Birger Lens Mount Reservations

[Karl H]

Walter - thank you VERY much. Nowhere had I read about holding down the 'I' button to initialise it - that seemed to get it going. I was wondering what the hell I was doing wrong.

I'm off to play with it for a while

 

[Tim Morten]

Hey Michael.. don't worry im on your guys side That is why I let the Birger slide through the warranty restrictions in the first place..

I'm not a Birger owner (at least not until the Nikon mount passes from the realm of legend into our own world), but I definitely want to express thanks to Jarred for his support. If Erik's communication with Red has been anything like the communication with the folks who were waiting for their orders, I'm sure there was cause for some frustration along the way. By all counts the end product sounds great, and as much as Erik deserves congatulations for (finally) delivering a good product, Jarred deserves a big thank you sorting the warranty question.

- Tim

 

[Karl H]

So I have the impero working wirelessly but when I connect the cable to the mount physically all the functions (cal and focus) go dead. Is there another button I should be holding?

As a separate issue, Ive been off the boards for a while and I dont know how far along we are in development. Do any of the advanced features of the impero work yet, such as limit knob, limit lens, or setting automatic focus points? I can just about get the iris to work but its very eratic (jumping open and closed randomly as you rotate the knob).

But what does work is the focus, very smooth, and for the moment just being able to pull focus wirelessly is a godsend.

 

[M Hsu]

I got my upgraded mount and impero today. I haven't tried to get it working yet, but just holding it is enough to make me cackle with maniacal laughter.

thanks amy and erik!

 

[Ivan Cortazar]

I got my upgraded mount and impero today. I haven't tried to get it working yet, but just holding it is enough to make me cackle with maniacal laughter.

thanks amy and erik!

I feel so happy for you guys, and so SO SOO jelous. :violent5:

Can't wait to get mine. Come on Erik, you are inflicting some serious health problem in my heart...

 

[Andrew Young]

So I have the impero working wirelessly but when I connect the cable to the mount physically all the functions (cal and focus) go dead. Is there another button I should be holding?

As a separate issue, Ive been off the boards for a while and I dont know how far along we are in development. Do any of the advanced features of the impero work yet, such as limit knob, limit lens, or setting automatic focus points? I can just about get the iris to work but its very eratic (jumping open and closed randomly as you rotate the knob).

But what does work is the focus, very smooth, and for the moment just being able to pull focus wirelessly is a godsend.

I spoke to Erik the other day about these same questions. Apparently, the cable is not activated yet but will be very soon, via a user installable firmware upgrade to the Impero. Better Iris behavior is coming too. Not so sure when we will see the more advanced features.

 

[David Nardini]

Imperio ...

Imperio ...

You may already know all this, but if not try the following for connecting wireless.

Start with the camera on and booted and the Impero off. The turn the Impero on while holding down the I (iris) button. This tells it to search for the mount and connect via BlueTooth. After a second or two you should hear a beep (or a couple, I don't remember exactly) and then you can take your finger off the I button and wait for it to go through its startup.

After maybe a minute or so, it should stop flashing lights and hopefully settle with the F light on. If it isn't lit, hit the F button to make it come on. Then hit the middle button on the Birger so the Birger calibrates focus. When that is done, hit the Cal button on the Impero.

Hi Walter,

REFERENCE : running RED build 20 and Birger library 19x (iPin cable connected).

Thanks for the tip ! The Imperio seems to communicate wireless ok, but when connected via the cable I get nothing too.

Imperio button [F] for focus seems to work ok (using your instructions).
How do I change aperture ? I had assumed it's the button, but when selected, no aperture changes. I'm guessing that library 19x is the issue ?

Followed all the A J Kelly instructions but I get no lens data ? is this also a 19x issue ?

All the buttons on the mount work as expected ... (top, middle & bottom).

Any advice / help appreciated :confused1:

Cheers ...

EDIT_1 : love the 360 degree Imperio move mapped to the Canon lens focus range ;-) ... and the record button works too
EDIT_2 : IS THERE A MANUAL FOR THE IMPERIO (including the specifics for the Birger mount) ?
EDIT_3 : what is the expected AAA battery life in the Imperio ? (hours, days, weeks, months) ?

 

[Erik Widding]

When I get bored with shipping, there will be an Impero/Birger Cinema manual... I have the Impero stuff from Curt already... maybe this weekend.

