RTmotion mk3 wireless follow focus

[stephanus_ino]

here is a link to download firmware 1.0.2
media.rtmotion.com.s3.amazonaws.com/support/RTMotion-Software-2012-06-27.zip

[Matt Ryan]

anyone have any more updates or reviews on the new mk3 version?

[stephanus_ino]

anyone have any more updates or reviews on the new mk3 version?

http://media.rtmotion.com.s3.amazona...2012-07-10.zip

[Matt Ryan]

http://media.rtmotion.com.s3.amazona...2012-07-10.zip

Thank you, but I didn't mean firmware updates. I was referring to updates on the units from those who have the units. Anyone have any video bts of the system running? I'm curious about the noise and how smooth the gears turn.

Also, curious for some user feedback for those who have had the units and been able to test.

[Matt Ryan]

Anyone?

[Perry Ho]

Mine MK3 "Stereo" Package 3-Motor arrived Hong Kong and just released from import department, will going to try next week...

[Robert Cook]

Anyone?

+ one on info follow-up.

[Robert Horwell]

Hi Guys,

Ok i have been using the RT stereo rig recently. It's good, it is potentially fantastic. There are one or 2 problems that i feel need to be ironed out, but i am sure that will happen. I have a bit of judder in my motors on slow pulls. Big fast racks it whirrs through nice and smooth, but lets be honest how often are we racking 2 feet to 30ft. Most of what we use these goodies for is less dynamic than that. The build is solid as i have already said in previous posts. RT are developing their gear big time at the moment and growing, from what i can tell, so they are not going to dissappear like another company who i ordered a FF from some years ago..ahum...anyway anything else you want to know, give me a shout.

[Zoltan Jonas]

Thanks heaps for your comments Robert!

Have RT issued a user manual for their system? So far they've been very scarce and brief on their website about the fine details of how their system function, what firmware features it has etc.

Also annoying is that their website photos seem to be CGI, and somewhat different than what the final product has come to look like, judging by the image we recieved earlier in the forum. If you can bring yourself to posting a few decent photos of the components of the rig, as individuals, and as the compete system, that would be the very best way for all of us to get a decent first impression. For instance, very few of us have seen the underside of the hand unit (never know what might be there...). This can also shed some good light on the physical design decisions the company has made.

The few photos of the reciever unit speak well for themselves, and so that leaves the performance of the motor for scrutiny. You have mentioned some judder at slow speeds. This is interesting. As you so accurately also comment, fast racks from MOD-Infinity are a rare practice in reality, and it is the slow smooth pulls that really test the performance of the motor. The website claims the motor is torquey enough to move stiff cine lenses. I should hope so. How fast is the auto-calibration? And how is the manual calibration implemented? How quickly (and accurately) can a manual calibration be performed by the user?

Another user on this forum mentioned the turning distance of the focus ring being quantified by a linear 0-999 scale in the hand unit's firmware. How useful have you found this, if at all? Has RF interferance been an issue?

Thanks mate!

[Robert Horwell]

Ok Guys. I spoke to Kris tonight from RT Motion tonight and he tells me there is a significant firmware update on it's way. Let me say that the unit is useable on set as it is. Today i spent a day exploring the RT Motion stereo , and the judder isn't as bad as it seems, it isn't always there and when it is it is slight. I think with this next update it will be eliminated altogether. I think these guys are on it, and developing the system at a rate of knots. I have attached some pics and slung my iphone 3 in there for comparison. To answer your questions more fully zoltan, the unit calibrates a 100mm Lomo in about 15 seconds, bear in mind its a decent size barrel. The thing i like is that it's not too harsh on the lenses, i find the Preston units fairly aggressive in the way they calibrate and sometimes whince when i hear the thunk of the endstop hit during calibration, in contrast to this the RT Motion system is very gentle on my optics, which in the long run saves me a few quid in service costs on my old re-housed Century cooke speed panchros.
The unit is very very well made, super solid and made to last. I haven't performed a manual calibration and i'm not 100% sure if that is at all possible at the moment, maybe in a future firmware update? I don't find the linear scale that useful maybe i would if i spent more time using it, but its just not my style, i prefer to use my eye or mark a disc. The controller runs on Canon LPE 6 batteries, i put one in last night and so far it has run the controller for over 8 hrs and is still running.
I have scanned the manual in, and will post a link to download from my dropbox, i am waiting for Kris to get back and see if he is cool with that. Hope all this helps. By the way i do not work for RT Motion and am in now ay connected to them.