June 17th, 2008, 04:08 PM | #1 |
Major Player
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Chehalis, WA
Posts: 513
|
Timelapse with motorized tripod head.
Hi,
I just tested out an Orion TeleTrack Altazimuth Tracking Telescope mount with my EX1 and it works great. I don't have time to post any test footage, as I'm leaving for Ecuador on a shoot in a few hours. I bought the mount for my Ecuador shoot as I'm going to be shooting some timelapse of workers erecting a church. I want to pan L-R multiple times (30 minutes each sweep) throughout the day so I can meld them all together in one 30-second sweep and have the church build from start to finish in 30 seconds with the pan. I bought it from Orion Telescopes http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...oduct_id=09441 It will tilt and pan in several speeds. All it's speeds are based on the sideral rate (4 degrees per minute) that the earth travels through the sky (or something like that). You can slew it at: 1x, 4x, 8x, 32x, 34x and 800x the sideral rate. You can also program in up to 6 preset positions with both tilt and pan and have it 'navigate' to those positions at one of the faster rates (8x and faster). It's sort of like a poor man's motion control. Anyway, more on all this when I get back from Ecuador. [EDITED] Yes, Philip Bloom did timelapse with a tracking head in Japan, which, thanks to him, I got my idea of how to do what I wanted to do based on a Toyota Harmony commercial. http://www.toyota.com/about/whynot/i...armony_TVSpot/ I was going to purchase one from over there, but found this one which works really well. Jim
__________________
Reel Inspirations - www.reelinspirations.com Commercials, Dramas, Image Pieces, Documentaries, Motion Graphics Last edited by James Huenergardt; June 17th, 2008 at 04:58 PM. |
June 17th, 2008, 04:23 PM | #2 |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 65
|
Looks very nice. Didn't Philip Bloom try out a tracking head in one of his Japan shoots? I think it cost him ~$50. But this thing looks very solid! And tilting, too! Very cool. Great find.
However: I'm not sure I like the mounting plate - if you start adding things like a 35mm adapter, extra battery, mattebox, I doubt that flimsy-looking plate will hold. Too bad! Well, let us know. |
June 17th, 2008, 05:15 PM | #3 |
Regular Crew
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Quito Ecuador
Posts: 37
|
hi James,
Where is you shoot in Ecuador? i,m living in Quito and also have a ex1 etc... maybe we can meet eachother. jurgen |
June 17th, 2008, 06:41 PM | #4 |
Major Player
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Chehalis, WA
Posts: 513
|
I'm headed to Guayaquil.
That would be really cool to meet another DVInfo EX1 owner in another country. Jim
__________________
Reel Inspirations - www.reelinspirations.com Commercials, Dramas, Image Pieces, Documentaries, Motion Graphics |
June 17th, 2008, 06:55 PM | #5 | |
Major Player
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 898
|
time lapse ...
Quote:
|
|
June 17th, 2008, 07:00 PM | #6 |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Cambridge, MA
Posts: 65
|
Ah. Well then this unit looks more appealing - but I'm not so sure about that plate... guess we'll have to wait until James tries it out.
|
June 17th, 2008, 07:15 PM | #7 |
Major Player
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 898
|
Orion specs ...
The orion will only support 9 lbs. The one Phillip used supported the EX1 and the Letus Ultimate ... but the question remains, will these units support Ex1/3, w/DOF adaptors, matteboxes & filter trays, rails, etc? I think a tricked out EX3 might weigh more than 9 lbs.
|
June 19th, 2008, 04:13 PM | #8 |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 147
|
A bit more pricey than the Orion, but this will support a lot more weight plus it will do ramped up and down pans.
https://bmumford.securewebsites.com/...ary/super.html
__________________
www.elkinseye.com Last edited by David Elkins; June 19th, 2008 at 04:19 PM. Reason: fixed link |
June 19th, 2008, 05:28 PM | #9 |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Japan
Posts: 172
|
I would check the payload limit on the Orion. It might hold up with a heavy load.
I'm working on an English translation of instructions for the the motorised mount that Phil used. Just to clarify.... Made by MIZAR Optics. Made in Japan. It can take a 5kg load. It can pan horizontally or vertically or horizontally and vertically simultaniously at 0.02 degrees a second in LOW mode or 1 degree a second in HIGH mode. Here are the original test shots that I did http://www.vimeo.com/932669 check the mount out here http://mizar-optical.com/tele/parts.html Contact Lonnie at MIZAR Optics for more information. It is a bit of a work around to ship these internationally but well worth the effort. Thanks, kubalsky mizar@gol.com |
June 28th, 2008, 12:42 PM | #10 |
Tourist
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 1
|
Problem?
Hi! Happy to see that someone besides me found this mount to use for this purpose (panning timelapse).
I just got one of these off Ebay and I have a question regarding tracking & cruising speed. Hopefully when you get back you could answer this: The manual says that tracking is 1x, 4x, and 8x sidereal rate, and cruising is 32x, 64x, 800x sidereal rate. The tracking speed seems to be fine, and manual slewing seems to be right, but when I do cruising (GoTo mode), the speeds are faster. Specifically, I can't seem to get it to cruise at 32x, but only much faster.... I timed it and it did 360deg in about 5 minutes, making it somewhere in the vicinity of 288x sidereal rate. This is not documented in the manual, but I guess it could be the default? Can you confirm that this is so, or that there might be a problem with the unit? On another note, if anyone else is interested in this mount and have any questions, please feel free to shoot them over. I just opened a Vimeo account to post some videos I'll be taking with this mount. http://www.vimeo.com/1234880 Here's a test I did, panning at 8x sidereal rate (2deg/min). Since it was shot inside, the video is far from artistic, but you get an idea. |
June 28th, 2008, 02:49 PM | #11 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK
Posts: 4,957
|
I have a teletrack as well and it handles the weight of the EX1 without a hitch. I have modified mine by allowing control of the motors with a variable speed PWM controller. No I can use it as a Pan and Tilt hot head as well as a slow speed panning device for timelapse.
__________________
Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com |
July 7th, 2008, 07:04 AM | #12 |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Norway
Posts: 105
|
Orien TeleTrack modification
Mr. Chapman,
Would you like to share how you´ve modified the TeleTrack to allow for external control of the motors using a variable speed PWM control? Thank you! |
July 15th, 2008, 05:04 AM | #13 | |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Posts: 157
|
Quote:
And I discovered that it stutters when moving to the right at 32X, not much but still too much. It is smooth when moving to the left. So if I really, really need to pano to the right I have to play the video backwards. Is it possible to do that in postproduction (FCP)? And then, of course, the clip could not contain certain motifs, like people walking, waves or vehicles moving. |
|
July 15th, 2008, 06:01 AM | #14 | |
Trustee
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1,570
|
Quote:
|
|
July 15th, 2008, 08:00 AM | #15 |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Japan
Posts: 172
|
Hi Bob, I didnt know they instructions stated that. Dont worry about the weight with the KD Mount. Never had trouble with it and my Ex1 even with the wide angle lens and big battery.
Thats more than 4kg. Also handle Phils EX1 and Letus Ultimate setup no problem. just remember to tighten the the horizontal and vertical tension screws when using it, otherwise it will stop as tension wears down mid shot, which sucks. Ps. I got to meet the guy that designed that Mount the other day. A Retired Japanese Optics professor who used to work for Mizar . Really laid back guy. |
| ||||||
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|