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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 - eMotimo ST4 + Dana Dolly

Well all, I'm on on the east coast with a call time in about 6 hours.

First and foremost, thank you for making this Group Buy a successful one. Both on the participant's side as well as to eMotimo and Dana Dolly for making this a smooth as glass process.

We needed to hit 30 participant to get the "stretch tier" max discount and we somehow hit a whopping 60! Very nicely done. Since we hit max tier early on people have been having their orders processed and units have been shipped even before the GB end.

So officially I can say this Group Buy is now closed. You all should have received PMs from me at this point on how to proceed with filling out your order forms and get the ball rolling.

Happy smooth shooting!
 
Phil Holland said:
Well all, I'm on on the east coast with a call time in about 6 hours.

First and foremost, thank you for making this Group Buy a successful one. Both on the participant's side as well as to eMotimo and Dana Dolly for making this a smooth as glass process.

We needed to hit 30 participant to get the "stretch tier" max discount and we somehow hit a whopping 60! Very nicely done. Since we hit max tier early on people have been having their orders processed and units have been shipped even before the GB end.

So officially I can say this Group Buy is now closed. You all should have received PMs from me at this point on how to proceed with filling out your order forms and get the ball rolling.

Happy smooth shooting!
Click to expand...

Thank you Phil - this has been fun and exceeded where we thought this group buy would go. 60 units is big! I appreciate your helping us to connect us with our latest customers.

To those that jumped on in to the GB, thank you. I am excited to see where you will use the rig. I am excited to push forward with new capabilities and features.

In the near-term, we have our work cut out for us to keep up with orders. We have about 12 orders that have already shipped, and are keeping to our original schedule for shipping as of now with regular batches of units heading out daily until we are caught up. Our goal is to ship out all units that have paid by March 30th (this Friday) over the following week. Just like many of you, we are heading out to NAB to play and show our wares (come see us at the American Grip/Dana Dolly/ eMotimo booth in Central Hall - C5346,) so the following week eMotimo will be shut down with shipping picking up on April 16th (Monday after NAB).

In the long term, we want ecstatic customers who get extreme value from our solutions. With pros and novices in motion control as part of this GB, we will have to work hard and efficiently to help everyone get the most from their spectrum ST4 and Dana Dolly combination. We are up for the challenge and look forward to see what you will create.

Best regards,
Brian Burling - eMotimo founder
 
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My unit has been delivered. Thanks alot Phil and Brian. Very excited to play with it and do some fun stuffs.
 
I'm not sure if this was already covered in the discussion. But I couldn't find it so:

Any advice on choosing between the Matthews "Slider Stand" & "Mini Slider Stand"? Both seem very compelling and list great weight capacity. The difference in in minimum/maximum heights are clear to see from the spec sheet. Anyone with hands-on advice?

Thanks!
 
Mohammed Almedfa said:
I'm not sure if this was already covered in the discussion. But I couldn't find it so:

Any advice on choosing between the Matthews "Slider Stand" & "Mini Slider Stand"? Both seem very compelling and list great weight capacity. The difference in in minimum/maximum heights are clear to see from the spec sheet. Anyone with hands-on advice?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Directly from Matthews site:

Mini Vs The Slider Stand Comparisons:
Minimum Height...20" (51cm) vs 24" (61cm)
Maximum Height...38" (97cm) vs 46" (117cm)
Footprint...19" (48cm) vs 37" (94cm)
Weight...10lbs (4.5kg) vs 14lbs (6.5kg)
Mini Slider Stand does not come with Rocky Mountain Leg

Those specs may help your decision. I only own the Slider Stand (bigger version). Solid, but I can’t offer a perspective on the mini version. American Grip has some stands made for the Dana Dolly. You probably have to call them, to get a better idea. I know they updated their Dana stands recently. Here’s a picture of them: https://www.instagram.com/p/BeYMw3NDdhh/?taken-by=thedanadolly
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeLkp5LDSIR/?taken-by=thedanadolly

I don’t know if the Dana stands would interfere with the motor, though.
 
