Letus Gimbal

[Steve Das]

...So +1 on trying to get enough rear clearance to accommodate setups with a small module on back of the Epic and at least a medium weight lens (whatever that is, LOL), for me, something like a Canon 24-70 f2.8 L series.

Should not be a problem as Letus already have used Canon 70-200...

A lens that changes length through the zoom range will change the front and back balance of the setup. However, the Helix’s stabilization motors can compensate for the weight shift. There would be no need to re-balance the Helix when changing your zoom range on most lenses. The 70-200mm f2.8 L series has been used on the Helix in-house without issues. As long as you can reasonably balance the setup front to back, the lens length is not a problem.

Letus Helix Q and A: http://letushelix.com/helix-questions/

 

[Les Dittert]

Why not mount 5" LCD to top of camera when using Helix ?
I see that they use some top weights to balance the center of gravity with no LCD . I'd rather use my LCD to do that
There would be no cable feed issue. Would this work ?

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Why not mount 5" LCD to top of camera when using Helix ?
I see that they use some top weights to balance the center of gravity with no LCD . I'd rather use my LCD to do that
There would be no cable feed issue. Would this work ?

I suspect that would work much of the time. The only downside I see is when you are moving through a very wide arc of pan or tilt and you would lose sight of the monitor.

 

[Paul Kalbach]

I have a better solution then the belt clip, it is not included in the package, but for early adopters, it is.

Hi Hienie-
Can you be more specific about this? The thought of using a belt-mounted battery is a huge negative for me. What good is the advantage of your flat-bottomed design if I'm leashed to it when I set it down?. When I set it down, I want to be able to just walk away without having to unleash myself. If your better solution is an on-board solution, please say so and hopefully elaborate.

 

[Ned Wilson]

I second the motion. I hate using battery belts. I've also seen cameramen walk away from their rigs while tethered leading to most unfortunate results. Anyone from back in the Cine 60 belt days has probably caught their camera at least once from walking away. So please, tell us your secret solution.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Paul - I have no idea what Hien has in mind but I am sure it will be ingenious. :smiley:

That said, I have a RED battery clip that takes V-mounts and has about a 5 foot cable. It attaches to my belt with just a stingy metal loop - not very sophisticated. I figure I can easily slip it off my belt and set the battery down next to the Helix if I want to walk away. My concern about an onboard solution is the added weight.

 

[Dimitri Boschma]

Hi Hienie-
Can you be more specific about this? The thought of using a belt-mounted battery is a huge negative for me. What good is the advantage of your flat-bottomed design if I'm leashed to it when I set it down?. When I set it down, I want to be able to just walk away without having to unleash myself. If your better solution is an on-board solution, please say so and hopefully elaborate.

+1 on this one.. I see it as a contradiction to the Helix as a tool (or gimbals in general). The nice thing is that you can move around any way you like. hand it of... etc.
It would be nice to have this as an option... for those who want this. In some cases it may be practical.
I rather go with an onboard Vmount or Lipo. But that's just me...

 

[Ethan Cooper]

I'm just tossing this out there on this whole battery belt issue, but has nobody ever made an in-line disconnect so both battery belt (on the operator) and power connection to the gear in question can stay put if you need to wander off from the gear? I'm probably not using the correct terminology but hopefully you guys get my point. It would leave both the operator and the gear with a tail that needs to be stowed away when not in use but it would simplify the whole disconnect & wander off issue.

 

[Dimitri Boschma]

For me personally it's more the cable dangling... thing. (almost sound like a song title.... )

 

[Elizabeth Lowrey]

I'll be using V-mount batteries that are on a WC Quick Back, and I have a RED compatible "A" mount that allows quick release mounting of that battery plate anywhere where there's space and a couple of 1/4-20 screw holes. While I foresee mostly using the battery on my body/belt to limit the load on my arms, there are certainly scenarios where mounting to the Helix would be desirable, so chiming in to favor such an allowance. Maybe something like modifying the round backend "knob" that appears to tie into the roll motor so that a battery belt clip could be quickly attached/detached to the back side of it. Hien already indicated possibly refashioning that area to accommodate an integral swat rail in place of the hot shoe, so this might be doable.

 

[Brian F Kobylarz]

Teaser ….

How long before this technology can deliver the power required to run a camera?

http://www.witricity.com

 

[Peter Corbett]

Excuse my crude drawing, but can the whole mechanism slide back to accommodate longer cameras? I have the F55 at 83mm longer than an Epic. With a Sigma 18-35 attached., this will add another 118mm. As stated by others, the closer the centre of gravity the better.

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

Just to be clear: We need standard Steadicam power from the sled to reach the camera (would be nice to power the gymbal too, so one battery for all) and SDI video to reach the sled top too.

