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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 :)

Letus Gimbal

Terry VerHaar said:
Andy, I hope the Ronin and the BS4 turn out to be a great products and meet the needs of respective buyers perfectly. Solid, honest competition is good for everyone.

But, we have to be honest here. The "other" RU gimbal group buys have been something of a shit storm of disorganization, which is very unfortunate for all involved. In the end, good ideas are a dime a dozen but implementation, carry through and commitment are what make the difference. Yes, Letus could stumble somewhere along the line. But, they have already earned the respect and loyalty of their customer base with their actions, their attitude and their competence. They would readily be forgiven if they did. These other companies are comprised of competent and honest people. They apparently just aren't as experienced at product development and delivery. I am sure they will learn a ton from this exercise.

As for price, the "discount" you received may have been greater but what you don't know is the value of all the extras that came along with the Helix buy as price was not meant to be the selling point. And the fact that the 3-axis Helix, which will serve 95% of most of the needs of users and everything the other stabilizers will do (except, perhaps, helicopter use - we'll see), is more than $500 less than the list price of the Ronin, makes it quite competitively priced. So, where was the real value in the end?

I am not knocking the other companies or their products, and I do sympathize with the frustrations of the participants. But, right now, the star shines brightly for Letus. And I, along with many others, feel I get lucky to pick the right horse in this race.
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Well said my friend! I am one who jumped from Ronin to Letus early on after seeing the interaction that the Letus team was given us here and how fast they were implementing changes....and they still ended up given us a really good deal price wise!

We are receiving our first of 3 Dragons this week...I hope we have the Helix soon so we can test them together! :)
 
Maz Mawlawi said:
Well said my friend! I am one who jumped from Ronin to Letus early on after seeing the interaction that the Letus team was given us here and how fast they were implementing changes....and they still ended up given us a really good deal price wise!

We are receiving our first of 3 Dragons this week...I hope we have the Helix soon so we can test them together! :)
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Sounds like you have enough fun lined up to last for a whole lifetime! :smiley:
 
Terry VerHaar said:
Andy, I hope the Ronin and the BS4 turn out to be a great products and meet the needs of respective buyers perfectly. Solid, honest competition is good for everyone.

But, we have to be honest here. The "other" RU gimbal group buys have been something of a shit storm of disorganization, which is very unfortunate for all involved. In the end, good ideas are a dime a dozen but implementation, carry through and commitment are what make the difference. Yes, Letus could stumble somewhere along the line. But, they have already earned the respect and loyalty of their customer base with their actions, their attitude and their competence. They would readily be forgiven if they did. These other companies are comprised of competent and honest people. They apparently just aren't as experienced at product development and delivery. I am sure they will learn a ton from this exercise.

As for price, the "discount" you received may have been greater but what you don't know is the value of all the extras that came along with the Helix buy as price was not meant to be the selling point. And the fact that the 3-axis Helix, which will serve 95% of most of the needs of users and everything the other stabilizers will do (except, perhaps, helicopter use - we'll see), is more than $500 less than the list price of the Ronin, makes it quite competitively priced. So, where was the real value in the end?

I am not knocking the other companies or their products, and I do sympathize with the frustrations of the participants. But, right now, the star shines brightly for Letus. And I, along with many others, feel I get lucky to pick the right horse in this race.
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Terry, I don't disagree with any of your points really. My point was more that we have to see what happens when the dust settles (a few months from now) and see footage/use etc.

The BS4 GB was a big discount and had plenty of specific items tailored for RU, I don't know what the Helix GB stuff was, so I'm not really in a position to detail discount vs value

However, I'm interested in the Helix myself, but as a UK user (who's been stung too many times by UK resellers with inflated prices - or being incorrectly charged by US vendors mislabeling kit for export etc), so I'll try to hold back and keep myself UK focused. Hopefully, at some point, the Helix will be available in the UK :)

But I do think that it's 'horses for courses' as they say here in the UK. Each product, Helix, Ronin or BS4 will have their loyal users and probably a disproportionate set of haters - just like our Epics!
 
Brilliant plan and great customer service Hienle.

