Letus Gimbal

[Aaron Pinto]

Powering the Helix is totally up to you. We were using Anton Bauer batteries at NAB because we wanted to show that you didn't need to introduce a whole new powering solution just to run a stabilizer. For those comfortable with the RC world and LiPo batteries, by all means throw one on there! They are light weight and powerful. We shy away from them as they can be very dangerous to charge unless you have the proper setup. But for those of you, like myself, who have experience with them... rock on with whatever power source works best!

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Powering the Helix is totally up to you. We were using Anton Bauer batteries at NAB because we wanted to show that you didn't need to introduce a whole new powering solution just to run a stabilizer. For those comfortable with the RC world and LiPo batteries, by all means throw one on there! They are light weight and powerful. We shy away from them as they can be very dangerous to charge unless you have the proper setup. But for those of you, like myself, who have experience with them... rock on with whatever power source works best!

Haha - any time anyone uses the word "dangerous" when talking about electrical things, I run the other way. :emote_22_yikes:

 

[Dimitri Boschma]

Now that we are getting into the nitty-gritty, I am trying to figure out how I'll set this up. I'd like to use the Zeiss glasses as a monitor but those are HDMI and I am feeling it would be less than ideal to start hanging wires directly from the camera. Of course, as I posted a couple dozen pages back, a Lemo pass through for the Touchscreen would be nice. Figuring on focus via a Redrock Remote or the RED Bridge as that technology matures.

Would love to start hearing about the iOS app to control it and the RC joystick options, etc.

My head hurts. hmy:

For the HDMI you could use one of those Atomos Connect converters to get the signal from SDI to HDMI.

 

[Steve Das]

Brandon - I agree with you about the promotional effect of getting these into the marketplace. Also, I think a solid discount on a group buy is a very psychological thing; it buys a certain amount of loyalty and a real sense of community to those who are involved. Just my 2 cents.

That's all true but Letus already has that sense of loyalty/community in this industry for a number of years from
users at all levels of production.

Sure some of the group buys for steadicams..lights..and gimbals had like 25%-50% discount rates but those were not established
companies with payroll/real estate to account for. Mostly Kickstart-Ups or one man co. working out of their garage/machine shop
and then you wind up with facebook posts telling you how to do repairs/fixes on an unrefined product. Totally different scenario here
and the price is less than half of what most of the 16lb. copter/carbon tube gimbals are trying for...and then there is this:

http://letusdirect.com/cart/why-buy-from-letusdirect.html

We hesitated to list this last one because we are not trying to toot our own horn. We decided that for the sake of transparency and accountability, we should make an official declaration. We believe in giving back. At least 10% of all income earned is donated to non-profit organizations around the world. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. ~ Winston Churchill It is our responsibility as a company to give back to communities in need. We have been blessed over the years and do our part to pass those blessings on to others. When you buy from us, a portion of the sale goes to help others. That makes you a nice person. Cross that "daily good deed" off your list for today. You may have just bought a week's worth of rice or a mosquito net for someone! For that, we thank you.

 

[Brandon J.F.]

For the HDMI you could use one of those Atomos Connect converters to get the signal from SDI to HDMI.

Here's another option: http://www.amazon.com/Portta-PETSH-...d_sim_e_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=05GEGEM6CPXZKBKEG3CN

Costs $39.

 

[Brandon J.F.]

That's all true but Letus already has that sense of loyalty/community in this industry for a number of years from
users at all levels of production.

Sure some of the group buys for steadicams..lights..and gimbals had like 25%-50% discount rates but those were not established
companies with payroll/real estate to account for. Mostly Kickstart-Ups or one man co. working out of their garage/machine shop
and then you wind up with facebook posts telling you how to do repairs/fixes on an unrefined product. Totally different scenario here
and the price is less than half of what most of the 16lb. copter/carbon tube gimbals are trying for...and then there is this:

http://letusdirect.com/cart/why-buy-from-letusdirect.html

I've seen established companies run Group Buys offering discounts of up to 25%. I agree that new companies tend to offer more. I also agree that this looks to be a good product at an aggressive price.

