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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

BeSteady FOUR Thread

I've been booked on another show already with the Beast (is that what we're officially calling it? Everyone asks and I'm not quite sure what to call it) so I can't share any footage yet, but my experiences have been similar to Joe's:

The majority of the issues I'm having with this firmware are the roll horizon being off to the right. Usually, in order to fix, I go through some combination of toggling Xtended Stabilization, toggling roll follow, and calibrating the gyro.

I do have one issue, though, with the top handle. Even when tightening the screw that connects the handle stem to the bottom tube that connects to the handle bars, it slips and the top handle rotates when I apply torque to it, such as propping one handle on a hip and holding the top handle when resting between takes. I'm not sure what the solution is yet, haven't had time to trouble shoot.

Joe, I'm not sure what you're asking about switching the arms direction for inverted mode, I just spin the gimbal around and flip it up and turn the handles down.
 
If they can't afford to refund people and are carrying on trading they are insolvent and shouldn't be trading at all...this is UK law

I wish them the best having met them and the 4 I got was a thing of beauty...just didn't work
 
Jordan - do you have to loosen anything to get your handles to turn down? I've tried a little force to rotate them without unscrewing anything but they seem pretty much locked in place so I'm guessing you loosen the screws?

No sign of the top handle issue you mention here but I'll see whether I can replicate it by propping on the hip as you mention and feedback if so.

Cheers,
Joe


ps. A quick point on the UK trading laws - I think ACR-SYS is registered as a Polish company (Sp. z.o.o) rather than a UK Limited Company as BeSteady was, so I'm not sure if the same regulations will apply.
 
Thanks Maks - that's fantastic. I was a bit shy to pull them as hard as was needed but that's a great quick change.

Much appreciated.
 
After almost a week of testing all different situations, I´m very impressed by the Beast :)

Only minor problems so far:
Roll axis off after startup - can be fixed going into the performance menu and click roll strength 1% up and go back out of the menu and it will reajust.
Inverted mode not detected - be sure to have the tilt motor on the left side if you´re behind the beast and the camera tray underslung, if that does´t help do a factory default reset, did the Job for me
Balancing Connector on Batteries - these little suckers need quite some force to pull out of the charger, but NEVER pull them on the cables, ONLY pull on the connector, i managed to pull out the cables from the connector and short circuited my small battery. Not a design flaw by ACR, just something which is RC Tech and not Camera Tech.

I really started to love the thumbstick control, its great if you walk parallel to someone and you can adjust the angle as desired for a comfortable holding position.
I love the inverted mode and the handles turned about 45° towards me, this is a very comfortable position and allows to shoot longer takes without support.
 
Roll axis off after startup - we are aware of that, working on solution (it is known but it must be tested) right now. We will post new fw soon with a fix.

Inverted mode autodetection - Manuel is right - you must be sure that motor is located correctly. We are adding new function in new fw as well - anti-mayhem mode. If user will do something... you know, wrong - unit will stop motors, it won't be doing crazy dance in this situation. And you will hear lovely voice telling you "error" ;-)

Damaging any cable may bring problems. Thanks to RC solutions those are really small and lightweight, so we are going to keep crappy JST small connectors as well as balancer plugs.

Thumbstick usually needs experienced operator, especially when working in mixed mode with follow on both axis. Usually you will just need to train to achieve good results. You may also turn of follow when making shots from moving vehicles - for example making shots from boat etc.

If you haven't seen those; here are tutorial movies: www.vimeo.com/channels/thebeast
If anybody would like to post feedback about tutorials - please do so.
 
Manuel, I was worried about the balancing cable plugs as well. I picked up a couple of AB Balancing Protectors to have a safe spot to grab for disconnecting. They're cheap, widely available, and provide peace of mind. Just google "AB Balance Protector Clip" and something should come up. Doesn't interfere with fitting the small ACR lipos into the Beast tubes.

5pcs-Lithium-Balancing-Head-Protector-2S-6S-AB-buckle.jpg
 
Also, Manuel, Carey taught me a cool trick, if you're operating without the thumbstick, you can manually move the pan or tilt axes and hold their position for two seconds, and the gimbal will lock that new position in as the set orientation, so if you need it to rest at an angle, or be tilted up for a low angle shot, this is a really fast and easy solution before the shot starts. I have to give credit to ACR, this was a smart feature that I haven't seen on other gimbals.
 
