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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 :)

The Internal Focus Motor Thread

Jacek Zakowicz said:
The receiver or the OptiTron plug into the back of the camera- we don't use Redlink at all.
Yes on the Red Canon/Nikon mount.
OptiTron is a 2 axis controller- traditional knob for focus and slider for iris.
Zoom needs to be on a separate device since it usually is placed in a different location. Also electronic lenses do not have zoom motors so it's a separate system we are developing...
Click to expand...

Jacek Zakowicz said:
We bypass the 1cm steps and access full resolution on lenses. We would not do it otherwise. The Rx just relays the OptiTron commands - it's transparent to the camera.
Click to expand...

This is fabulous news, Jacek! And I had not seen the video from NAB, so thanks to Philip for the link.

Just to granulate Philip's question a bit more, there should be no reason Optitron 2 wouldn't work identically with Epic whether the mount being used is the original RED Canon mount or the new motion mount, correct?

Also, I love having the option to use wired or wireless for the FF. Nice going on that.

The demo video was referencing Sony cameras with your own proprietary mount involved providing power. Can you clarify power setups for Epic configurations? It sounds like your little receiver will plug into the Gig E port on the back of the Epic. Will that provide power to the receiver? If not, will the receiver be powerable by lemo or other common cable to an auxiliary power tap on a battery plate? Or will it require its own separate, small battery?

And then the same questions would apply to using the Optitron 2 itself in a compact wired setup . . . will it be powered through the hardwired connection to the back of the Epic or will it require its own onboard battery as it would when used wirelessly?
 
Jacek Zakowicz said:
We bypass the 1cm steps and access full resolution on lenses. We would not do it otherwise. The Rx just relays the OptiTron commands - it's transparent to the camera.
Click to expand...

Jacek, is that still with the Red canon mount or with the Optitron ef mont?
 
Yes that's right email me and i'll send you the picture . It's about 50mm (2"0) long, 30mm (1.2") wide and 25mm (1") high.
It has a 1/4"-20 threaded stud with a thumb wheel for mounting.
 
Sorry Jacek, I think I completely misunderstood your "not much longer" statement to mean his patents would not be valid much longer. Complete misunderstanding. I'm truly sorry.

This is my last post on Reduser as I've noticed no one replies to anything I say anymore, so why bother - but I owed you a big apology. Here is my big apology. I have deleted my original post.
 
Using new direct motor control RCP commands my app can now access focus microsteps and bypass the 1cm limitation.

In ‘manual’ AF mode, you get much smoother and accurate focusing at any distance using UI’s slider, keyboard or USB device. Also uses modifiers keys for increased precision.

foolcontrol can now also store up to 13 focus memory points and recall them with a single click or single keystroke.

check the screencast demo below for a quick tour of the new features (much better watched full screen from vimeo) or try the demo version


[video=vimeo; 94247015]http://vimeo.com/94247015[/video]

[URL="http://vimeo.com/foolcolor/foolcontrol03”]http://vimeo.com/foolcolor/foolcontrol03[/URL]




(only available with REDLINK bridge on beta FW, not yet directly enabled on GIG-E connection)
 
Antoine Baumann said:
Hi Jacek, in the video I understand you tell that you can map the whole focus of the lens to 360 degree, or part of the focus to 360 degree, but can you map to more than 1 turn (to more than 360 degree) ?
thanks
Click to expand...
The OptiTron has hard stops so it won't go over 320 degrees.
I find it very confusing for putting distance marks on the marking ring.
What you can do is expand focus by setting custom in/out points for your focus range: For example you could remap range from 5 feet to 15 feet to 320 degrees rotation.
It's a very simple 1 button procedure that takes 5-10 seconds.
 
This is really great stuff, Mikael, and what you've done in such a short time with your program is amazing.