 

[Steve Das]

For the HDMI you could use one of those Atomos Connect converters to get the signal from SDI to HDMI.

Yeah but wish it came with HDMI...only thing worse than dealing with an all HDMI system...is dealing with converting boxes to get HDMI into SDI system.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Thanks, guys, for the hints about the converters.

And, Steve, I didn't know that about Letus. Thanks for pointing it out.

I am pretty sure I am in at current pricing, assuming the product progresses as indicated. I respect what they are doing :thumbsup:

 

[Dimitri Boschma]

Here's another option: http://www.amazon.com/Portta-PETSH-...d_sim_e_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=05GEGEM6CPXZKBKEG3CN

Costs $39.

I don't know about the atomos connect. But those cheaper converters have sometimes some 'lag' in it..
but for $39 it is worth a try

 

[Brandon J.F.]

I don't know about the atomos connect. But those cheaper converters have sometimes some 'lag' in it..
but for $39 it is worth a try

I have no idea if it's any good, but I'd give it a try if I was looking for one

 

[Elizabeth Lowrey]

Crap, I'm out of pocket for a few hours and all hell breaks loose. I want to get my reservation in! So I PM Aaron?

I don't want to sound too preachy, but [soapbox] I HAVE to say regarding the group buy that it really is a matter of getting over a particular, ingrained paradigm or set of expectations ("must have at least 25% off" or it's disappointing) and looking at the actual facts . . . which are that the starting price of this unit is already exceptionally low in relation to any remotely similar product, especially considering the functional versatility, innovative design, quality of construction, and long history and favorable support reputation of the company behind it. I only offered to front a group buy for the users here because there were calls for it and because there's no harm in asking. But the truth is -- subject to final demo footage that confirms all the tremendous potential we can glean from renderings and descriptions -- I was ready to buy this product in a heartbeat with no group buy at all at the full retail price. I think it's great that we are being offered a discount, however modest, as well as priority in shipping and the chance to influence final aspects of the design.

I WANT Letus to make good money on this product. They deserve to.[/soapbox]

Now where do I put my money?

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Elizabeth, I am with you. While we REDusers may have shown our hand a bit with our enthusiasm, I think Letus priced this very aggressively in the marketplace so that everyone who buys it is really getting a terrific product at a great price. I am just glad I could get an early shot at it with my RU reservation. The next six weeks or so are going to be very exciting as we see the whole system coming together!

And, we can't forget how responsive they have been to wishes and requests posted here on REDuser!

 

[Adam Johnson]

Thats a shame on the $900 off really being $100. I know a bunch of people (film students, indie videographers, etc.) that would probably jump on this rig for $3k in a group buy. Either way it looks like a cool concept. Look forward to seeing what all these gimbals are capable of

No - I think for your $795 deposit, you get $900 off list for whatever you decide to buy.

I think Brandon is right, $105 off.

 

[Scott Pultz]

For single operator use, what kind of follow focus are people going to use? Seems like the ideal solution would be wireless with trigger action? I'm not sure if this exists...

 

[Elizabeth Lowrey]

We just create 2 additional pivotal axis on our 3-axis Helix, one coincides with the Yaw/Pan axis and one coincides with the Pitch/Tilt axis. The stub from the SteadiCam arm will be inserted into the new system making the Helix floating in front of you like a steering wheel. You can pan and follow pan, you can tilt and follow tilt and you can move the camera up and down, left and right.


Hien

Why and what the patent is?

Here it is:

You put a fixed U-shape up, you can shoot straight on a steadicam. You added 2 ball bearings on Tilt axis, you can now tilt up and down. You add a ball bearing coincide with the Pan axis, now you can pan. No system can do this, that's why it's worth patenting

Config 5 (last picture in the first 5 pictures) can be tilt by using RC. There is a pin to lock the outer frame with the handle. If you look closely, you will see it.