Hey guys!

This option is called "Live Lock":
https://vimeo.com/124355605#t=2m4s (press play, it will start from proper position on movie timeline).
Function works on Pan and Tilt, as in case of Roll it would probably ruin horizon because of mistake. You just need to hold desired axis on desired angle for 2 seconds. You will feel "lock" with your hand. Viola - you are ready to go.
 
Hi Jordan, thanks for the tip with the AB Balance protectors, just ordered them :)
I know the "live lock" and use this as well, but when you operate solo and setup the shot i was sometime unable to free one hand to adjust the pan axis, so i tried out the thumbstick and i really like it.
 
If someone in europe is looking for the AB Balance Protectors
the go under this name:

3S JST-XH - CLIP for the small batteries
4S JST-XH - CLIP for the large batteries
 
Those clips look great Manuel - thanks for the suggestion Jordan.

Anyone have any thoughts on flying with the Beast? I'm guessing you've had some experience taking it to NAB Maks - are the small batteries within IATA specs, etc?
 
I'm finding the small lipo connectors to be a pain as well (very difficult to disconnect/re-connect)... makes me appreciate all the normal battery solutions - this is a bit 'homebrew'. Looking forward to cable packs and other options.
 
Hi Guys,

we are currently on NAB. If you are interested in meeting us please visit us at US13707 in South Upper Hall. You will be able to test The Beast yourself and speak to us in person.

Best
Peter

ps.

Something you might be interested in:
https://instagram.com/p/1fDIBYkCbf/?taken-by=acrsys
 
Okay, so no need for the Freefly Mimic since ACR has their own version called "The Grip".

Piotr, I haven't heard back from Mike, but per our agreement, since my unit is clearly defective, you guys were suppose to ship me a working unit from NAB so that it wouldn't have to go through customs.

I sent you my shipping address, but received no reply as usual.

Can you please let me know when you will be shipping my unit?

Thank you!
 
First two shooting days done with the Beast in permanent use.
Works great, great, great :)) Flying the Epic all the time, lots of out of the car, and from the ATV shots, where we kind of semi-rig the Beast (Bungee - Rig to support the weight)

I´m not allowed to post any pictures or videos unfortunately, but the whole crew is fascinated by the Rig.
We do most of the shots with 2 operators, one guiding the Beast and me framing with the Mz-12, i never thought a 250.- EUR RC remote comes close to a performance of a large pan/Tilt Head.
i definitely need to try out the Hurricane Wheels soon, since i always preferred Hand Wheels for pan/Tilt control

http://www.hurricanewheels.tv

Back to the set now, just wanted to drop a line how awesome the Beast is in a real production enviroment :)
 
Manuel Wenger said:
First two shooting days done with the Beast in permanent use.
Works great, great, great :)) Flying the Epic all the time, lots of out of the car, and from the ATV shots, where we kind of semi-rig the Beast (Bungee - Rig to support the weight)

I´m not allowed to post any pictures or videos unfortunately, but the whole crew is fascinated by the Rig.
We do most of the shots with 2 operators, one guiding the Beast and me framing with the Mz-12, i never thought a 250.- EUR RC remote comes close to a performance of a large pan/Tilt Head.
i definitely need to try out the Hurricane Wheels soon, since i always preferred Hand Wheels for pan/Tilt control

http://www.hurricanewheels.tv

Back to the set now, just wanted to drop a line how awesome the Beast is in a real production enviroment :)
Click to expand...


I was promised a replacement for my defective unit, to be shipped from NAB.

Piotr, please email me a tracking number so that I can track the shipment.
 
Carey Lee Coffey said:
Okay, so no need for the Freefly Mimic since ACR has their own version called "The Grip".
Click to expand...
Carey, you are not alone... Promises have been made and i didn't hear back again.
Hope you'll get your new unit soon.

About "The Grip", looks nice.

Anyone in for a group-buy? :devil:
Sorry, couldn't resist....
 
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