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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

Russ Fill said:
Well it's done.
Just received my Beast/AKA BeSteady group buy.
Im having it sent to location and will update when I receive it here and get to put it through its paces.
Thanks Peter
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You are welcome Russ. Customs can be a problem from time to time. I'm glad that your unit is cleared and on its way to you.


Best
Peter
 
If the list is still accurate #53 said they have received their unit, I'm 54 and have not gotten a shipping notification yet.
 
Had a little run the other day

Had a little run the other day

I had a small opportunity the other day to operate with the Beast on a project DP’ed by Bob Gundu. The specific shot called for me to run with the set-up, camera facing backward while a cyclist charged past me. Everything worked like a charm.

Prior to shooting, balancing the camera was fast and easy. I used a Red Dragon with a XEEN 24mm and an Action Products Proteus. I used the Proteus to consolidate on-camera 5v out for the wireless transmitter, run / stop and camera power. I did a bit of cable customization and I am able to have TC as well as Genlock. I also had a custom “Y” cable built that takes power from the camera shelf and distributes 12V to the Proteus and the DTap splitter box that ACR provided.

I find that the stand for the Beast not a very sturdy stand. I have included a pic of a pre- release part I am having machined that takes all the shake out of the stand. I post more pics when it's complete.

As I have mentioned above the Beast is a breeze to balance. I find it easy and quick. For me, I find deciding on the configuration to be the most time consuming. Unfortunately, I do not have any footage to share as it is not mine to do so - sorry. I'm sure with a little time I'll have lots to of footage to post.
 

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I've read somewhere that you shouldn't turn the cradle too much on itself, because of the cable.

I had my first rental, without me as an operator this weekend, and how am I supposed to check the inner cable ?
There are no hard stops like the ronin, basically it can twist as it wants if the operator is not paying attention.

Is there a way to know where to look if we want to "reverse twist" ?

R. Gonzales said:
I find that the stand for the Beast not a very sturdy stand. I have included a pic of a pre- release part I am having machined that takes all the shake out of the stand. I post more pics when it's complete.
Click to expand...

Machine some more of your plate ! I'll buy one too.
 
Bérenger Brillante said:
I've read somewhere that you shouldn't turn the cradle too much on itself, because of the cable.

I had my first rental, without me as an operator this weekend, and how am I supposed to check the inner cable ?
There are no hard stops like the ronin, basically it can twist as it wants if the operator is not paying attention.

Is there a way to know where to look if we want to "reverse twist" ?



Machine some more of your plate ! I'll buy one too.
Click to expand...

Hey Bérenger, you are absolutely correct about that cable. The operator just has to pay particular attention and untwist it when and if it becomes tangled.

The plate that is being machined has now taken on the contours of the stand and looks like it was meant to be there. Once it has been anodized I'll post pics and info on where you can get it. If there is lots of interest I'll see about arranging more to be made in bulk for those who may want one. I gotta tell ya, it works like a charm.
 
Has anyone managed to get a refund?

I have been asking Peter for the last 6 months for a refund and all he says is "our legal and accounting departments are looking into it...". One minute he explains to us that ACR is a small operation with a small team - then he acts like they have a legal department and an accounting department on the 32nd floor that has weekly and monthly meetings.

3 weeks ago his advice was "accept delivery then sell the unit on the market" That doesn't show much confidence in the companies ability to stay afloat if they think I have better luck selling one than they would if they had to put mine back on their shelf!

Would love to hear from others who are also looking to get their money back and what their attempts have achieved.
 
Greg Garay said:
Would love to hear from others who are also looking to get their money back and what their attempts have achieved.
Click to expand...
I had a few mails about that situation, and i'm still waiting for my refund too. Communication was good and honest in my opinion. Nothing sounded like a cheap excuse.

But sure, In the end the situation sucks.
 
