RED has announced a fix to one of the most common issues in the V-Raptor, which is the Locking Ring’s malfunction. RED says it has reinforced the V-Raptor lens mount to be more robust when used with heavier lenses or subjecting the lens to high rotational force with external motors. This update was published two days ago.
The Locking Ring
The V-RAPTOR’s RF lens mount can be used with numerous lens adapters, and it has a locking ring that provides additional security for use with heavier lenses. However, V-Raptor shooters have been complaining that the lock to the RF mount has become loose and doesn’t lock the lens properly. It appears that this locking mechanism issue is a pretty common one as stated by one of the shooters: “We’ve already contacted RED support…This is a common and standard occurrence with many of V-Raptors owners. In that case, the camera needed to be sent back to RED for a fix” Another V-Raptor shooter said: “Happened to mine and many others, Red fixed mine, thing is, the spring that’s inside the mechanism fails, they didn’t say it’s a new spring design, just a replacement, which has me predict ongoing and repeats fixes, soon as the warranty is out, going to be expensive. Hoping they find a fix, fix it, and make a recall“. Some of the cases were published in the RED V-RAPTOR / DSMC3 Users FB group. Link 1. Link2.
Elevate robustness of the lens mount
It seems that RED has been organized on a fix for that issue: As stated by RED in an update published two days ago: “RED has received reports from customers that their RF locking ring no longer tightens or that heavier lenses show an undesired amount of play. Starting April 1, 2022, RED has reinforced the V-RAPTOR lens mount to be more robust when used with heavier lenses or subjecting the lens to high rotational force with external motors”. According to this, RED might be redesigning the lens mount to grant it more strength. Moreover, RED adds that: “If you’ve encountered this issue and are no longer able to tighten your RF locking ring to an acceptable tightness, please contact RED Support or one of our Certified Service Centers to send your camera for evaluation and service. RED recommends ensuring the locking ring is in the unlocked position during lens attachment and removal, as well as using lens supports when using heavy or long lenses whenever possible”.
RED has received reports from customers that their RF locking ring no longer tightens or that heavier lenses show an undesired amount of play. Starting April 1, 2022, RED has reinforced the V-RAPTOR lens mount to be more robust when used with heavier lenses or subjecting the lens to high rotational force with external motor.
Red Digital Cinema
Have you experienced this Locking Ring issue with your Raptor? Let’s know.
Product List
Here’re the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers.
- Red Digital Cinema V-RAPTOR ST 8K VV DSMC3 Camera
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This kind of demonstration of the insufficient knowledge about details in the cinema production and cheap engenieering is the reason why I hate shoot with Red. Evening is fantastic until you can’t shoot for a random reason.
15 RED cinema cameras are on the Netflix approved list – more than any other manufacturer. One of their criteria is stability, and RED cameras have proven themselves on countless multi-million dollar productions for over a decade. If the cameras weren’t reliable, some of the world’s greatest cinematographers, from art house to blockbuster, wouldn’t continue to rely on them: from Michael Bay and Rodrigo Prieto to Erik Messerschmidt and Daria D’Antonio as well as extraordinarily talented pros like Parker Walbeck who demand reliability. REDs have been used successfully in the harshest conditions. RedCode RAW is also the most powerful RAW codec on the market and the IPP2 workflow is superb. Someone would have to be deeply ignorant to claim RED engineers don’t know how to build a camera, and it’s great to see a company respond so quickly to address user concerns. Interesting that randos who make a career out of bashing RED online are usually illiterate and hide behind fake names.