Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • 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 Helix iOS App

M

Mat_G

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Messages
117
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
NYC
If anyone out there has the full-size or JR Letus Helix with the WiFi module installed... can you kindly check out the new iOS app and let us fellow Helix owners how it is?

I hope this makes tuning the Helix much simpler and quicker.

I'd test it right this minute and share my feedback, but my 3 axis Helix needs the Bluetooth module upgraded to the new Bluetooth/Wifi combo module.

FYI, the app will not work with older Helix models with the Bluetooth only module.

Link to iOS App:
https://appsto.re/us/qgjQ5.i


screen322x572.jpeg
screen322x572.jpeg
screen322x572.jpeg
screen322x572.jpeg
 
Looks great, especially the Fine Tuning options and Profile Library. Does anyone know if there is a service fee for the iOS wifi upgrade?
 
Nice
 
Got it downloaded... gotta send in my Helix for the upgrade, though. Should be a big help for fine-tuning in the field (now that I feel like I'm sort of getting the hang of PID settings), I just can't always lug a laptop around!
 
Got my Helix back and the app is working pretty great. It's much faster and easier to be away from a computer and changing PID values in the app (along with their presets and suggestions as a starting point).

One thing I'm wondering--this is regarding the Helix as a whole and not the app--is it a common problem that people have the left/right shaking (like the camera is saying "no" over and over... maybe I'll call it "naysaying", ha)? It's been something I've noticed in many of the Helix videos posted online. Sometimes it's very small and you have to look for it (and chances are, the shooter overlooked it) or there is a hint of warp stabilizer smoothing it away.

Why is this such a common issue? Is it just something inherent in the design of the Helix? After posting on here, I've gotten multiple messages from users saying "I still can't get that jittering tuned out!"

Something I noticed on my Helix: I'm using the FS7, which is a longer body that is very front heavy. Add a lens and it's very front heavy. I actually made a special v-mount plate to power+counterbalance the back end of the Helix because the fore/aft plate (or rather, the cable underneath it, that powers the pan/tilt motors) won't allow the camera to slide back far enough.

So ultimately, this results in the film plane of my camera being nearly 5 inches in front of the center of the pan motor. So even a small degree of vibration/wobble translates to several millimeters of left/right movement at the front of the camera. I would love to see if I could extend the fore/aft platform (and the cable under it) in order to get my film plane more center on the pan motor, to see if that helps the issue.
 
Helix is shipped with 1 degree deadband, you can increase this to about 4 or 5 degree to eliminate this left right wobble.
 
I'm a Helix owner for about a month now. First and foremost the customer service has been second to none so far, GT has been beyond great and Ken was extremely helpful during my FaceTime calls with him. The app seems to be working pretty well which of course is a good thing. My experience with shake and wobble is not so much with the left/right shake but more with the up/down shake. When I walk, you can really "feel" the steps in the footage. Ken recommended a few tweaks but to my eye they did not make much of a difference. What can I do to make the walking smoother?
 
Josh Becker said:
Got my Helix back and the app is working pretty great. It's much faster and easier to be away from a computer and changing PID values in the app (along with their presets and suggestions as a starting point).

One thing I'm wondering--this is regarding the Helix as a whole and not the app--is it a common problem that people have the left/right shaking (like the camera is saying "no" over and over... maybe I'll call it "naysaying", ha)? It's been something I've noticed in many of the Helix videos posted online. Sometimes it's very small and you have to look for it (and chances are, the shooter overlooked it) or there is a hint of warp stabilizer smoothing it away.

Why is this such a common issue? Is it just something inherent in the design of the Helix? After posting on here, I've gotten multiple messages from users saying "I still can't get that jittering tuned out!"

Something I noticed on my Helix: I'm using the FS7, which is a longer body that is very front heavy. Add a lens and it's very front heavy. I actually made a special v-mount plate to power+counterbalance the back end of the Helix because the fore/aft plate (or rather, the cable underneath it, that powers the pan/tilt motors) won't allow the camera to slide back far enough.

So ultimately, this results in the film plane of my camera being nearly 5 inches in front of the center of the pan motor. So even a small degree of vibration/wobble translates to several millimeters of left/right movement at the front of the camera. I would love to see if I could extend the fore/aft platform (and the cable under it) in order to get my film plane more center on the pan motor, to see if that helps the issue.
Click to expand...

You can increase the deadband as Hien said. I also increased the delay and lowered the "I" to allow for a much smoother follow. Play around with it for an hour or two and you'll find a sweet spot for your rig.
 
Bobby Farokhzad said:
I'm a Helix owner for about a month now. First and foremost the customer service has been second to none so far, GT has been beyond great and Ken was extremely helpful during my FaceTime calls with him. The app seems to be working pretty well which of course is a good thing. My experience with shake and wobble is not so much with the left/right shake but more with the up/down shake. When I walk, you can really "feel" the steps in the footage. Ken recommended a few tweaks but to my eye they did not make much of a difference. What can I do to make the walking smoother?
Click to expand...

The walking bounce is the only thing gimbals don't address. This is why people use EZ rigs and steadicam with their gimbals. That said, we've been able to get damn smooth walking and near-running shots by working on a smooth step, one foot directly in front of the last.
 
Hal Long said:
You can increase the deadband as Hien said. I also increased the delay and lowered the "I" to allow for a much smoother follow. Play around with it for an hour or two and you'll find a sweet spot for your rig.
Click to expand...


Hal,
Would you mind sharing your settings to get the Helix to perform well with a fully built Epic?
Steve
 
Hal Long said:
You can increase the deadband as Hien said. I also increased the delay and lowered the "I" to allow for a much smoother follow. Play around with it for an hour or two and you'll find a sweet spot for your rig.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tips. And Hien, thank you too!

I agree, the service has been great from Letus. Ken has done a Skype chat with me to get me about 95% of the way there. A lot of it is just learning and understanding the nuances of the PID settings, but that's more on me.

The reason I had the longer write up asking about the design/length of the pan plate was just because I feel like I've seen a ton of videos online from gimbals, but when I watch Helix videos specifically I tended to see this wobble/shake. I wasn't sure if it was just that many people tuning it incorrectly or if there was another design element that was exacerbating the issue.
 
Bobby Farokhzad said:
I'm a Helix owner for about a month now. First and foremost the customer service has been second to none so far, GT has been beyond great and Ken was extremely helpful during my FaceTime calls with him. The app seems to be working pretty well which of course is a good thing. My experience with shake and wobble is not so much with the left/right shake but more with the up/down shake. When I walk, you can really "feel" the steps in the footage. Ken recommended a few tweaks but to my eye they did not make much of a difference. What can I do to make the walking smoother?
Click to expand...
You can try tweaking the pid for the tilt more and increase the deadband so your tilt will not change much unwanted. you need to practice walking and you can try pointing the whole thing backward while walking forward when this is right for the shot it can be smoother.
 
Hien, great work. It's on my list of gear I need to get.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top