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Standard table/desk height is 30". Seated subject eyelines typically 48-52". If you add slider, dolly, tripod head and rails, your camera is probably 12" above the top of your slider stands. From that you can think about how much value you place on shooting from below vs level vs from above. Dont forget that if your pipes are directly on the floor you dont need stands...just apple boxes and/or wedges. Me? I have MSE slider stands (not mini).
 
We hit all our promised shipments for the early payers! That's 29 units out our door and in transit or delivered. We are rounding up our next set of shipments and will tear through them next week for those that have paid.

We have invoiced everyone who has filled out the form. If you are one of the 11 who haven't filled it out, please do so ASAP. We want to work through getting the invoice right first. You can submit payment when you are ready.

Happy Friday.

Best regards,
Brian
 
Where is the best place to get the dragon frame software? Can you still use the PlayStation controller to frame a shot in dragonframe? Does their Bluetooth controller work similar to the PlayStation controller? What is the cost of the turntable? I couldn’t find a price just that it’s out of stock. Thanks!
 
Michael Jensen said:
Where is the best place to get the dragon frame software?
Click to expand...

http://www.dragonframe.com/dragonframe-software/

But note,
Brian Burling said:
We have been working with the developers at Dragonframe to unlock the real-time device capability.
Click to expand...
and
Brian Burling said:
We expect to have this interface fully tuned and released by end of May.
Click to expand...
Clearly shows there's a custom version for ST4 which would not be available until the stated ETA
 
Today my bundle arrived!

Thank you Phil Holland for setup of this great group-buy. Thank you Brian Burling (eMotimo) for all the support.
 
test

test

Hi everyone,

So my first daughter was just born and I am getting ready to goto NAB and just had a TON on my plate.

I was in a rush to shoot the intro video for our new product the "Cinemilled Stainless steel wheels" for the alpha wheels controller.

I couldn't wait for the group buy so I purchased "run and gun kit" that comes with the "shark slider" along with 2 motors (hi-torque for vertical and high speed)

I purchased from Ilya at HOT ROD Cameras.......

while I was waiting 1-2 days for delivery the guys at Hot rod let me borrow the demo ST4/DD kit. Same one from my previous review/post earlier in the thread.


I finally had the time today to export 2 shots I did using the DD supported by mathews stands braced by sandbags....using a stripped down Panasonic EVA1/50mm Xeen lens combo.

First take as you will notice is unstabilized and take 2 is stabilized in FCPX. The same with the second shot.

As you can see even with the 50mm you can see a decent amount of shake. I tied many things to improve this...and it didn't improve much from what you see. Ultimately as you can see the post stabilization did the trick.

using the 85mm it was more noticeable.

If you watch in full screen mode with a keen eye you will see the shake/wobble.d

Password: st4



The main culprit I have to say is the DD.....or better put...the stands....the mathews slider stand is beefy. That said supporting from the center of the tube support is just a recipe for wobble regardless of how beefy your stand is.

Ultimately both "tracks/tubes" should be individually supported much like grips do with dolly track. Looking at kesslers website looks like their dolly system for their moco setup has "legs" that sprout from each of the tracks. As I said I think this is the more preferable design for supporting the track and avoiding a wobble.


Keep in mind the EVA1 is 2.6lbs and the xeen is not very heavy either....I imagine the wobbles might be worse with a RED build.

I do think my results can be improved by supporting each dollytrack better.

Also a better camera L bracket and a better/wider "dovetail" instead of the arca swiss. Arca swiss is more intended for still photo gear not video use. Ultimately maybe I will design a larger/wider possibly more stable arri style dovetail system both for the camera mount and the st4 mount. Essentially getting rid of the arca swiss......(maybe if I have time)

In case you are curious....here is the final edited video. I didnt use ping pong mode since with the white background the effect is almost imperceptible....so mostly I just used it for the intro shots and broll.

