Custom Firewire Requests

[cbobfoto]

Hi guys
We have just been joined by Rick from www.usbfirewire.com and I thought I'd start this thread where we can collate requests/suggestions for firewire cables. I'm specifically thinking of a right angle FW800 cable that drops down from the back port, perhaps terminating in a female FW800 (with lock!) that we can attach longer cables to. Thoughts?
Cheers
Nick-T

[Alex Maxim]

Is there a way to make a stretching cable? Like old telephone cords? At least the last meter that connects to the camera. Or maybe a 1 meter extension like this.
That would save most of the problems I believe.

E.g. if you or somebody else step on the cable and pull the camera it still remains connected and no strain on the socket.

Alex

[Wick]

How about repairs to seemingly fine ones? Those that simply stop working?
My feeling s they were bogusly manufactured and the spot welds cracked or failed.
Since H wants around $125-$250 US for one, I wonder if the expert you mention is willing to fix/repair those that have failed?
Thanks,
Wick Beavers
www.wickbeavers.com
wick@wickbeavers.com

[Monty Rakusen]

Thanks Nick. I knew this. It could be a good solution but looking closely I reckon there will still be some play. It still doesnt resolve all the repeat plugging and another semi permanent cable does.

Did you get the copy?

Monty

Monty I have seen people using a cut off ethernet cable attached to a firewire cable to secure it as the posts are right next to each other.
Nick-T

[www_usbfirewire_com]

Hello again, folks.

First of all, thanks for all of the replies.  There have been some great ideas put out there - keep them coming!!

Let's try to sort through them, to find out a solution that would be good for most.

I've read the replies, and checked out the recommend items (such as the Magsafe connectors) as well as the TetherLock bracket.

1.) Idea 1 - Magsafe type cable - While this seems like a good idea at first thought - the Magsafe is probably not something that we're going to be doing.  From a cabling perspective, I don't believe that it's a reasonable solution for this type of connection.  We've spoken to several photographers who have this particular idea listed as a worst case scenario for them, since a disconnect (as mentioned in one of the posts) could require a restart of possibly the camera, and computer - which can be quite frustrating.  This can be seen from Nick's article on best practices for tethering (BTW Nick, nice article!).

2.) Idea 2 - Angled Male connector to female connector - short cable.  This is pretty easily doable, but would anyone besides Nick be interested in this?  If so, would you want it to drop down to the ground?  Would you prefer it to go back towards you so it can go over your shoulder and then clip on?  Would this be a good compliment to the TetherLock setup?  What about an RRS setup?

3.) Idea 3 - Stretching cable - Alex - do you mean a coiled cable?  If so, it's something that we can look into - but it would probably reduce the length of it and *may* affect speed.  FW800 is pretty sensitive when it comes to length.  In other coiled cable applications we've tried, I'll admit, they haven't been as good as what we had hoped for.

4.) Response to Wick - we, unfortunately, can't fix those.  It is probably disconnected inside of the overmold, which means that we would have to cut the end off, put a new one on, and then re-overmold it.  The expense of doing that would be pretty high.

5.) Compatibility with RRS brackets.  Yes, when we design something, we do want to make sure that it's fully compatible with RRS brackets.

6.) MarkRobertHalper - long Firewire length (40+ feet), we're currently working on a solution for this, sir.

7.) Long FireWire problems - what type of problems have you had?  Disconnects?  FW800 natively has a distance limitation of about 15ft.  After that, depending on the situation/environment, it can begin to have problems.  Could be due to power (if your camera is powered via battery power or via bus power.  Could be noise around it (near power cables/outlets or fluorescent lights)

[Alex Maxim]

3.) Idea 3 - Stretching cable - Alex - do you mean a coiled cable?  If so, it's something that we can look into - but it would probably reduce the length of it and *may* affect speed.  FW800 is pretty sensitive when it comes to length.  In other coiled cable applications we've tried, I'll admit, they haven't been as good as what we had hoped for.

Hi Rick! Yes, coiled. I currently use two 5m cables, one of them is active (with a small repeater) and have no problems. Maybe a coiled cable can have a repeater in front of it or it can be plugged in a cable with a repeater. Either way, if it's doable it would be a must have item.

