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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 :)

Flowcine Gravity One

Sounds great Peter. I have a quick questions about the G1 (orange) dovetall plate that mounts to the top of camera. I'm looking for a fast and tool-less way to swap between the GL1 and a regular Epic top handle. I understand you can quickly slide the G1 on and off your dovetail, which is great, but is there any way to slide on a normal top handle for regular shooting / transport?

It looks like the Arri Adapter Plate provides this solution the Alexa. Will you be making a similar small bridge plate (mountable to a top Handle) for us Epic shooters? I'd like to keep the orange G1 dovetail plate permanently mounted to the top of my Epic so I can quickly swap between G1 mode and regular top-handle mode.
 
Hey Alex, what you describe its possible, and its already most available, as long as you have a top handle that can be a screw on with 1/4-20 threads, I will pm you , but just in case, send me your top handle make and I will advice.

It will be just one of our dovetail platforms and nothing more to it, os its just a matter of selling this separately in our webstore

thanks
 
Amazing! I'm currently using a Red Sliding Top handle on a small SWAT rail. This mounts via 1/4-20 threads.

I've attached an image of what I think you mean by "dovetail platform". This looks perfect for mounting SWAT + dedicated top handle for fast swapping. If so I'd love to buy this.
 

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that is correct Alex, and yes its possible. All you need to do is mount screw via 1/4-20 screws your swat rail on this platform on top, and then slide in your handle.

I will talk with Peter to see how we can sell the platform and plate separately as items, as they can be used in many cases.

thanks
 
Beautifully designed indeed Constantine, and congrats on the first deliveries guys!!

996738_694457780586436_8419982_n.jpg
 
The first rigs left our office today! All backers rigs will be sent out within a week from today. The first 12 was just picked up, and we got 6 more going out on Monday, and then it continues :)
 
Would love to hear some first impressions from those who've received theirs! I am strongly considering this as an alternative to the Movi/BeSteady/Defy/etc gimbals out there.
 
I'm looking forward to receiving mine soon. i currently have a frog clamp on my easy rig instead of the hook. this then clips into an eyelet i have screwed into the top handle as it is a very quick way to attach the camera. would this system work with the flowcine, there are plenty of threaded holes on it's handle or would it make it less stable.
 
Hi Constantine. I just got notice that my G1 has shipped. Exciting!

Have you given any more thought to a practical hand grip solution? I'm keen to add my own fig-rig-like solution, which mounts at the top and wraps around the camera / G1. Something like this, but maybe only 270 degrees, with an open bottom:

http://www.oddballs.co.uk/aluminium-isolation-hoops-50cm-p-3504.html

or

http://www.firetoys.co.uk/isolation-hoop-50cm-19-7in.html

Do you know how I can mount this to the Gravity one? I wish there were some mounting points lower, as close to the outer bow as possible.

Thanks
Alex
 

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Hello Alex. I have tested some handles but I didnt finalise this because I am also redesigning the pan motor assembly for the future.

what you are showing me here looks really weak, and so far the bigger handles you put on the rig, the more the leverage the more the error produced.

For the motorised version is very useful but not for the manual. What I am planing in , is a small handle so you can tilt the camera easily, and I had already made various tests and it works well.

I will update soon.

I advise you in the beginning to get to know the rig and its behaviour with out any handles. You can even work with your hands on the camera in slow moves and if you have your hands very close to COG you produce very cool stabilised shots,

with very minor errors but full control to perform, wip pans, extreme tilts and other cool camera moves. The trick is to hold as light weight as possible.

It has been crazy busy with all sudden rise in sales, and I just got so busy I couldnt work much on the rest of the toys, but January is the month that will be all cool.

let me know when you get your rig. Make sure you mount the monitor on the side of the lens via noga and low, for best viewing, and balance the total configuration, camera and monitor and all other goods with really good tide up cables.

Then we take it from there and see what you need for grips and operation.

Best regards
 
Alex Boothby said:
Hi Constantine. I just got notice that my G1 has shipped. Exciting!

Have you given any more thought to a practical hand grip solution? I'm keen to add my own fig-rig-like solution, which mounts at the top and wraps around the camera / G1. Something like this, but maybe only 270 degrees, with an open bottom:

http://www.oddballs.co.uk/aluminium-isolation-hoops-50cm-p-3504.html

or

http://www.firetoys.co.uk/isolation-hoop-50cm-19-7in.html

Do you know how I can mount this to the Gravity one? I wish there were some mounting points lower, as close to the outer bow as possible.

Thanks
Alex
Click to expand...

btw 270 degrees??? hehe 120- degrees max, talking about the actual body of the ring and not the lower opening.
regards
 
constantine Tirintzis said:
the bigger handles you put on the rig, the more the leverage the more the error produced.
Click to expand...

