Jarrett P. Morgan

Very cool. Thanks for sharing!

I know a friend of mine (who is also on this forum, Chris Campbell) had a couple of battery cases made by South-Pak (http://www.south-pak.com/).

They turned out really nice and were quite reasonable. He had nothing but good things to say about them.

 

I used Belden 8601 when I do coiled camera power cables. It is 18 AWG 2 conductor coiled. The length they sell it in is enough for two cables of good length.

 

Has worked perfectly in the past for me.

 

Just my 2 Cent.

 

Also: welcome to the forum Donovan!

What supplier do you use? I did a quick search, and I'm seeing ~$30 per one foot coil (retracted length). Does that sounds about right to you, or do you have a better source?

 

Yikes. No, I did not pay that much. I have only made a couple of coiled cables for people, so I have actually only bought them once, and it was a lot of 4 of them for something like $48 new on eBay. I may have just gotten lucky though!

I used Belden 8601 when I do coiled camera power cables. It is 18 AWG 2 conductor coiled. The length they sell it in is enough for two cables of good length.

Has worked perfectly in the past for me.

Just my 2 Cent.

Also: welcome to the forum Donovan!

Thanks Justin, but I worked it out.

Does it use the Preston HU?

The bolt should be protected against reverse polarity (as should the MDR3, it is the same connector and pin out as the bolt and Alexa).

The bartech is absolutely not. It will smoke and go NFG. Thankfully apparently it is a cheap part for Jim to fix, but still not very convient.

Victor,

I agree completely. Last thing I bought was a little SD recorder. Even just to allow me to review my operating later. One of those thing I don't know why I didn't do it forever ago.

Brian: "with appologies", haha

I didn't say it was a good reference, just one that keeps popping up in my mind.

I will when I have some time to look through it. I have a bunch of footage that is still under lock and key from productions that haven't been released yet.

Just wanted to add:

This is my favorite shot ever I think. When in film school I wrote a paper about it. One of the shots that made me want to be a steadicam operator!

Be sure to watch the shot commentary from Larry McConkey that is also on SteadiShots. Really great.

This thread has been a pleasure to read and watch as it has progressed. Wonderful work by all the ops who have posted thus far!

All I can think about though is the Outkast song. Awfully degrading given the context though...

of course. Glad to help.

Check out the manuals here:

http://www.rtmotion.com/page/support

They should have all the info you need.

given the plug next to it (which seems to be a 0B Video plug) I would bet that the part number for the plug you are looking for (mating part to the part shown) is:

FFA.1S.302.CLAC52Z (where the 52 is the collet size and the Z is indicating a strain relief nut, for which you will need strain relief)

Here is a link to the connector:

http://www.peigenesis.com/en/shop/part-information/FFA1S302CLAC52Z/LMO/EACH/400754.html

And one to a black strain relief for it:
http://www.peigenesis.com/en/shop/part-information/GMA1B051RN/LMO/EACH/270506.html

*Edit* this is the same plug as the Pro Cine-Only AUX port

I want to decide between the RTM and the Axis 1. Please advise, anyone who have used both. Thank you.

I think they are both viable systems.

(The following list is based on my views on the systems as I have seen them: videos on the Axis 1, owning the RTmotion)

The Pros to the Axis 1:

stronger motor from what I have seen video-wise

faster calibration

Pros to the RTmotion:

more axises (sp?)

smaller receiver

smaller motors

acc options (gimbal mounted zoom control, etc)

In my mind, I think the Axis 1 is a more solid system if you only need one channel and you have the money for the more expensive system.

That being said, I love my RTmotion and it does what it needs to do. The newest generation hasn't let me down and I have a couple of rough shows with it.

Again, title says it all. looking for a used camera plate for Pro systems.

Thanks,
JPM

+1 for skating. I have been playing hockey for years and it trains your body to keep balanced and adjust movement subtlety to change direction or speed. I think it helps substantially.

Alan,

I have in fact opened up the reciever (one gen old) and it seems fairly well made. A machine printed circuit board all with good solders on it.

I wouldn't throw it on the ground (I wouldn't with an MDR either) but I also don't worry about it on a set environment. To clarify though: that is the newest gen, 3.1. The older generation had some issues with antenna integrity that plagued me until I recieved the upgrade.

Title says it all. Looking to purchase one of the two. DB3 preferred.