Seeing a demo of the 4-axis Helix in action and being reconfigured live will answer all of these questions much more clearly than words ever could. But, pending that, can Hien or Aaron elaborate on the above features? The additional bearing on the extra U bracket coincident with pan is obvious, but I'm not sure about the other one mentioned that is coincident with tilt. The version I saw at NAB had a passively rotating left handle (which I assume means use of a bearing) which could maintain any position independent of the tilt of the original U bracket and camera. So where is the extra bearing?

Also, Hien mentioned a pin to lock the outer frame. Does that mean that all of the configurations we see in the renders Hien included in post # 217 feature a locked, fixed aspect between the two U brackets and also between the side handles and the brackets (i.e., the handles won't rotate due to gravity as the orientation of the rig changes relative to the ground?) This is important in terms of the range of motion you could achieve when using the Helix as a remote crane head.

Speaking of that, which configuration would you guys recommend for use specifically on the Kessler crane? One option seems to be to use the Kessler bucket underslung and then use the two U brackets up on the Helix as in config 5 of post 217.

Apparently another view of the same configuration here:

In both illustrations, it seems full 360 degree panning could be a problem with a long lens and also in terms of the handles hanging down on the sides. They seem to slightly encroach into the field of view (at least with the camera perfectly horizontal instead of angled down) so that, even with shorter lenses, they might enter the frame. That's why I ask if the handles are locked into the positions shown in the various illustrations. This isn't a big deal in the sense that most crane shots are going to have the camera lens tilted toward the ground, and that would seem to eliminate any concern about the handles entering the frame, although I suppose long lenses MIGHT still be an issue with full panning.

The other point is that, in this configuration, it seems the optical center is no longer coincident with COG. In normal setup, I thought the imaginary line connecting the center of the handles would mark the optical center and also the center of the roll axis motor. Is that incorrect? I can't be sure from the photos, but it appears that in addition to a 180 degree roll to reorient the camera for hanging applications on the 4th axis, the lens center in this configuration is well below the center of the handles and thus, presumably also below the center of the roll axis motor. This would seem to place a lot more demand on the tilt motor, which is fine as long as it can handle it, but it does mean readjustment of the rig. Am I just not getting accurate perspective from the illustrations? Is it still the case that a single camera setup is balanced one time and can then be used in any of the configurations illustrated in posts 217 and 218?

 

[Terry VerHaar]

As for the extra "tilt" bearing, I took it to mean it is on both sides of the outside U-bracket where it connects to the inner U-bracket (at both handles). Maybe?

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Also - is it possible that the handles are removable?

 

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Here is a little update as to what we have worked out for a reservation system. We have decided to keep the link to the deposit/reservation exclusive to the REDUser.net members initially. This will give you all a chance to reserve a Helix before it is released to the rest of the world. That will give everyone here a couple of days jump start as a way of saying thanks for all of the great feedback.

A deposit of $795 will reserve a Helix for you. That deposit is, of course, fully refundable up to the ship date. When we are ready to ship, anyone who made a deposit will receive an email along with a $900 site credit to be used toward the purchase of a Helix (any configuration you want). We are trying to gauge initial demand to make sure we are scaling our production up accordingly. This deposit method helps us determine if our projections are on target.

Orders will be shipped in the same order deposits were made. About a week in advance of shipping, we'll let everyone know so they can get final payments in.

So, that's what we have come up with. We think that's a fair way to handle it Sound good?

Shame on the pricing!

105 USD discount off 3975 usd is 2.64% to be precise.

2.64% is the value of this community to you guys?

Group buy in reduser gives you idea about the overall demand and helps in production planning, especially for a new product. That knowledge itself is much more beneficial to you. Apart from that you are cutting down any dealer channel and directly interacting with end customers. All that means 2.64% to Letus?

