Picked up a cheap tripod head from a Telescope Shop and tried it with the EX1 in Shibuya the other night. All shots are one frame a second panning horizontally and in some shots vertically as well on the LOW setting. Some good results for a first try. Although after reviewing some shots it might be better to sped them up a little. Ive posted raw clips as they are. No sound. Just test shots for anyone interested in panning time-lapse.
Cheers, Kubalsky

http://www.vimeo.com/932669

Very cool!

Alexander, Fantastic results for little expense! Do you know if the unit is available in the US? Is it possible to mail order from the shop where you purchased it or should I go direct to the company?
Thanks, Craig

If anyones interested in this device contact Lonnie Hirsch at Mizar Optical Japan. He told me they ship internationally. It does weigh 2kg though. Don't know the shipping cost on that. You can email him at mizar@gol.com


Visit the site at www.mizar-optical.com

cheers, kubalsky

Alexander, I have just sent him an e-mail...will keep you posted. Very creative use of the product. How do you think the build quality is on the product and what is the source of power?

Alexander, I have just sent him an e-mail...will keep you posted. Very creative use of the product. How do you think the build quality is on the product and what is the source of power?

Craig, build is solid but not really designed for carting around on shoots. Power source is 8 AA battery pack which comes with kit or regular 12v adaptor sold seperately.

Just to update everyone on the KD Motor Mount. I had a few drinks with Lonnie from Mizar optics tonight. He's an expat living in Tokyo dealing with all Mizar Optics exports outside Japan. Good guy. He said the cheapest option for Mizar and foreign buyers is Western Union or credit Card. There may be a slight delay on orders because they have been flooded with requests since Phil and I introduced it --It was designed for telescopes originally. They usually sell about one a month! I can say, The KD Mount is excellently made. Hand made here in Tokyo believe it or not! Phil and I used it a lot last week. It stalled on a few occassions but that was our own fault for not tightening the tension on the horizontal gears. It can take an EX1 plus Letus Extreme and Rods. Excellent buy. Great to see small company craftmanship still going in this age of cheap China imports and rip off specialists.

Holy Crow! That is cool! Where were you earlier this year when I was looking for that exact thing? People told me there was such a thing but I couldn't find one.

Hey Alexander great work!

Quick question:

How does/ would the KD Mount attach to a 75mm tripod bowl?

I imagine one would need a flat base plate for the tripod with a screw to thread into the KD Mount?

Any thoughts?Any photos?

Thats right Jonathan. You just need to buy a large washer or something flat with a hole in it and a screw that is long enough to thread up into the KD Mount base. Ill try and post some photos later tonight.

Cool. Your the best Alexander :)

Can you do a horizontal and vertical arch at the same time?

You have to hold down the buttons or is it pre-programmable?

********************************************************

Just ordered...... $184CAD Shipped to Canada.

Lonnie is great! Got on it straight away :)

Yes you can do horizontal and vertical at the same time if you hold down both buttons. There is no computer control. Buy some small clamps and that should do the trick. Save your thumbs going numb. Check out Phillip Blooms latest Blog, he has a Photo of a clamp on the control.

thanks again alex.

on a side note,

i first began to see timelapse used in limited doses back in '97. haven't watched tv for years and years but my feeling is more and more folks are moving into it. now with variable frame rates on lower end cameras...... it's going be everywhere and and you know how that goes.

so..... now the trick becomes...... to use these devices in motivated and unconventional ways.

Cool images Alex! Did you get the blurred images dialing in the syncro-scan rate or...?

Cool images Alex! Did you get the blurred images dialing in the syncro-scan rate or...?

The blurred effect was done using the "EX slow shutter 16" setting which lets in light for 16 frames. I then set the KD motor mounts to LOW setting which pans at .02 degree a secound. At this slow speed I found it doesnt blur the background buildings when panning, just the objects moving faster then the panning speed. Thats how you get that ghost effect while keeping sharp background images on static objects, buildings, parked cars etc.

Cool. Your the best Alexander :)

Can you do a horizontal and vertical arch at the same time?

You have to hold down the buttons or is it pre-programmable?

********************************************************

Just ordered...... $184CAD Shipped to Canada.

Lonnie is great! Got on it straight away :)

Sorry I havent posted photos of the washer and bolt solution, I seem to have misplaced it after the weekends shooting. Ill post when I find it but I think you can get the general idea.

I know that nobody will believe me, but I had entertained that same thought early on with my XDCAM HD camera. I did some tests at 64 frame accumulation by moving the tripod head ever so slowly between intervals. It worked but wasn't ultimately that smooth. I knew a motorized head would be needed but never thought about a telescope mount (it wouldn't handle the weight of the full size camera anyway).

Good thinking Alexander!

-gb-

Hey Alex, I just found this thread whilst browsing around searching for a way to do panning timelapses for cheap. The kd mount seems like a great tool. Just wondering if you have any more footage on the internet. Maybe stuff shot with smaller intervals like 3fps as This may give the pan a smoother feel. Would be great if you have.

Thanks

James

The unit I got fell apart in 5 days of light duty and I'm always super good with my gear.

Metal screwed into plastic is what this is. The base plate that attaches to the tripod is metal but that is attached to the rest of the Motor mount by 3 little screws that screw into PLASTIC. 3 Tiny screws in plastic holding your camera while you scramble through the world. One of the screws had started coming out so I went to tighten it only to find that it was already stripped. That's why it was falling out. I took out the other 2 screws that were holding only to find these were all that was holding the camera! Crazy. What's even more crazy is that someone who assembled my unit mismatched the base plate so instead of threading the correct screws into the inset metal threads (imbedded into the plastic) they cheaped out and screwed them into the plastic. Zero quality control. Then the pan lock stripped it's plastic threads as well. The pan lock is necessary or the unit won't pan.

I just got a reply from Mizar which basically said that the unit was meant for light duty hobbyist telescope work and the pros video will often buy several units in anticipation of a failure.....

So, if you are serious about a head thad will stand up to more than just light puttering around in grandma's back yard forget this one..... or buy several of them.

Hi there, I have just finished working on a film and have no more need for my mizar kd mount. I have only used it a few times and it is perfect condition and comes with all the parts + clamps to hold down the buttons.

I only have one timelapse shot with it online in this clip - http://www.levelarmy.com/video/out%20now.mov

(It's the shot of the seafront)

I am after £80 + shipping cost and I can accept via paypal.

Thanks