Letus Gimbal

[PC Greene]

TV, EL, I had the same plan, & will attempt to use our RED Mini QR again with new bottom plate as it should help, but know that as with steadicam, raising the COG height an inch, affects gimbal setup greatly, & I pretty much came to conclusion that couldn't use with old baseplate :-/ lol. Also, I can tell you that with RQR vertical optical center is impossible but not a big deal as horizontal center is fine & 360 shots are very rare. MoVI has never been even close to centered but still looks good.

Hopefully new bottom plate will allow QR...I'll try again this week when it arrives & post findings.

Thank you,

Elizabeth - Sounds like your journey is going pretty much the way mine is. The one thing I would say right now is that I am definitely going to go the route of a QR plate. I think its just too inconvenient to keep the camera bolted to the camera platform. I am hoping to find something low profile and lightweight. I am going to try a Letus but Hien just may have to design something new!

 

[Elizabeth Lowrey]

Elizabeth - Sounds like your journey is going pretty much the way mine is. The one thing I would say right now is that I am definitely going to go the route of a QR plate. I think its just too inconvenient to keep the camera bolted to the camera platform. I am hoping to find something low profile and lightweight. I am going to try a Letus but Hien just may have to design something new! http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

TV, EL, I had the same plan, & will attempt to use our RED Mini QR again with new bottom plate as it should help, but know that as with steadicam, raising the COG height an inch, affects gimbal setup greatly, & I pretty much came to conclusion that couldn't use with old baseplate :-/ lol. Also, I can tell you that with RQR vertical optical center is impossible but not a big deal as horizontal center is fine & 360 shots are very rare. MoVI has never been even close to centered but still looks good.

Hopefully new bottom plate will allow QR...I'll try again this week when it arrives & post findings.

Thank you,

When I bought my Epic, it was a completely new experience for me. Having used only lower end broadcast and prosumer cameras before, I was used to a camera having almost everything built in that you needed to record (even microphones when scratch or non critical audio was needed). All of a sudden I had to worry about ND filters and shoulder mounts! And that meant matteboxes, which meant rods, which meant baseplates or some way of attaching the mattebox and shoulder mount to the camera (although the mattebox I settled on is a very lightweight and versatile box which can also clamp directly on the lens without rods. I was such an ingenue, I remember trying to decide whether to commit to the 19mm Studio rod standard (more expensive and fewer options), but more robust with (so I thought) superior ways of integrating rods. So I went with a bunch of very well made w*&#$n camera gear, including the 19mm baseplate and the "easy riser" that was necessary in order to bring the Epic to spec height from the rods center. (I'd post links, but you may be aware how that goes at REDUser with respect to that particular company.) Well, as it turns out, I really think I could get by without rods and that heavy baseplate for the vast majority of my shooting. But now I'm invested in multiple ARRI style dovetails to use on tripods, cranes, etc. with no way to interface to the camera WITHOUT the baseplate.

Then Ryan came up with a great new piece that I saw at this year's NAB. It's called the "quick riser" and performs the same function as the former "easy riser" by lifting the Epic to spec height over the rods. But it does so via a two-piece interlocking set that effectively gives you an EXTREMELY low profile ARRI compatible baseplate that stays on the camera at all times and slides into and locks on a short, form fitting dovetail. So if you use this with the conventional ARRI baseplate, you can immediately detach from that baseplate and STILL retain the capacity to slide the camera on an ARRI dovetail. Equally cool is that the two pieces of the quick riser are sold separately, so you can buy multiple of the "lower half" short dovestail pieces to mate with the top half that stays on the camera, and you have a quick release solution for a variety of hardware while maintaining ARRI dovetail compatibility. I have held off on buying several of those in case I decide to go another direction entirely (was looking at Hien's terrific plate and quick release system, which is very appealing but works differently in that, typically, the dovetail would be attached to the camera and various instances of the quick release plate would be bolted to various hardware. But if I invest in that, it's a whole bunch more money, and I'll take a substantial loss on my ARRI style gear, even though it's in great, lightly-used shape.