 

[hienle]

Seeing a demo of the 4-axis Helix in action and being reconfigured live will answer all of these questions much more clearly than words ever could. But, pending that, can Hien or Aaron elaborate on the above features? The additional bearing on the extra U bracket coincident with pan is obvious, but I'm not sure about the other one mentioned that is coincident with tilt. The version I saw at NAB had a passively rotating left handle (which I assume means use of a bearing) which could maintain any position independent of the tilt of the original U bracket and camera. So where is the extra bearing?

Also, Hien mentioned a pin to lock the outer frame. Does that mean that all of the configurations we see in the renders Hien included in post # 217 feature a locked, fixed aspect between the two U brackets and also between the side handles and the brackets (i.e., the handles won't rotate due to gravity as the orientation of the rig changes relative to the ground?) This is important in terms of the range of motion you could achieve when using the Helix as a remote crane head.

Speaking of that, which configuration would you guys recommend for use specifically on the Kessler crane? One option seems to be to use the Kessler bucket underslung and then use the two U brackets up on the Helix as in config 5 of post 217.

Apparently another view of the same configuration here:

In both illustrations, it seems full 360 degree panning could be a problem with a long lens and also in terms of the handles hanging down on the sides. They seem to slightly encroach into the field of view (at least with the camera perfectly horizontal instead of angled down) so that, even with shorter lenses, they might enter the frame. That's why I ask if the handles are locked into the positions shown in the various illustrations. This isn't a big deal in the sense that most crane shots are going to have the camera lens tilted toward the ground, and that would seem to eliminate any concern about the handles entering the frame, although I suppose long lenses MIGHT still be an issue with full panning.

The other point is that, in this configuration, it seems the optical center is no longer coincident with COG. In normal setup, I thought the imaginary line connecting the center of the handles would mark the optical center and also the center of the roll axis motor. Is that incorrect? I can't be sure from the photos, but it appears that in addition to a 180 degree roll to reorient the camera for hanging applications on the 4th axis, the lens center in this configuration is well below the center of the handles and thus, presumably also below the center of the roll axis motor. This would seem to place a lot more demand on the tilt motor, which is fine as long as it can handle it, but it does mean readjustment of the rig. Am I just not getting accurate perspective from the illustrations? Is it still the case that a single camera setup is balanced one time and can then be used in any of the configurations illustrated in posts 217 and 218?

Elizabeth,

At all time, the center of the lens should be at the center of the Roll axis AND the top and bottom weight of the camera would be balance by counterbalance weights also left and right should be balanced. Once this is achieved, swing it up or down would be the same and it should just float in that axis. In the picture, it does appear that the lens is lower than the center of roll axis, it should not though.

For the ball bearings that coincides with the tilt axis, it is necessary because without it, the camera on the Helix could only be auto level on the tilt axis, but not able to be controlled by your right (or left) hand. This will allow the system to be used on the steadicam arm and still be able to tilt with the twist of your wrist as it is on the 3rd axis. If you understood the bottom ball bearing, it's the same idea that allow you to pan it on the 4th axis bearing and the motor on the pan axis will do its follow job.

For the 4th axis frame, it must be able to lock into the 3rd axis so it can be used with the handle because without the lock feature, all you could do is hold the rig and have gravity pulls it down and auto level using the 3 motors. With the lock feature, you can try to pry the system up like other gimbals to do a tilt up shot, etc. If you don't use the lock feature, you would need to hold the system with one hand and adjust tilt with the other.

Hope it's clear.

 

[Zeb B]

Attn Letus:
You have screwed up your pricing strategy. Instead of providing an awesome product at a unheard price of $4K you should instead price your product at $18K, like Movi, then provide us simple minded folks a $14K discount so we can feel like we got a bargain. That is because we are unable to look at products/pricing as a net value. We must see an arbitrary discount off list.

Geez people . . . lighten the fuq up. Letus is resetting the bar for the entire industry.