Thanks,

JPM

To clarify:

The connector is:

FGJ.3B.308.CLLD72Z (where the 72 is the size of the cable, in this case 7.2mm)

The connector is wired for 12v and 24v, but the camera is purely a 12v camera. The 24v is a straight pass-through to the 24V output (a single Fischer 3-pin RS, the same as Arri).

When flying it last time I merely wired it for 12V with a y cable to the camera power and aux and used all 12v accessories.

When doing a y-cable, it doesn't really matter what pins each cable is in, as the camera combines all the positive pins and negative pins. (discovered because when I pulled the AUX battery to change it with hot-swap, the accessories were still powered through the power feeding back through the connector.)

Seems encouraging Jarrett.

 

Their website says they've enabled manual calibration in the latest beta firmware. How, practically, has this been implemented? Is it efficient, say if you compare to a Bartech?

 

Some months back (they've removed this claim from the website since), they proposed adding 'lens mapping', - giving distance readings, f-stop readings. What does the OLED display offer at the moment?

It isn't poorly impletmented, but it is meant as a feature to not use all the time, just when you need it (like canon L glass). It works well from what I have tested it, but it is a bit more cumbersome than the analog bartech (mostly because the analog bartech is built to do it constantly)

In my mind the feature is very handy to have in the situation where you may need to manually calibrate, but i have yet to have to use it on set.

Currently the OLED is used for menu systems (obviously) and then when you go to the main screen it shows an arbitrary number from 0-999 (or 0-99 for iris slider) that corresponds to where the focus wheel or the slider is. I suppose you could use the number for repeatable marks on the same lens, but using a marked ring is a lot easier. Generally I just turn the screen off to extend the battery life even longer.

So I just used the RTmotion 3.1 system on two short films in a row and I have to say it performed admirably. Both 1st ACs were really happy with it. They compared it to between a bartech and a preston, which makes sense in my head as well.

If anyone is in Atlanta and would like to try it out, feel free to give me a shout.

Here is my take on the math: the amperage is increased in 12v parallel mode but you are running all three batteries so the load is spread evenly. Thus the amperage draw may be less per-battery than 2 in 24v and one powering monitor:

12v Parallel:
hypothetical 10 amps total (7 for camera, 3 for AKS/Monitor) = 3.3 amps on each battery

24v:

hypothetical 6.5 amps total (3.5 for camera, 3 for AKS/Monitor) =

Cam = 3.5 amps

Aux = 5.5 amps (3.5 for camera, 2 amps for AKS)

Monitor = 1 amp

(*caveat* this is given my understanding on how series circuits work, please correct me if I have gotten something wrong.)

My bet would be that the camera rips through 12v faster than 24v because it is designed to work with 24 and therefore has to do more work (for lack of a better phrase) in order to work in 12v mode. Case in point (of the camera having to work harder): the 24v RS outputs are unconverted from 12 to 24v when the input voltage is below 24. When 24v (or higher) is inputed, the outputs are merely a passthrough.

Just my 2 cents.

An update to my review/thoughts. (I just like to put the information out there so that people searching can find relevant information)

I just received the newest iteration of the RTmotion remote follow: version 3.1

It seems to address several of the issues I discussed before. The antennas are now encapsulated and supposedly more powerful/better (this will be proven or disproven with time). This for me makes the likelyhood of the antennas breaking off again next to nothing, which is wonderful. That alone is a great upgrade.

The hand unit's focus wheel is much silkier in its rotation, almost fluid-like. Much nicer than the older design with no resistance. It feels more like a preston now.

That is all I have for now, but I have a 7 day short coming up and will report back with additional findings and thoughts.

The problematic restrictions are on checked bags really. You can only check a minimal number, must be under 100wH, and it must be attached to a device. Carry on is the only way to travel with Li-Ion now. There is no quantity limit for Dionic 90 & HC. I always carry my Dionic 90's on board with no fuss. Haven't had an argument with TSA yet.. Check out the chart from Anton Bauer: http://www.antonbauer.com/Carry-on

Thanks for the link! Very useful.

I have seen some folks say that when they travel they carry on their vest with them. Do you? or do you have a case for it?

I am just starting to travel for work and am still working out the kinks. I have a soft bag (essentially the one from Modular 51), but I certainly don't want to check that.