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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 :)

Wireless Follow Focus: RT Motion Pro-MK2

Tobias Straka

Tobias Straka

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Hey guys, this unit was mentioned in the "which wireless follow focus to buy" already, but I think it deserves it's own thread: the RT Motion Pro-MK2.

art_rtmotion_case.jpg


The Pro-MK2 is a 3-channel digital wireless follow focus system. I really love it for a variety of reasons. The build quality is amazing, it has great features and with £1200, it's priced very (!) competitive. It also reminds me of RED a bit in terms of upgradability - RT Motion puts out firmware upgrades regularily and offers hardware upgrades whenever there's something new available. Really cool.

I've written a pretty long post about it, so go ahead and read everything about it here:
bit.ly/ekAWuv
There's pictures and a quick video, too... :)

Interesting for us redusers: the unit supports Tally feedback, where the Controller gets indication that the Camera is at speed. Of course, you can power the whole thing off of the AUX port (or D-Tap).

Oh, and one note - I am not working for RT Motion - I bought this kit and I just really enjoy it very much! :)
 
Hey, thanks for the heads up on this unit. Have you had any trouble with certain larger/longer lenses? The motor looks like it's pretty bulky.

Thanks,

G
 
The motor isn't too small, that's correct. But it's a bit unfair too because I used a pretty tiny lens in this configuration... :)

That said, no I haven't had any problems with any of the lenses (cine lenses) I've tested so far. The motor is pretty strong and works perfectly in every situation I tried. Also, there will be a "slim" version of the motor early next year, so if it's too bulky for you, you can always upgrade.
 
Hi, Kris here of RTMotion, great to have such fantastic feedback. Thanks, Tobias!

Low temperature performance-- there are two things here, the motor and the lens.

Some lens motors have gear trains in oil, which gets stiff when cold. Our motor performs identically in cold temperatures to at least -20 to -30°c. The motor produces 1.6Nm torque with no change in torque down to sub-zero temperatures. Heden models range from 1.25 to 1.8Nm. Batteries might not be happy, of course.

For the lens itself-- 95% of cine lenses at temperatures around 0°c (32°F), no problem, BUT there are some very stiff lenses overdue maintenance-- in reality you will encounter reduced top-speed as temperatures plummet sub-zero.

Kris
 
I think the main issue I can see is that the lens drive gear has very little clearance outside of the long motor housing. With lenses (especially wideangles) that physically flare outwards a lot, you may not be able to get the drive gear close enough to the lens ring to engage the teeth?

But I love the price and that they are UK based! :smile:
 
How's the noise on these?

Regards,
Paul
 
ericyoung said:
I think the main issue I can see is that the lens drive gear has very little clearance outside of the long motor housing. With lenses (especially wideangles) that physically flare outwards a lot, you may not be able to get the drive gear close enough to the lens ring to engage the teeth?

But I love the price and that they are UK based! :smile:
Click to expand...

Hm, that's an interesting point. I have to say though that I can't think of a lens where you can't mesh gear right now. I think you're bringing up a valid point, but all the lenses I've worked with so far would not have been a problem. Also, there's always the slim motor version coming next year :)

paul engstrom said:
How's the noise on these?

Regards,
Paul
Click to expand...

One of the questions I asked Kris before I placed my order how the noise level is compared to other manufacturers, and here's what he said:

"Quieter than an M-One and louder than a Heden!"

Personally, I think the noise is pretty low. I do want to compare it to other mothors (will do that as soon as I get a chance), but really, when you're doing "normal" focus pulls, it's very quiet. Of course, there is a bit of noise when you rack focus really fast, but to be honest - you rarely do that, anyway... :)
 
"Quieter than an M-One and louder than a Heden!"

Thanks,

P
 
Hi again! Sorry for not replying sooner, been stock-taking like mad to make sure we can keep constructing over the holidays (UK weather has been pretty bad).

We've tested many setups during development, and the motor gear clearance is in reality rarely an issue. The motor's mounting flexibility (you can reverse the post, and it has a lot of vertical adjustment) means you can pretty much always make it work. We're switching to a minutely larger gear shortly which gives you an extra few mm, but this was more to tweak the speed/torque ratio than anything (a few % more speed for a few % less torque, probably no one but us would notice).

Truthfully, the motor is the engineering compromise that allows us to hit this price-point- we have no intention of sacrificing performance, power, build quality or noise-level, so at the moment a slightly sub-optimal motor size is the compromise. (n.b. it's not heavy, at ~300g it's about normal)

Q1 2011 will see some options that'll close the gap some more. We'll have...

- a Universal Receiver (which can control 1-3 of our motors, plus one 3rd party motor, simultaneously).
- a Flat Motor, i.e. the PRO-MK2 kit with an ultra-slim motor, higher price to reflect the additional engineering complexity
- an in-line dongle (tiny electronics box) to allow connecting of 3rd party motors to the existing PRO-MK2 receivers. And yes, this would support 3 or more motors simultaneously, as it ties the 3rd party motors into our multi-motor bus network.

oh, and we'll continue to offer upgrades for "parts + postage" costs, especially while things are moving so rapidly.

Kris
 
Kris, did yuo guys get the timelapse function working yet? As this is pretty useful. Also, when do you guys have 19mm rail mounts coming out? Or removable marking discs?
 
Kris Bird said:
Hi again! Sorry for not replying sooner, been stock-taking like mad to make sure we can keep constructing over the holidays (UK weather has been pretty bad).

We've tested many setups during development, and the motor gear clearance is in reality rarely an issue. The motor's mounting flexibility (you can reverse the post, and it has a lot of vertical adjustment) means you can pretty much always make it work. We're switching to a minutely larger gear shortly which gives you an extra few mm, but this was more to tweak the speed/torque ratio than anything (a few % more speed for a few % less torque, probably no one but us would notice).

Truthfully, the motor is the engineering compromise that allows us to hit this price-point- we have no intention of sacrificing performance, power, build quality or noise-level, so at the moment a slightly sub-optimal motor size is the compromise. (n.b. it's not heavy, at ~300g it's about normal)

Q1 2011 will see some options that'll close the gap some more. We'll have...

- a Universal Receiver (which can control 1-3 of our motors, plus one 3rd party motor, simultaneously).
- a Flat Motor, i.e. the PRO-MK2 kit with an ultra-slim motor, higher price to reflect the additional engineering complexity
- an in-line dongle (tiny electronics box) to allow connecting of 3rd party motors to the existing PRO-MK2 receivers. And yes, this would support 3 or more motors simultaneously, as it ties the 3rd party motors into our multi-motor bus network.

oh, and we'll continue to offer upgrades for "parts + postage" costs, especially while things are moving so rapidly.

Kris
Click to expand...




Hi Chris.

When will it ship ? I need two set .

Cheers
Bert tan
 
Hi Kris,

I have an email in to you guys regarding info on a two and three channel. Would like for someone to get back to me so I can get an order in.

Thanks!
 
Hey Guys,

BIG thanks to Kris for taking time out of his busy schedule to contact me. I look forward to do bussiness with you in the near future.

Cheers
 
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