I thought I already posted this. But here goes... Imperos as shipped only do wireless focus. Hold "I" button on power up and the radios will eventually pair. This connection should be non-volatile, so re-pairing is not needed, and you can just turn the unit on next time. Short press of the "CAL" button gets focus calibration. Long press (until it beeps) gets focus and iris. If you do a long cal, pushing "I" and "F" changes the axis. Wired control and smoother focus/iris will be released some time next week.

Lens mount software versions: 20A and 19X are the only supported versions with the red camera, even though 19Y is the only version that gives a smooth iris with the current Impero software. This is a fluke, as the Impero does not set the right mode for iris in the current software. Everybody should move to 20A and let us know if there are any issues. Mac app is ahead of the PC app, and allows for some additional debug tools with the camera, such as disabling the communications over the i/data port.

 

[Robert Frank]

When I get bored with shipping, there will be an Impero/Birger Cinema manual... I have the Impero stuff from Curt already... maybe this weekend.

Great info update Erik, thanks.

And remember... shipping is fun....! :hurray:

 

[David Nardini]

When I get bored with shipping, there will be an Impero/Birger Cinema manual... I have the Impero stuff from Curt already... maybe this weekend.

I thought I already posted this. But here goes... Imperos as shipped only do wireless focus. Hold "I" button on power up and the radios will eventually pair. This connection should be non-volatile, so re-pairing is not needed, and you can just turn the unit on next time. Short press of the "CAL" button gets focus calibration. Long press (until it beeps) gets focus and iris. If you do a long cal, pushing "I" and "F" changes the axis. Wired control and smoother focus/iris will be released some time next week.

Lens mount software versions: 20A and 19X are the only supported versions with the red camera, even though 19Y is the only version that gives a smooth iris with the current Impero software. This is a fluke, as the Impero does not set the right mode for iris in the current software. Everybody should move to 20A and let us know if there are any issues. Mac app is ahead of the PC app, and allows for some additional debug tools with the camera, such as disabling the communications over the i/data port.

Erik ... apologies if I missed earlier post(s) where you explained it all ;-(

Good news about the manual / instructions.

Updated to Library 20a and behaviour is as you spell out; focus control on Canon lenses is GREAT; iris clearly not.

Does Library 20a default to 'no communication over i/data' ? No big deal for me at the mo, just nice to know ;-)

BEI interface (Mac) is now rock solid talking to the upgraded mount ... big big difference from the old mount.

Will send lens reports once I've caught up on some Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz ...

 

[Yann Kempf]

Hello,
I reask my question :
Does a Birger Mount for Nikon will exist one day ? And if yes, will it communicate with non AF-S lenses ?

 

[Karl H]

....Wired control and smoother focus/iris will be released some time next week....

... 19Y is the only version that gives a smooth iris .....

.. Everybody should move to 20A and let us know if there are any issues.

A quick test with 20A and the issue of my Mount losing sync with the Impero seems to be resolved when changing lenses. I'll do more tests with different lenses, but that's a big improvement so far.

The focus is still jumping/jittering on all lenses when trying to do a smooth pull focus. Erik says this will be resolved in an Impero update next week. Will the update be in the form of another lens library?

Thanks Erik, I cant wait for all this to be working well. The mount is solid and the impero feels really smooth. We are almost there.

 

[David Nardini]

A quick test with 20A and the issue of my Mount losing sync with the Impero seems to be resolved when changing lenses. I'll do more tests with different lenses, but that's a big improvement so far.

The focus is still jumping/jittering on all lenses when trying to do a smooth pull focus. Erik says this will be resolved in an Impero update next week. Will the update be in the form of another lens library?

Thanks Erik, I cant wait for all this to be working well. The mount is solid and the impero feels really smooth. We are almost there.

Are you getting lens data in your monitor (with Lib 20a) ? What RED build are you running (17,18,20) ?
So far, focus is smooth on all Canon lenses I've played with ... Tokina 11-16 is a tad lumpy.

 

[MikeHedge]

big hugs to the Birger team!!!! friday night still rockin'!!!!

 

[Karl H]

Hi David,

Im on Build 17 on the Red, and lens library 20A. I've heard you lose the lens data if you upgrade the Red build so I'm sticking with it for the moment.