I now have my Beast for a good week.
In terms pf engineering and design, it's great.
Compared to the Ronin, it's way more light.
Balancing is pretty easy, I now need less than 5 minutes.
Menu and interface are easy to navigate and I have to admit this onboard manager was a great idea.
The things which make me sweat are: the camera plate, the stand and some encoder errors or bugs.
I'm still having a hard time screwing the camera plate with an heavy set-up, it's far from being the best part of the gimbal.
I don't think the stand is really stable even on a table, with a regular Weapon set-up, I always have the feeling everything will shift and fall.
Encoder errors are showing up, sometimes when forcing on the gimbal but the most disturbing part is that sometimes I switch on the gimbal and there's no stabilization at all... I still can't figure out why.
So far I'm pleased with it but tomorrow I'm leaving for a 10 days shoot in a warm tropical environment and I will really have to push the Beast: shooting from moving boat, running after athletes in the jungle, etc...
When I'm back I will let you know if it was worth the wait...
 
Ok, I have my Beast and have put it through some pretty challenging paces here on a hot tropical island in the pacific. Day time temps are in the 90's at times and full humidity so its about as hot as I would expect the unit to have to operate in and it has done a flawless job. Noted Im running a very light setup with just the Weapon a PAG 96 V mount for the camera and a few Leica still primes, and the tube batts from ACR, but I have to say that I was very skeptical when I finally opened my case and started to tune the Beast hearing all the horror stories and remembering how hard it has been to get to this point.
The interface on the back is as stated a real blessing, as I have used other gimbals and to have to connect to something to just make a small change is just a pain in the back every time you feel a little vibration and want to fix it. Usually its because I haven't balanced the unit to perfection but now and then its nice to just change a quick setting on the fly and get the shot and then figure out what needs to be done.
The base plate as stated before is probably the weakest link in the frame and camera platform. Would be great to have a mini V dovetail for the thing. I think that would be a little more confident feel to putting my camera on there.. But the one they have supplied works but seems a little under built for some of the weights that might be on there.
Balancing a camera and setup is pretty quick and when I change to a different but similar weight lens its just a matter of balance and then back to work. I have been really surprised by how fast I can set the thing up.
Having FoolControl to control the camera wireless is something I would suggest everyone should have if your going to use a gimbal. To not have to touch or press buttons on the camera to make adjustments while everything is up and running is great.
All in all I have to say I very happy with The Beast, just wish I could have had it quite a bit of time before now. As we all do Im sure. I have found some limits with lensing and weight but noting I didn't expect.
Thank you Peter and Max and company. Heres to keeping it rolling with updates and new hardware.
 
Hello Guys,

we are familiar with problems with camera plate and right now we are working on upgrade for it. We would be grateful for all suggestions about its design - you are those devices end users so you will know best what do you need and what will work best for you.

There are a lot of The Best users that are doing it already and we are very happy to hear all comments from you as it allows us to improve our designs even more.

We are certain that there will be separate regulation for camera plate - one for front to back movement and separate for left to right movement and that the plate itself needs to be longer to allow mounting longer camera setup.

We have an opportunity to meat with Mikael Lubtchansky during NAB and test his app for RED camera. His solution is great and we recommend using it - especially with camera mounted on gimbal.


Best
Peter
 
One thing that would really help my type of use for the quick plate is to make it so that I could put a receiver part on a tripod and that way I could go from Beast to tripod and back again with out changing plates. Maybe some kind of ultra light Arri Dovetail type of attachment. I could be wrong but it seems that we are not supporting that much weight because the rig can only take about 15 Lb's anyway so a regular dove tail that is supper lightened up. And even if you go to the tripod you still could only use light setups.
Its just my type of use has me needing to shoot on the Beast and then transfer for a quick shot on a tripod and them back to the gimbal.
Anyway my 2 cents worth..
 
I don't actually mind that units don't seem to be shipping right now, just wish there was a bit more transparency setting expectations on timing for those of us who haven't received units yet.
 
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