I wish I had more time to have played with it and gotten more creative shots....but like I mentioned I was recovering from a bone marrow donation and the birth of my daughter and NAB prep so I had to rush this video a bit....anyways...if your curious

____________

ALSO;

After setting up my "shark slider" st4 run&gun kit.......I actually think I might get more stable results using it instead of the DD. MAYBE....lets see. I have to test!! This is just an initial impression. Seams more stable on my tripods possibly due to the smaller size of everything.

Also since Im using the shark slider I also got 2 motors.....I ran some initial tests in 45 degree angle and then in full vertical mode......I was VERY surprised by the results. works well.

Being able to do vertical booms and angled moves is a huge deal I think.....so once again I'm feeling getting the "run&gun" kit instead of teh DD kit was maybe a very good move.

That said....the downside is that I am limited to the shark slider length of 47". Using the DD kit I think you can get a much longer slide.

There maybe other disadvantages also......I dont know yet since I still have more testing to do! So keep this in mind. these are "preliminary" results/impressions.
 
furthermore.....

furthermore.....

Also....

As you saw in the video my company sells the awesome Alpha Wheels that you can use to control any Movi, any Ronin or Tilta gimbals.

I am friends with the creators/owners of AW's so my first desire is to Get Brian from emotimo and Connor/Boyd from AW's talking to each other and getting the Alphawheels compatible with the St4.

more info and order here:
https://cinemilled.com/product/alpha-wheels-system/

I have confidence they can get it sorted and working....hopefully soon.

As personally I think that is my most desired "mode" with the St4.

Step 1 would be just to be able to use AW as an input device.
Step2 would be to be able to record and play back moves.


To be clear what I want to do:

plug in my ALPHA Wheels and program a camera slide (start-end) and then as the camera starts to dolly....."record" my pan/tilt inputs from the alpha wheels.

Then when the shot "ends", be able to simple playback the camera move as recorded live. So the preset slide would then be "sync'd" to my now recored live input from the AW's.





Hopefully I can facilitate this feature being added....because for video moves I think it is really the primary mode I would be most desired.
 
On another note:

Keyframes.....

I immediately felt I needed many.....mainly for focus but soon I realized also for camera movement. 8 or more I think is quickly required in my book. especially with longer focal lengths....as they usually require more precise focus and camera tracking.

I for one would love to see the capability of more keyframes.

of course using the AW's as I mentioned above would help but I think for perfect focus mreo keyframes are a good thing.


In my test video above I was impressed with the xeen lenses and the solid performance of the emotimo focus motor and focus tracking.......re-watch the test shot and you will note a tack sharp image thru the entire dolly push in. Very nice!

Important to note I tried this first using my Nikon still lenses and got a ton of shake and image shift.....this was due to the lens motor and the "lash" in the barrel of the lens........basically.......moral of the story? Stay away from still lenses for video moco work. you will be chaing your tail and get frustrated with focus and possible image shift (lack of precision in crosshair targeting)...... just do your self a favor and use a quality PL or native mount lens.
 
Good update, Pedro. Is the DD setup you borrowed center supported? That can improve track stability. I also know that American Grip has a Dana combo stands that provide more surface area with pipe clamps. Video of the stand: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aje-KWQSnNQ - old video; they have a lighter version now.

I know that with the stand brackets on my Dutti Dolly, there’s the ability to attach baby pins and speedrail to provide stability. Here’s a video mentioning it: Skip to the 3:12 mark https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j4nCalxNsh0 . If Dana Dolly redesigns the end clamps or make an add-on, they could integrate a system like Matthews, etc.

As for camera stability, it’ll be a juggle. Replacing the arca on the pan axis should be a good start. Kessler sells a Kwik plate and a slider plate that connects directly to the kwik release plate. More surface area and less height of an arca riser/ Ballhead. I haven’t tried this setup, though. As for the tilt, it’ll be up to design.

If you own a Bright Tangerine Misfit atom, you could possibly add the 15mm rod attachment, that BT sells, to your misfit atom. Thus, making it a rod mounted mattebox. That could possibly provide some type of support to a lens (still/cine - non rotating front) that don’t have a lens support integrated. Just buy the right donut for your lens.
 
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