I own an M10 & am also part of B4 & Helix GB. Gotta say I couldn't be less thrilled with BS customer service & while B4 may be a fine product - may be so turned off by delays & poor communication I just buy an M15 instead (RU B4 for sale anyone? Lol).

Question, I signed NDAs some time ago but haven't been sent invite to private forum?

Very excited about Helix...for non aerial work, you guys look like clear winners to me...best of luck & thanks for your great work ethic.


Thank you,

hienle said:
After some extensive research and testing we have decided to move forward with Lithium-ion as the battery for the Helix.

Here are some of the reasons behind this decision:

- Li-ion batteries are MUCH safer for the users.
- Li-ion batteries are the same battery cells that used in your V-mount/Anton Bauer battery
- Li-ion batteries are more stable than the Li-po batteries
- There will be no need for cumbersome re-charging process with the charge balancing lead.
- The packaging is aesthetically better since there will no longer a balancing lead hanging loose while in use.
- The Li-ion batteries are just as light weight as the Lipo.
- The new Li-ion is at 52mAh with more than 10A discharge rate (more than enough for the Helix + Camera + accessories). The reason all other gimbals are using Li-Po batteries is because they came from helicopter use which requires a very high amperage. At time, it requires a burst of up to 30A. This is why the LiPo batteries were necessary since they are the only batteries that can provide that amperage. The irony about this is that the gimbals themselves requires maximum current of couple of Amps. The funny thing is, none these of other gimbals supply power to the camera and accessories like the Helix.

The reason of the delay of the Helix delivery for the last 10 days was due to the battery situation. Once we received the final LiPo batteries we were truly disappointed, they are not up to our standard aesthetically. We immediately decided that the LiPo batteries do not belong on the Helix and decided to move forward with the Li-ion battery. We then debated over whether to hold up shipment until the Li-on batteries are ready for shipment or to release with the LiPo batteries. To be frank, the LiPo was good but just doesn't look good enough for the Helix. We then decided just to release the Helix so you all can start having fun with it.

Whoever ordered and received the LiPo battery will received a coupon to get a free Li-Ion battery for each LiPo battery that you bought. You keep the LiPo batteries you got (meaning you get a 2 for one deal). Those would all be in the Seal Team anyway :)
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I have little doubt that in the hands of competent and (eventually) experienced operators, these units will all give comparable results; much like you can't reality tell the difference between footage shot on a Steadicam vs. a Glidecam. So "in the long run" we will probably all be "getting the shot."

The really interesting thing to see, after the dust settles is whether the different design philosophies make a difference. The Movi/BS4/Ronin all have a similar "dropped down" design while the Helix places the camera between the hands. I, for one, feel this will turn out to be a better, more versatile design. We shall see.

As for "horses for courses" I guess I interpret that a bit differently. As I pointed out above I think all these products have the potential to deliver similar results. Not too much difference there. In the end, the quality of the organizations behind them will make a difference.
 
Bob Gundu said:
Yeah I would love to see some footage too.
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By this time next week I'm sure there will be several clips posted from those lucky early adopters who are receiving their orders. We got a pair of Scott's and Terry in da house! Since they will have a paid for production unit - there is no NDA in force so you can trust their comments and clips as the unsanitized truth. This is an important point - if there is an NDA in place on a beta unit - it is not an independent review since it is filtered and/or edited by the manufacturer.

Props to Team Helix for bringing this amazing product to market in record time. The final production Helix is waaaay more developed and refined than what was shown at NAB2014 . . . which was just a couple months ago!!
 
PC Greene said:
Question, I signed NDAs some time ago but haven't been sent invite to private forum?
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PC - you should PM Aaron Pinto. If you signed the NDA, he can help you access their development forum. He's pretty quick on the draw and will get you hooked up fast.

I put my money on Letus because of these items:

1) integrated battery
2) modularity of the design
3) less weight, more mobility, can be held close to body
4) instantaneous and generous response to user feedback

I'm very excited about this product. I hope Letus can sustain #4 as they scale up to meet demand, which is a huge challenge.
 
To make it clear, our NDA is for the crazy things we are doing and the Seal Team members are the original first Reduser early adopters plus a few hand picked guys that will have all the fun developing it with us. Some will be beta testers and pilot for the things to come. The things to come after Helix is what's great about the whole deal that I said a while ago that it's better than any percent discount that I can give.

