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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 :)

GROUP BUY: Cinegears Wireless Follow Focus Christmas Special!

Ned Wilson said:
Steven,

This may shed some light. I was meant to send mine back about a month ago but then the disconnection problems I was having mysteriously went away. I did a job in a park, an abandoned school, on top of the Standard East in NYC and on top of the Standard on the west side of Manhattan. I was loving it until today. I was in a small studio in a large office building with numerous companies above, below and next to us. It would drop at least one out of three takes. It was nervous going when we had a take that involved the actor's dress getting soaked with champagne (one take or a very long re-set. Thank God we weren't blowing shit up).



So I'm wondering does interference happen from being in a more RF / Wifi heavy zone. Also, with the Ronin, the Paralinx and the Motor boot up at the same time. Should they be booted out of sequence?

Any more insights would be helpful or I'll be filling out that RMA form.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I am so sorry to hear this.
Can you test the connectivity of equipment.
1) can you try to spin the antennas (on both the motor and the controller) if they spin more then 360 degree, then the soldering is broken which explains the poor connectivity
2) connect the equipment and spin the nob left and right for 2 mins. if the connection is lost during within the 2 mins, then its a manufacting problem. sent it back and we will give you a working one.
3) test it with all other radio and wireless equipment on. when the connection is drop, restart the motor and reconnect the equipment (by unplug the power ). the motor and the controller should work together and find a empty channel.

433 MHz signal is a open band and we can not stop other company from using 433. Thus, interference are bound to happen. Test the follow focus kit with all other filming equipment on, the motor and controller will work together and try its best to search a more empty channel. After they found the channel, they will remember it which will make the following day a lot better. :)

Also the following issue could cause the motor to stop function.

When the motor is experiencing situations that might be harmful to the motor, safe mode is turn on in order to protect the equipment. However, this does not mean the motor is damaged. The indication that the safe mode is on is when the light on the motor flashing blue and green constantly. If the flashing blue and green stops within 20 seconds, then the motors are still function normal. If the flashing light is not stopping after 20 seconds, please unplug the power and check the installation manual.

The following situations might trigger the safe mode.

1) Temperature
The temperature control chips will stop the motors from operating by triggering the safe mode when the internal temperature reaches 90 degree Celsius. This protects the users and prevents the motor from going into critical failure. This usually happens when the motors operate under extreme heat for long time.
To resolve this issue simply let the motor cool down and restart the power.

2) Power spike and power surge
When the motors experience unsteady current or power spike from broken or old power sources, the power surge protection chips will trigger the safe mode and prevent power surge from damaging the motor.
To resolve this please double check the power cables, batteries and other equipment that might cause this (broken cables, old batteries, or unsteady power supplies) and restart the power.

3) Stuck gears
When the gears are stuck, the position control chips will trigger the safe mode and prevent the gears from damaging each other or damaging the cameras.
The following are the causes to stuck gears situation and methods to resolve the problem:
-The tooth from the camera and the gear are too tight. In order to loosen up the contact, pull the gears away from the cameras a little.
-Dirt and dust get into the gears. Sent the motor back and we will clean, repair, and oil the gears.
-Deform gear from external force (drops, hits, or crush by heavy objects.) Sent the motor back and we will repair the broke gear.
 
I just received conflicting messages in regards to my Cinegear kit that was returned via RMA for inspection.

I want to scream and vent on here but Ill keep it positive for now and hoping that my situation is dealt with in a professional matter.

I have been very vocal in the past about this product and how it did well in production (at the early stage).

With less than a year of ownership and with minimal use (other REDUSERs here can vouch for me on that), the unit has been reported as damaged.

I am not happy with the report (as you can tell) so as a warning for the folks out there that are planning to send yours in.

Do what I do and get written report signed by the camera operators as well as video proof prior to sending it in.

Now I wait....
 
I will be sending my system in on August 5th to exchange for an updated and correct order.

Will update this forum on how it goes.
 
Hi Everybody,

Well, it's the 1st time I try to use my unit since i bought it from the group buy, until now I ddn't have a Vlock system with D-tap so this is why i come to you now before asking any support on cinegear because maybe there is something I do wrong.
When I start the motor and the remote, I push the code button on the motor, the remote didn't work, I push set and O on the remote and the motor start to move for calibrate, very slow and noisy !
Well, after that, I can't use anything, nothing move, there is something I do wrong ?
Thanks by advance,

Here is the video of my trouble :
https://youtu.be/yLQNNL4CaBQ
 
Hi,

You can't auto calibrate on a lens with no stops. You have to either calibrate manually, or grab the lens barrel and trick the motor.