I cannot get smooth focus on any lens and I've tried canon 24mm L, 35mm L, 50mm L and 17-55mm.

It it sometimes ok, but doing a really slow pull focus produces almost a flicker or jump on the focus ring. Erik said this would be fixed next week in an impero upgrade. What camera build are you running?

 

[David Nardini]

Hi David,

Im on Build 17 on the Red, and lens library 20A. I've heard you lose the lens data if you upgrade the Red build so I'm sticking with it for the moment.

I cannot get smooth focus on any lens and I've tried canon 24mm L, 35mm L, 50mm L and 17-55mm.

It it sometimes ok, but doing a really slow pull focus produces almost a flicker or jump on the focus ring. Erik said this would be fixed next week in an impero upgrade. What camera build are you running?

I'm running Red build 20 and I guess that explains the loss of the lens data. I suspect Birger are having to re-sync with RED having changed things (protocol) ... probably best this way and ensure it's all A-OK :emote_happyhappy:

I'll have a good look at a slow slow focus pull and see if I notice any jumps ...

 

[Frazier Nivens]

Please don't get bored with shipping

Please don't get bored with shipping

When I get bored with shipping, there will be an Impero/Birger Cinema manual... I have the Impero stuff from Curt already... maybe this weekend.

I thought I already posted this. But here goes... Imperos as shipped only do wireless focus. Hold "I" button on power up and the radios will eventually pair. This connection should be non-volatile, so re-pairing is not needed, and you can just turn the unit on next time. Short press of the "CAL" button gets focus calibration. Long press (until it beeps) gets focus and iris. If you do a long cal, pushing "I" and "F" changes the axis. Wired control and smoother focus/iris will be released some time next week.

Lens mount software versions: 20A and 19X are the only supported versions with the red camera, even though 19Y is the only version that gives a smooth iris with the current Impero software. This is a fluke, as the Impero does not set the right mode for iris in the current software. Everybody should move to 20A and let us know if there are any issues. Mac app is ahead of the PC app, and allows for some additional debug tools with the camera, such as disabling the communications over the i/data port.

Can't wait to get my Impero, ship when ready. It should be on order, please let me know if it's not.

Thanks,
Frazier Nivens, Ocean Imaging

 

[christopher witzke]

When I get bored with shipping, there will be an Impero/Birger Cinema manual... I have the Impero stuff from Curt already... maybe this weekend.

I thought I already posted this. But here goes... Imperos as shipped only do wireless focus. Hold "I" button on power up and the radios will eventually pair. This connection should be non-volatile, so re-pairing is not needed, and you can just turn the unit on next time. Short press of the "CAL" button gets focus calibration. Long press (until it beeps) gets focus and iris. If you do a long cal, pushing "I" and "F" changes the axis. Wired control and smoother focus/iris will be released some time next week.

Lens mount software versions: 20A and 19X are the only supported versions with the red camera, even though 19Y is the only version that gives a smooth iris with the current Impero software. This is a fluke, as the Impero does not set the right mode for iris in the current software. Everybody should move to 20A and let us know if there are any issues. Mac app is ahead of the PC app, and allows for some additional debug tools with the camera, such as disabling the communications over the i/data port.

please don't get bored with shipping..... this is a pretty big deal for some of us as we have projects in the wings awaiting on the full functionality of our gear.

 

[David Nardini]

Wireless Imperio connection ...

Wireless Imperio connection ...

Connection of the Imperio to the Birger mount wirelessly ... I find it connects consistently the 2nd time I start up (reboot) the RedOne :confused1: no idea why, but on 1st start up of the R1 the Imperio rarely connects (to date, I think only once). FYI : I keep the Imperio switched off until R1 has started.

If I leave the R1 switched off for some time (loosing some charge in the mount ?) I'm back to having to restart the R1 twice to get pretty quick / consisent connection when switching on the Imperio.

Anybody else experience this ? I can live with this so long as we have the wired connection working in the near future ... wireless is clearly very nice but as you all know, booting up the R1 is a rather slow process and having to do it twice is not ideal ...

 

[Mark Crabtree]

Instead of rebooting the Red try just pulling out the power cable from the Birger, wait five second and plug it back in, this will power cycle the mount. Then hold the I button on the Impero as you turn it on, that will force the Impero to search for the Birger and sync to it.