The NDA is for that, not for protecting Letus when the Helix were to turn out to be a crappy product. If the Helix performs crappy, tell it as it is.
 
hienle said:
The NDA is for that, not for protecting Letus when the Helix were to turn out to be a crappy product. If the Helix performs crappy, tell it as it is.
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BAMM! That is confidence in not just the initial product, but more importantly, in what the reaction time will be when issues or opportunities are revealed.

Game On!!
 
I've been silently following this thread and I've been so incredibly excited for this product. Since they said there were 2-3 dropping today, I've been following it like a Dragon release. I cant wait to see what you guys think of this and thanks for all of you guys who are so generous with your time. It's really appreciated by all of us in the background.
 
hienle said:
After some extensive research and testing we have decided to move forward with Lithium-ion as the battery for the Helix.

Here are some of the reasons behind this decision:

- Li-ion batteries are MUCH safer for the users.
- Li-ion batteries are the same battery cells that used in your V-mount/Anton Bauer battery
- Li-ion batteries are more stable than the Li-po batteries
- There will be no need for cumbersome re-charging process with the charge balancing lead.
- The packaging is aesthetically better since there will no longer a balancing lead hanging loose while in use.
- The Li-ion batteries are just as light weight as the Lipo.
- The new Li-ion is at 52mAh with more than 10A discharge rate (more than enough for the Helix + Camera + accessories). The reason all other gimbals are using Li-Po batteries is because they came from helicopter use which requires a very high amperage. At time, it requires a burst of up to 30A. This is why the LiPo batteries were necessary since they are the only batteries that can provide that amperage. The irony about this is that the gimbals themselves requires maximum current of couple of Amps. The funny thing is, none these of other gimbals supply power to the camera and accessories like the Helix.

The reason of the delay of the Helix delivery for the last 10 days was due to the battery situation. Once we received the final LiPo batteries we were truly disappointed, they are not up to our standard aesthetically. We immediately decided that the LiPo batteries do not belong on the Helix and decided to move forward with the Li-ion battery. We then debated over whether to hold up shipment until the Li-on batteries are ready for shipment or to release with the LiPo batteries. To be frank, the LiPo was good but just doesn't look good enough for the Helix. We then decided just to release the Helix so you all can start having fun with it.

Whoever ordered and received the LiPo battery will received a coupon to get a free Li-Ion battery for each LiPo battery that you bought. You keep the LiPo batteries you got (meaning you get a 2 for one deal). Those would all be in the Seal Team anyway :)
Click to expand...

I completely understand and applaud your pursuit of excellence in all respects, so sounds like the right choice.:-)

Does this mean that you've received an allocation of Li-Ion batteries in the right form factor to fit the Juice Box and also chargers to use with them? Or are you just going to start shipping all the Helixes without any batteries (except for the three that shipped yesterday with Lipos) and then send out the Li-Ions as they become available? No biggie for me since I'm doing belt V-mounts as well and will be able to use my Helix immediately with or without onboard batteries. Just wondering from your post whether the Li-Ions are already in house.
 
Elizabeth Lowrey said:
I completely understand and applaud your pursuit of excellence in all respects, so sounds like the right choice.:-)

Does this mean that you've received an allocation of Li-Ion batteries in the right form factor to fit the Juice Box and also chargers to use with them? Or are you just going to start shipping all the Helixes without any batteries (except for the three that shipped yesterday with Lipos) and then send out the Li-Ions as they become available? No biggie for me since I'm doing belt V-mounts as well and will be able to use my Helix immediately with or without onboard batteries. Just wondering from your post whether the Li-Ions are already in house.
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Good question Elizabeth. We will continue to ship with Li-po until the Li-ion batteries come. You will get a credit for each battery and charger you originally purchase, so yes, you will get the new charger if you purchased it.
 
Elizabeth,

Thanks for the clarifying question. We will ship this week and next week with the current LiPo batteries as we already have it and they are good enough for use. Those of you who receive these batteries will then receive a coupon for the equivalence of number of LiPo batteries that you have bought to purchase the Li-ion batteries. You keep the Lipo too.

PS. The Li-ion is 5200mAh. Sorry about the 4am typo.
 
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