Nick
 
Hi Nick !
Thanks, my bad I follow the instruction but not the good one. I will try !

Thanks !
Alex
 
Steven He said:
I am so sorry to hear this.
Can you test the connectivity of equipment.
1) can you try to spin the antennas (on both the motor and the controller) if they spin more then 360 degree, then the soldering is broken which explains the poor connectivity
2) connect the equipment and spin the nob left and right for 2 mins. if the connection is lost during within the 2 mins, then its a manufacting problem. sent it back and we will give you a working one.
3) test it with all other radio and wireless equipment on. when the connection is drop, restart the motor and reconnect the equipment (by unplug the power ). the motor and the controller should work together and find a empty channel.

433 MHz signal is a open band and we can not stop other company from using 433. Thus, interference are bound to happen. Test the follow focus kit with all other filming equipment on, the motor and controller will work together and try its best to search a more empty channel. After they found the channel, they will remember it which will make the following day a lot better. :)

Also the following issue could cause the motor to stop function.

When the motor is experiencing situations that might be harmful to the motor, safe mode is turn on in order to protect the equipment. However, this does not mean the motor is damaged. The indication that the safe mode is on is when the light on the motor flashing blue and green constantly. If the flashing blue and green stops within 20 seconds, then the motors are still function normal. If the flashing light is not stopping after 20 seconds, please unplug the power and check the installation manual.

The following situations might trigger the safe mode.

1) Temperature
The temperature control chips will stop the motors from operating by triggering the safe mode when the internal temperature reaches 90 degree Celsius. This protects the users and prevents the motor from going into critical failure. This usually happens when the motors operate under extreme heat for long time.
To resolve this issue simply let the motor cool down and restart the power.

2) Power spike and power surge
When the motors experience unsteady current or power spike from broken or old power sources, the power surge protection chips will trigger the safe mode and prevent power surge from damaging the motor.
To resolve this please double check the power cables, batteries and other equipment that might cause this (broken cables, old batteries, or unsteady power supplies) and restart the power.

3) Stuck gears
When the gears are stuck, the position control chips will trigger the safe mode and prevent the gears from damaging each other or damaging the cameras.
The following are the causes to stuck gears situation and methods to resolve the problem:
-The tooth from the camera and the gear are too tight. In order to loosen up the contact, pull the gears away from the cameras a little.
-Dirt and dust get into the gears. Sent the motor back and we will clean, repair, and oil the gears.
-Deform gear from external force (drops, hits, or crush by heavy objects.) Sent the motor back and we will repair the broke gear.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I"ll give all this a shot before sending it back. Also, the dampening has all been lost. I know there's a link for adjusting it. Could you please re-post it. In short, when it works, it beautiful for gimbals as it's at least a third the weight of a a Preston / Receiver combo. Even though it's not as responsive as a Preston for gimbal work which is usually 35mm or wider, this isn't an issue. The weight and bulk savings are worth it.
 
On a postive note. I just did a spot yesterday and because of various issues, I used a Preston for focus but took chance on the Cinegear as an Iris controller. The automatic settings are awesome. We were doing through window exteriors then pull back to interior, with a about a two stop change. I'd set my 1 and then my 2 iris settings. My focus puller could concentrate on focus and then would just hit the button on the cinegear during the move and viola, it would make the smoothest iris pulls. My AC wouldn't have to take her eye off focus. Great feature.
 
Steven He said:
Hi Ned,
Thank you for all the fantastic feed back and positive suggestion.
We will continue to improve our equipment base on users feed back. ( keep the one customer like and remove function customer dislike)
Sincerely,
Steven
Click to expand...


Steven I'm not sure if your up to date with my RMA situation and suggest you talk to your folks in Vancouver and help get things solved.

I sent back via RMA the original Controller and the upgrade Express Controller along with my Motor to check on why I was having issues.

The history on my kit goes as far back as September 2014.

I purchased this kit in good faith and was very positive with the purchase.

Then you sent me the updated Express Controller to replace the original one in November 2014.

However the Express Controller was useless for my kit since the five Marking Discs sent with original Controller did not fit the updated Express Controller.

