If you’ve bought an Epic or Red One, the surprise of having to drop another 50% of the cost of the camera to have a shootable rig is, well, no surprise.
If you’re just jumping in to the Scarlet X arena like thousands of indie budget filmmakers are, you’ll find a shortage of cushioned seat pads to take away the sting of all the extra money you didn’t realize you needed to spend.
Red gear costs big money. Surprise. Most of your DSLR toys won’t play happily with it. Surprise. At least you can ditch your Zoom H4n and run XLR audio right into it, right? SURPRISE. Which brings me to needing to buy a new XLR to 3.5mm adapter for my Scarlet X.
I looked towards the usual sources, but was pointed to a small company called Wooden Camera, based out of the USA, who are striving to make building your Red Epic/Scarlet package a little less frightening than a first night in a Turkish jail.
First on my order list was their A-Box, a simple XLR input box with 2 cables out to run into the Scarlet. Price tag $199. Next up, I needed something to mount it on and found their Easy Stick for $79. This Scarlet is destined for the rental shelf so I didn’t want to load it up with $4000 of Red plates that I’d never see a return on, so that was an easy choice. Quick checkout and it was in my mailbox a few days later.
A Box mounts anywhere you have a rail or a plate.
Now the review!
THE GOOD
First, it’s $199. Ok, it really only does the same job as two XLR to mini-plug adapters that you could buy for $25 each. What do you really get for $150 more? Well, you get an extremely well built box that locks everything nicely in place and doesn’t make you look like a tool with loose cables dangling off your $14,000 camera, just waiting for some first year student to snag and yank over. That’s worth $150.
Second, it’s very well built. I’m a guy… I like quality work. Yes, there are other XCR to mini boxes in this price range (a bit more, but close). None I’ve used are as well built as the A-Box. Night and day difference. This is easily in the high end quality range.
Third, it’s small. No one wants a big bulky camera anymore. Cinema is pure high speed/low drag now. Nothing there that doesn’t need to be there.
Finally… it works perfectly. No audio issues at all. The SLIGHTEST issue and I’d fling it out my window at a passing Prius. Sound quality issues are an instant deal breaker, so this passes perfectly.
THE BAD
I admit, this is personal preference… but I don’t love the 19mm rail mount. If you want to mount it to a body plate like I did (and I suspect a lot of people will), then you use the (included free) 19mm to cheese plate adapter. It works fine, but I look at it and think how much more svelte it would be if it was built to mount right to a plate, with a bolt on rail adapter for those who want to use it on rails. It’s just personal preference though. Happily, it doesn’t increase the overall height of the camera when mounted on the top with the 5” monitor folded beside it, so still stays pretty slim.
CONCLUSION
It’s a very well built XLR input solution for your Red Epic or Scarlet that only costs $199 (plus plate if you need one). Looks pro and works perfectly. For $200, that’s a real no-brainer for a Red user. I love it, and when I put together my Top 10 Red Accessory List, I’ll throw it close to the top.
Right hand side handle for extra sexy.
If you aren’t familiar with Wooden Camera, there are a few other cool things for the budget Red user.
- The Quick Plate is great and with an extra handle allows you to set up your Epic/Scarlet with a dual handle/U-boat Commander type rig for $80 (plus the cost of their handle).
- The Hot Shoe mount is GREAT. For $25 it allows you to add an on camera shotgun or LED or wireless receivers. Or all three, as you can line them all across a top or side plate.
- I don’t own it, but the battery plate/mount from Wooden Camera seems like a very good price and I’d assume the quality is as good as the other parts I have.
- The 15mm and 19mm Bridgeplate looks like a bargain compared to Element Technica’s for $900. I don’t own it, but it’s tempting.
Overall rating… A.
It’s an A+ if you want to mount it directly on 19mm rails. Great buy for the buck.
Disclaimer: Paid straight up for this one, no freebies, so 100% unbiased. I have only had it a month or so at this point, so I don’t consider it torture tested like most of my gear in my rental house. However, I will update this article if anything fails.
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