Nirvana would have been to have Hien design the Helix plate that the camera attaches to in an ARRI style dovetail where those with that very popular hardware could just slide the camera directly onto the plate. Implementing the scale markers may be a bit more tricky but doable, and I suspect a lot of users would jump all over that option. Maybe I should have spoken up about this a month ago when it first occurred to me, but it seemed the design was "locked" then, and even though this is a piece that could be redesigned or offered as an option because it isn't a permanent part of the Helix frame, I just didn't want to put too many more custom requests or changes in his way with the kinds of delivery pressures he was facing.) Anyway, Hien if you're reading this now and think it's worth floating to the community to see how much support there would be for it, be my guest.

 

[Zeb B]

When I bought my Epic, it was a completely new experience for me. Having used only lower end broadcast and prosumer cameras before, I was used to a camera having almost everything built in that you needed to record (even microphones when scratch or non critical audio was needed). All of a sudden I had to worry about ND filters and shoulder mounts! And that meant matteboxes, which meant rods, which meant baseplates or some way of attaching the mattebox and shoulder mount to the camera (although the mattebox I settled on is a very lightweight and versatile box which can also clamp directly on the lens without rods. I was such an ingenue, I remember trying to decide whether to commit to the 19mm Studio rod standard (more expensive and fewer options), but more robust with (so I thought) superior ways of integrating rods. So I went with a bunch of very well made w*&#$n camera gear, including the 19mm baseplate and the "easy riser" that was necessary in order to bring the Epic to spec height from the rods center. (I'd post links, but you may be aware how that goes at REDUser with respect to that particular company.) Well, as it turns out, I really think I could get by without rods and that heavy baseplate for the vast majority of my shooting. But now I'm invested in multiple ARRI style dovetails to use on tripods, cranes, etc. with no way to interface to the camera WITHOUT the baseplate.

Then Ryan came up with a great new piece that I saw at this year's NAB. It's called the "quick riser" and performs the same function as the former "easy riser" by lifting the Epic to spec height over the rods. But it does so via a two-piece interlocking set that effectively gives you an EXTREMELY low profile ARRI compatible baseplate that stays on the camera at all times and slides into and locks on a short, form fitting dovetail. So if you use this with the conventional ARRI baseplate, you can immediately detach from that baseplate and STILL retain the capacity to slide the camera on an ARRI dovetail. Equally cool is that the two pieces of the quick riser are sold separately, so you can buy multiple of the "lower half" short dovestail pieces to mate with the top half that stays on the camera, and you have a quick release solution for a variety of hardware while maintaining ARRI dovetail compatibility. I have held off on buying several of those in case I decide to go another direction entirely (was looking at Hien's terrific plate and quick release system, which is very appealing but works differently in that, typically, the dovetail would be attached to the camera and various instances of the quick release plate would be bolted to various hardware. But if I invest in that, it's a whole bunch more money, and I'll take a substantial loss on my ARRI style gear, even though it's in great, lightly-used shape.

Nirvana would have been to have Hien design the Helix plate that the camera attaches to in an ARRI style dovetail where those with that very popular hardware could just slide the camera directly onto the plate. Implementing the scale markers may be a bit more tricky but doable, and I suspect a lot of users would jump all over that option. Maybe I should have spoken up about this a month ago when it first occurred to me, but it seemed the design was "locked" then, and even though this is a piece that could be redesigned or offered as an option because it isn't a permanent part of the Helix frame, I just didn't want to put too many more custom requests or changes in his way with the kinds of delivery pressures he was facing.) Anyway, Hien if you're reading this now and think it's worth floating to the community to see how much support there would be for it, be my guest.

The cool thing about Letus is that they can rapid prototype and manufacturer any metal part that has a small to mid quantity potential.

 

[Paul Kalbach]

Hopefully new bottom plate will allow QR...I'll try again this week when it arrives & post findings.

Thank you,

The new bottom plate is beefier. More thickness = even less room for QR.

 

[Steve Das]

The cool thing about Letus is that they can rapid prototype and manufacturer any metal part that has a small to mid quantity potential.

...Wonder if they could make gearhead wheels to control the Helix.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Steve - are you suggesting micro-adjustment knobs? 'Cuz that's what I am hoping for. :smiley:

 

[Steve Das]

Steve - are you suggesting micro-adjustment knobs? 'Cuz that's what I am hoping for. :smiley:

I did see another gimbal with adjustment knobs but they went back to the slide and clamp method...because the knobs just spun and spun.

No....I meant like a regular gearhead interfaced to the rc so that you control the framing that way.

