Teradek RT - Please share your experience with me.

[Mark A. Jaeger]

My first post asking for help disappeared so I am trying again.

I am considering purchase of the Teradek MDR.X and CTRL.3 with the MOTR.X motors.

How long do the Canon batteries last in the CTRL.3?
Is powering the MDR.X from a Dtap a good idea? Does it significantly reduce camera run time?
Does the cabled start/stop from MDR.X to DSMC2 work reliably?
Have you had any issues with firmware/hardware/etc or is this one of those products that is simply great out of the box?
It appears that when the CTRL.3 is very close to the MDR.X that one needs to select low transmitter power. Will it be a problem to have the CTRL.3 on the tripod handle?
Have you had interference problems that blocked function?
Can the Teradek RT gear be used in inclement weather conditions (At least to the extent that you'd expose a Monstro and lens)?
There are two options for motors. The MOTR.X are the newest and fastest but they are almost 50% more expensive than the MK.3 motors. The MOTR.X allow daisy chain cabling. Are the MOTR.X motors the right choice?

Any other advice?

Thanks, in advance. Mark

 

[Aaron Lochert]

I can only speak for the older MK3.1 controller, but the LP-E6 battery would last an entire 3 day weekend. I rent an RT Motion kit from a local rental house sometimes and I don't recall ever having to change the battery during the day. I would say when building a kit, you only need two, maybe a third for safety.

Powering the motors and receiver via D Tap doesn't terribly reduce camera runtime, but I looked it up for you. A 3 motor system (mk.3 motors and older MDR) will draw about 2W on idle, with peaks to about 15 watts on fast focus pulls. You can probably expect 10-20% (a pure guess) shorter runtimes but it really depends how often you're turning all 3 motors all day. I haven't noticed much of a hit, personally. Combined with wireless video and external monitors, then you start cutting into camera battery life.

Can't speak much to the start/stop as I only ever used it on one one-day gig, but it worked for that day.

Reliability has been solid every single time. Very nice piece of kit in my opinion. Especially for the price when the only thing better in my opinion is a WCU-4 setup.

Haven't had any interference yet. But I have had all interference issues with wireless video while the RT Motion still holds up in those scenarios.

I've used the RT kit in a sudden sand storm. But not in rain. Worked perfectly fine, though I had to spend a ton of time cleaning everything.

Daisy chain cabling is nice, but the mk.3 motors have pulled every lens I've thrown at it just fine. So that's up to you. I do like that the ports point downward on the MOTR.X which definitely helps keep the cabling clean. For an owner/operator, not sure if that's worth more than double the price though.

 

[Cameron Currier]

I gotta say my experience is very similar to Aaron's above. I've used the older RT Motion kit (before it was rebranded by Teradek)

I've done 2-3 day shoots with the same LP-E6 battery in the hand unit. The MDR and motor don't seem to suck camera power away. Nothing really noticeable, at the very least.

I've had zero signal or interference issues. Typically, the Teradeks would lose video before any noticeable focus unit issues.

Overall, I love the RT motion. Haven't used the newer Teradek rebrands.... but if they're anything as reliable as the original, they're awesome and super underrated.

 

[Mark A. Jaeger]

Aaron,
Thanks for your reply. I was disappointed that no one responded after a couple of days.
As a two motor (focus, zoom) kit is not a cheap date I wanted an element of confidence that the Teradek is a good product. Based upon the Bolt I had I was guessing "Yes" but it's good to hear at least one user got along well.

There is one application that I would like your opinion on: Eagle in a tree (overlooking a shoreline) at distance X. Eagle swoops down to shore at distance Y. All of this happens pretty fast. I was planning to set distance X as one focus limit and Y as the other end focus limit. Start the shot when the Eagle jumps from X and rack the focus wheel to go to Y while madly tracking with super-telephoto. Manual focusing and maintaining composition are not so simple in this timeframe. If the X to Y limits actually will result in accurate focus, then I can mainly concentrate on composition. Whatyathink? Will it work?

Thanks again.

 

[Mark A. Jaeger]

Cameron,
Thanks for your input. I'm in the Tri-Cities. My wife grew up (sorta) in Ferndale.
Mark