Strange, I would have thought the opposite was true. A large movement on a pendulum translates into a smaller movement closer to the axis... like a teeter-totter. Am I missing something?

For clarity, my intention is to mount curved Movi-like handles to the TOP of the G1 handle (not on the camera), before any G1 stabilization occurs. I don't know why this would produce any more error than touching the G1 top handle directly.

constantine Tirintzis said:
What I am planing in , is a small handle so you can tilt the camera easily, and I had already made various tests and it works well.
Click to expand...

Sounds cool. I'm excited to see what you have planned.

Unfortunately a small tilting handle is less important to me than a practical (and lower) place to grab the rig and operate, and even take some weight... like Movi handles. I'm suggesting a fig-rig-like solution for aesthetic reasons only (to match the G1's curved design) but Movi handles would be fine.

80% of my narrative work is shot shoulder-height, with the lens between 5-6 feet high, so lower handles would be very useful. Your videos show lots of stabilized operating in low mode, but I've not seen a demonstration of shoulder-height operating without touching the camera. Every video shows hands on the camera, which can't be good. Movi-like handles would solve this.

constantine Tirintzis said:
I advise you in the beginning to get to know the rig and its behaviour with out any handles. You can even work with your hands on the camera in slow moves and if you have your hands very close to COG you produce very cool stabilised shots... The trick is to hold as light weight as possible.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. I think my G1 arrives tomorrow. I can't wait to try it out and practice!

constantine Tirintzis said:
It has been crazy busy with all sudden rise in sales, and I just got so busy I couldnt work much on the rest of the toys, but January is the month that will be all cool.... Then we take it from there and see what you need for grips and operation.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm very impressed with this rig and what you have planned for the future. 2014 is going to be an exciting year.

Also thanks for the advice on the LCD placement and maintaining proper COG.
 
Hello Alex, this is not exactly how it works. Problem is you take as an example the Movi with has a pan motor to start with, so it doesnt really natter what kind of handles you put on to it, because the leverage doesnt effect balance.

On the other hand if you mount ANY handles left and right on the G1 , and since your pan axis float is BEFORE the handles and not AFTER the handles that will eventually create your hands error on the rig in pan. It will not effect tilt or roll, but it will effect pan. I hope this makes sense. However, the motorised version G1E will be a total different story with the handles since you can work with them as usual example.

I am trying to explain to you that mechanical gimbals are a way different story than motorised gimbals, in all aspects as well as control.

Lets see what you think when you get the rig, and get to know it first. As I said we will make loads of gear around it.

Some times also personal style in operating is what makes the difference, and we are here to solve everything.

Also dont forget that this was meant to be an easy rig solution first and a stabiliser after, so its good to get to know how it works and get familiar with all different styles of shots you can create.

For example many Easy rig operators, that were really familiar with the easy rig, could produce great shots holding the camera very lightly, or let it hang in low mode, and you can produce smooth sequences and you can also produce very nice hand held sequences with a very different aesthetic hand held feel, because everything is much more natural, with out annoying gaps that disturb the eye. Its all there to play with.

Lets do this and take this step by step.

Thanks Alex and best wishes
 
we at Flowcine wish you all Merry Christmas and a very exiting New year 2014 .

it will certainly be many new things coming from us , and we are waiting for your valuable feedback at info@flowcine.com

Best regards

Constantine
 
Works fantastic

Works fantastic

We actually received our Gravity One last week and we had a rushed hour to play with it and realized we needed a few parts. Soooo on Christmas Eve while the house was asleep....... I spent a few hours and put the rig together. It works really well. A real ah ha moment. Couple of thoughts.
You will need a solution to hard fix you monitor . A long swat rail running horizontally along the front of my top plate seemed like the answer but it was not. I needed the real estate on top of the camera to mount the gravity one dove tail plate. .......
Pick a lens , stick on your AKS/ Battery and Follow some some easy directions to get a good idea about center of balance.
Our first go at it it seemed almost impossible to balance. After thinking about it we added some ballast to the bottom ( 18" rods and base plate ) and offset the small dove tail on the outer bow to lower CG. Once this was done it was an AH HA moment for sure....
Couple of thoughts for you guys. Take the time to really find center of camera. Once with only a few items to figure it out. It all makes sense but if you only have x & y axis figured out but your y ( up and down)is off the camera just flops over. By adding more weight I could also lesson the pendulum effect....
The rig has two small set screws that keep the bows locked. Constantine is it ok to lock the set screws and carry around. Rig when camera us attached.
Happy Holidays
 

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