the tail over the plate. The reason this is possible is both due to a very specific rail shape and most importantly that it allows the center portion of the blackmagic plate to fit in between the rails. That portion of the blackmagic plate is too low otherwise and will contact many of the plates that I see on the market. This would make it so that the back of the blackmagic base plate were lifted and at an angle, if it would fit at all. Even with this wooden camera dovetail, when clamped down, there is solid metal to metal contact with the tail of the plate to the rails and the foam shoulder pad compresses on the rails (which is not ideal). When unclamped that pressure releases and allows enough room for the slide to work well.

A very small design change would make this so much nicer and would allow compatibility with all of the available Arri style dovetails. All they would need to do is lower the clamp by three or 4 mm which would allow the tail of the shoulder mount to hover above the Dovetail rails at all times. They could possibly even offer a retrofit spacer that would accomplish the same.

Unfortunately, the Wooden Camera unit that B&H shipped me was used and missing parts so that has to go back. I'm gonna try to order the same directly from Wooden Camera.