Thank you,
Alex

[C Radlund]

Their cable's rock. We have been using them for over a year with fantastic durability. Worth ever penny.
Corey

[Monty Rakusen]

Ahh great
I've just received my 8" 800male to 400female and this seems to be a really good solution. I can fix the plug into the MBP with my custom made clip and it holds it good and straight with no wiggling. Then I can cable tie with sticky anchors the cable underneath the machine and plug 400 to 800 cables into this. Doing this I'm protecting the 800 port and using the better designed 400 for plugging and unplugging and wiggling. Next thing is to test it.

So will the 400 reduce the performance? Last I heard this was not noticeable but does anyone know?

Monty

Heating up here in Yorkshire and I'm cleaning the kit this morning. Its never been so dirty after being caught in a dust cloud in a powerstation furnace taking pictures like this!
http://www.rakusen.co.uk/2-images/pdfs/DOOSANBABCOCK2.pdf

[Monty Rakusen]

Just to say that I've been testing the 400 firewire and I cant tell any difference in performance but I'd still be interested in any feedback.

I've only used True Focus on one shoot and so far I'm VERY impressed. Audible focus confirmation is great and the success rate is an impressive improvement. I'll post more when I know more.

Monty

[symbolphoto]

So what's the deal here? Are there cables being made? I'd like a 30ft Right angled 800 for the camera side and a striaght 800 on the computer side.

[grandguru]

The limitations of the firewire standard are documented in a Wikipedia article and I include an extract here because so many people seem to think the 4.5 metre limit is somehow Haselblads problem.

FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394-1995)
A 6-circuit FireWire 400 alpha connector

The original release of IEEE 1394-1995[18] specified what is now known as FireWire 400. It can transfer data between devices at 100, 200, or 400 Mbit/s half-duplex data rates (the actual transfer rates are 98.304, 196.608, and 393.216 Mbit/s, i.e. 12.288, 24.576 and 49.152 megabytes per second respectively).[3] These different transfer modes are commonly referred to as S100, S200, and S400.

Cable length is limited to 4.5 metres (14.8 ft), although up to 16 cables can be daisy chained using active repeaters; external hubs, or internal hubs are often present in FireWire equipment. The S400 standard limits any configuration's maximum cable length to 72 metres (236 ft). The 6-circuit connector is commonly found on desktop computers, and can supply the connected device with power.

The 6-circuit powered connector, now referred to as an alpha connector, adds power output to support external devices. Typically a device can pull about 7 to 8 watts from the port; however, the voltage varies significantly from different devices.[19] Voltage is specified as unregulated and should nominally be about 25 volts (range 24 to 30). Apple's implementation on laptops is typically related to battery power and can be as low as 9 V.[19]

The whole article is here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewire

[Alex Maxim]

Yes, however they could make a twice longer cable with a small repeater in the middle.

[NickT]

Saw this on GetDPI, would love an 800 version:

http://www.lindy.co.uk/firewire-360-degree-adapter-6-pin-female-to-6-pin-male/70399.html

[Alex Maxim]

Saw this on GetDPI, would love an 800 version:

http://www.lindy.co.uk/firewire-360-degree-adapter-6-pin-female-to-6-pin-male/70399.html

Yes, I've just thought about it too.

[www_usbfirewire_com]

Well, I've waited to see if there were any more comments before we begin to work on a solution.

It's an expensive process, so we like to try our hardest to get things right the first time.  This will take a while to build a tooling, prototype, and have some cables ready to go.

one more piece of information that we need to design this - can I have everyone give me a measurement of their Hasselblad back?  I need to know how far in the connector fits into the camera.  The one that I've measured is 19.6mm, to the outside shroud of the camera.  So, I need 5 people to take their cable, plug it into their back, hold the cable at the point where it's inserted.  Then, I need you to pull it out, and measure from your fingertip, to the tip of the FW800 connector.
Image of the measurement that I need.
.

I'm looking to have replies from people who have different models.  Please state the model, and the measurement. 

I need measurements from 5 different models before we can move forward.