 

[Zeb B]

We talked about that but keep in mind that any gear system adds weight, complexity, cost and most importantly potential play / false movement. You would have to have a gear + clamp system to make it tight.

The challenge to any gimbal system is to isolate all movement to only that which can be measured and compensated by the CPU / Motors. Mechanical slop and structural flex is a no no

 

[scott devitte]

We talked about that but keep in mind that any gear system adds weight, complexity, cost and most importantly potential play / false movement. You would have to have a gear + clamp system to make it tight.

The challenge to any gimbal system is to isolate all movement to only that which can be measured and compensated by the CPU / Motors. Mechanical slop and structural flex is a no no

I have been trying out various RRS and other clamps and quick release plates on the Helix. I have to say that I am coming to the opinion that the added weight is not worth the convenience and they do introduce another binding point(s). The more I try to get the Helix where I want it the more apparent it become that microbalance is critical and any weight not absolutely needed is better left off.
I do love having the RRS on the inverted 4th axis.

 

[Scott Pultz]

Yeah the balance really comes down to a fraction of a mm. Having a gear/screw movement (like a macro plate) would be really cool.

 

[Zeb B]

I use the RRS plate on the bottom of the GH4 with the Letus DSLR quick release. Works great! The Epic is another matter ;-)

Honestly, after practice you get the hang of the balancing. If your rig stays the same from job to job then you'll know your starting points.

 

[Dan Kanes]

I did see another gimbal with adjustment knobs but they went back to the slide and clamp method...because the knobs just spun and spun.

No....I meant like a regular gearhead interfaced to the rc so that you control the framing that way.

Steve, the Hurricane Wheels brushless gimbal control wheels may be just what you are looking for. They will easily control a helix using a Spektrum radio, and very soon with a futaba control module.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showth...eels-Awesome-New-Way-to-control-Remote-gimbal

if anyone wants to test in the LA area tomorrow, please reach out.

 

[Zeb B]

That looks cool Dan! Nice product concept. Can you change the wheel drag or flywheel feel?

 

[Peter Corbett]

I use a Vocas VCT shoulder mount on the base with 15mm rod adaptor, so I'm trying to figure out a solution where I can switch between three modes; tripod, handheld and Helix shooting. It would great to have the Helix pre-blanced/setup for a specific general-purpose lens, then being able to switch in less than a minute from tripod to gimbal. It's going to need some more research....

 

[PC Greene]

While there's truth to this, nothing will make set up quicker - especially in run and gun situations where rigging is changing all the time than QR plate.

I'll be really bummed if we can't use our RED QR plates we've invested thousands into...

Thank you,

I use the RRS plate on the bottom of the GH4 with the Letus DSLR quick release. Works great! The Epic is another matter ;-)

Honestly, after practice you get the hang of the balancing. If your rig stays the same from job to job then you'll know your starting points.

 

[Nick Fury]

I use the RRS plate on the bottom of the GH4 with the Letus DSLR quick release. Works great! The Epic is another matter ;-)

Honestly, after practice you get the hang of the balancing. If your rig stays the same from job to job then you'll know your starting points.

Hi ZEb!

Did you get the Raptor/Action Products quick release plate as well?

Thank you very much
Fury

 

[Zeb B]

Hi ZEb!

Did you get the Raptor/Action Products quick release plate as well?

Thank you very much
Fury

Dang!! When I get back from my location shoot I'm looking you up to get me straight on this Raptor / Helix project. Seems fair since you sold me on it ;-)

 

[Zeb B]

While there's truth to this, nothing will make set up quicker - especially in run and gun situations where rigging is changing all the time than QR plate.

I'll be really bummed if we can't use our RED QR plates we've invested thousands into...

Thank you,

I'm at Letus right now getting my Dragon with the RED Pro QR Plate mounted and tuned up for a commercial project. I'll report back my findings.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

I'm at Letus right now getting my Dragon with the RED Pro QR Plate mounted and tuned up for a commercial project. I'll report back my findings.

You are living there these days!

 

[Tom Greenberg]

I'm at Letus right now getting my Dragon with the RED Pro QR Plate mounted and tuned up for a commercial project. I'll report back my findings.

That is exactly how I was planning on mounting my camera…with a RED QR (Bolt-on) and a Modular Assault Plate. Please update us on how well it works!