 

[Brian F Kobylarz]

Excuse my crude drawing, but can the whole mechanism slide back to accommodate longer cameras? I have the F55 at 83mm longer than an Epic. With a Sigma 18-35 attached., this will add another 118mm. As stated by others, the closer the centre of gravity the better.

Go back to Post #451. http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?115003-Letus-Gimbal&p=1358750&viewfull=1#post1358750
Look at the top render. It spins - showing that the part you are asking about is a dovetail that slides. Easily recognizable.
The two clamps you see in the drawing loosen or lock the dovetail in the position required.

The question that you should be asking is how long that dovetail is…
After that, it's back to notes from that math class.

 

[Peter Corbett]

I see what you mean. The two blue clamps adjust the fore and aft movement of the whole platform. I just broke my F5 down to a "gimbal-ready" mode and the weight with (what I think is the ideal lens) a Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 is bang on 8 pounds. There are four mounts points within 150mm from the rear so as Hein says it should mount. I could break the handle down as well but this saves time if you need to switch to and from tripod.

 

[Peter Corbett]

Zoom lenses can be used. Although it does change the front to back balance, the motors are strong enough to compensate for the change when zooming in and out.
The current Helix should be able to handle an AnamorphX adapter if your intermediate lens is short. You don't want the weight sticking too far forward of the camera body.

Sorry Aaron to keep crashing the Red party with my Sony-centricness, but with the forward-weight issue you mention above, is the Sony F55 with 18-35mm too long? The combined length is 360mm from front of the lens to the back of the camera excluding the protruding power connector. Can the camera actually butt up against the back-plate, as the only way to power the F55 without the R5 Raw recorder is via the rear-facing 4-pin Cannon connector? If the rear plate of the Helix is more than 100mm wide, this will push the camera/lens out to a 400mm-plus length to get the clearance. I'm sure this would be pushing the design capabilities of the Helix.

Sorry for all the Sony questions but I have my finger on the cart button, but will hate to find out later that it wasn't possible to use my camera in reality. I know Hien says the Helix can fly the F55, but has it been checked that does it fit dimensionally with the unique Cannon power requirement of the camera.

 

[Alain M]

I think a perfect setup will never be that...a perfect setup...It always depends guys...if you use a rope and bring the gimbal down a balcony and a 2nd operator is waiting for it...Why would u want a V mount that weighs so much more on the gimbal? use a long Brick Batt cable or even better, use the Bolt batt inside the Side handle and make your life easier...after all, complex steady shots are used usually with small amounts of time, and you can switch between V Mount Belt and Bolt battery on the side handle for complex swaps between 2 operator... the bottom line I feel about the Helix is that it seems more confortable than the MoVi and BeSteady, and it rotates 360 and it seats on the ground without extra accessories...That is a plus to me who usually do not have a much assistant on low budget projects...For high budgets, well then We shouldn't even be concerned about Belts and Extra cables...Lets have our team assist staff do that, right? or maybe I am just nuts...LOL

My 2 cents

Alain

 

[hienle]

Sorry Aaron to keep crashing the Red party with my Sony-centricness, but with the forward-weight issue you mention above, is the Sony F55 with 18-35mm too long? The combined length is 360mm from front of the lens to the back of the camera excluding the protruding power connector. Can the camera actually butt up against the back-plate, as the only way to power the F55 without the R5 Raw recorder is via the rear-facing 4-pin Cannon connector? If the rear plate of the Helix is more than 100mm wide, this will push the camera/lens out to a 400mm-plus length to get the clearance. I'm sure this would be pushing the design capabilities of the Helix.

Sorry for all the Sony questions but I have my finger on the cart button, but will hate to find out later that it wasn't possible to use my camera in reality. I know Hien says the Helix can fly the F55, but has it been checked that does it fit dimensionally with the unique Cannon power requirement of the camera.

Looking at your setup, there are couple of things you can do. I don't think it's a problem throwing a low profile V mount battery on it. Secondly, you can get the Lemo to Xlr cable and you are set. Getting the XLR to the side is not recommended because it will limit your roll axis movement.

 

[Paul Kalbach]

Hi Hienie-
Can you address the issue brought up in post #519 in this thread?
Thanks!

 

[Peter Corbett]

Looking at your setup, there are couple of things you can do. I don't think it's a problem throwing a low profile V mount battery on it. Secondly, you can get the Lemo to Xlr cable and you are set. Getting the XLR to the side is not recommended because it will limit your roll axis movement.

Thanks Hien,

Can you tell me the width of the rear Helix plate? If it's under 110mm, the Cannon connector could slip down the side. Your second solution won't work as the length of the XLR plug (to Lemo) will push against the rear plate adding maybe 60mm.

Cheers,
Peter