The Express Controller sat in a box for months and I have email proof between you and I in regards to sending the older Controller but I refused since no mention or an attempt of sending me the replacement marking discs was made.

Then after numerous failed attempts at using the Cinegear kit on set, I finally got around to sending both older Controller, updated Express Controller and the Motor.

I sent this via RMA so that your team can check what was wrong with it.

I didn't break or abuse the Controller. The report sent to me was the same exact report that you've been posting/sending everyone here and it sounds like a mfg problem with the controller.

Now I'm told by your team that they will not send back my updated Express Controller which I am entitled too since you have sent it to me back in November 2014.

You can keep the older even though they have claimed to fix it for free.

I don't understand why I just didn't get the five marking discs back in December 2014.

If I did and have sent back the older one, Cinegears would have only had to deal with the updated Express Controller if it had become un-responsive with my Motor.

Sorry folks if I sound confusing but if you read the emails back and forth with Cinegears you would understand that I am ready to start screaming here.

I've had to rent a Bartech a few times just to fulfill scheduled projects here :P

So Steven if you want to improve users feedback, please fix my RMA situation first.

Thank you.
 
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Eric Santiago said:
Steven I'm not sure if your up to date with my RMA situation and suggest you talk to your folks in Vancouver and help get things solved.

I sent back via RMA the original Controller and the upgrade Express Controller along with my Motor to check on why I was having issues.

The history on my kit goes as far back as September 2014.

I purchased this kit in good faith and was very positive with the purchase.

Then you sent me the updated Express Controller to replace the original one in November 2014.

However the Express Controller was useless for my kit since the five Marking Discs sent with original Controller did not fit the updated Express Controller.

The Express Controller sat in a box for months and I have email proof between you and I in regards to sending the older Controller but I refused since no mention or an attempt of sending me the replacement marking discs was made.

Then after numerous failed attempts at using the Cinegear kit on set, I finally got around to sending both older Controller, updated Express Controller and the Motor.

I sent this via RMA so that your team can check what was wrong with it.

I didn't break or abuse the Controller. The report sent to me was the same exact report that you've been posting/sending everyone here and it sounds like a mfg problem with the controller.

Now I'm told by your team that they will not send back my updated Express Controller which I am entitled too since you have sent it to me back in November 2014.

You can keep the older even though they have claimed to fix it for free.

I don't understand why I just didn't get the five marking discs back in December 2014.

If I did and have sent back the older one, Cinegears would have only had to deal with the updated Express Controller if it had become un-responsive with my Motor.

Sorry folks if I sound confusing but if you read the emails back and forth with Cinegears you would understand that I am ready to start screaming here.

I've had to rent a Bartech a few times just to fulfill scheduled projects here :P

So Steven if you want to improve users feedback, please fix my RMA situation first.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Hi Eric,

Have you received e-mails from Cinegears sales department?

Thanks,
 
Steve may I suggesta firmware upgrade so that when power is lost the motor does not default to traveling in the opposite direction of travel to every cine lens ever made?

Currently if there is a short loss of power like a battery swap the direction stays as it was but any longer power interruption makes the motor travel in the complete opposite direction to normal Cine travel

thanks
jason
 
Steven He said:
Hi Eric,

Have you received e-mails from Cinegears sales department?

Thanks,
Click to expand...


The last few emails were unsettling and would like this resolved asap.
 
Folks I don't like hanging dirty laundry publicly on forums such as these but honestly this on-going battle with Cinegears has got me in a position that I cant back down from.

I will hold it in for a few more days but warning you now if you plan on dealing with this company in the near future.

Maybe after my situation is resolved (hopefully) they will learn from it and be a better at service and communication to us film production folks.

For now, please just be weary and keep all your email communications intact.
 
I have A similar situation. I am withholding judgement till they resolve it, but zero communication when they have your money, and the product sucks. This isn't rocket science.

I have supported this product from the beginning as it seemed to have a lot of promise. Then nothing ever lived up to it's potential and I'm waiting on the 3rd version of a motor.I really would like them to get their shit together.

Nick
 
Stepping in here and just saying out loud that I am watching this and the other Cinegears group buy. I don't particularly want an open laundry (so don't do that).

I am reluctant to hosting multiple Cinegears group buys here if Cinegears isn't following up on its customers.

Maybe you would PM me with an update on what's going on Steven?
 
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