But I think the question most of us would have is how can that kind of lens control be harnessed in a form factor that makes it practical for production, especially for solo or thin crews where an operator might have to pull his/her own focus? Are you in any way planning on developing yourself or collaborating with a developer to bring an ergonomic, compact, lightweight, low power physical interface for this? Even a smartphone app might be feasible if your memory focus points are bang on repeatable and if some kind of keyframing is added to control speed of focus change. And of course for true wireless focus with a dedicated AC sitting at a Mac laptop, your existing app would probably be fine for many kinds of shots. But it's pretty hard to overthrow the "knob" paradigm for adjusting focus, and the knob used would need to be considerably larger in diameter and more practical (and wireless) than the one in your demo. So, even though I don't own a Mac laptop, your work is very exciting and appealing to me but mostly for how I imagine it could be extended, if that makes sense.:-)
 
Mikael Lubtchansky said:
(only available with REDLINK bridge on beta FW, not yet directly enabled on GIG-E connection)
Click to expand...

Note, we have given the direct lens control information out to a few developers so they can start development and we plan on having it publicly available and in an updated RCP SDK shortly.
 
Mikael Lubtchansky said:
Using new direct motor control RCP commands my app can now access focus microsteps and bypass the 1cm limitation.

In ‘manual’ AF mode, you get much smoother and accurate focusing at any distance using UI’s slider, keyboard or USB device. Also uses modifiers keys for increased precision.

foolcontrol can now also store up to 13 focus memory points and recall them with a single click or single keystroke.

check the screencast demo below for a quick tour of the new features (much better watched full screen from vimeo) or try the demo version


[video=vimeo; 94247015]http://vimeo.com/94247015[/video]

http://vimeo.com/foolcolor/foolcontrol03




(only available with REDLINK bridge on beta FW, not yet directly enabled on GIG-E connection)
Click to expand...

Bravo! That looks awesome!!!
 
This is great! We are definitely moving in the right direction. Thanks Red for opening up the access to the micro steps! And great work in applying it Mikeal. Could be really good for MoCo work. As Elizabeth said, we still need something with a useable form factor and now that the SDK is open and proven usable, hopefully its not to far away.

Mikael Lubtchansky said:
Using new direct motor control RCP commands my app can now access focus microsteps and bypass the 1cm limitation.

In ‘manual’ AF mode, you get much smoother and accurate focusing at any distance using UI’s slider, keyboard or USB device. Also uses modifiers keys for increased precision.

foolcontrol can now also store up to 13 focus memory points and recall them with a single click or single keystroke.

check the screencast demo below for a quick tour of the new features (much better watched full screen from vimeo) or try the demo version


[video=vimeo; 94247015]http://vimeo.com/94247015[/video]

http://vimeo.com/foolcolor/foolcontrol03




(only available with REDLINK bridge on beta FW, not yet directly enabled on GIG-E connection)
Click to expand...
 
Controlling the focus motors of Canon lenses is an incredible tool. I cannot stress how much we'd like to use this tool in production.

I hope a new RedLink comes out soon that doesn't mount where my V-lock batteries go!

(Oh, and the mini THC controller would be nice too.)
 
Mikael Lubtchansky said:
Using new direct motor control RCP commands my app can now access focus microsteps and bypass the 1cm limitation.

In ‘manual’ AF mode, you get much smoother and accurate focusing at any distance using UI’s slider, keyboard or USB device. Also uses modifiers keys for increased precision.

foolcontrol can now also store up to 13 focus memory points and recall them with a single click or single keystroke.


check the screencast demo below for a quick tour of the new features (much better watched full screen from vimeo) or try the demo version


[video=vimeo; 94247015]http://vimeo.com/94247015[/video]

[URL="http://vimeo.com/foolcolor/foolcontrol03”]http://vimeo.com/foolcolor/foolcontrol03[/URL]




(only available with REDLINK bridge on beta FW, not yet directly enabled on GIG-E connection)
Click to expand...

Great work Mikael! As many have said you really should develop a version for ipad/iphone/itouch...even if it's a limited app just for focus and iris. There is something about havinan AC or someone else being able to do it on a small device like an itouch as opposed to having to be stuck with a notebook.
The optitron will become an instant must have item if the price is right and if it's able to be delivered in a timely matter. So exciting!!!
 
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