Timelapse with motorized tripod head. at DVinfo.net

James Huenergardt · June 17th, 2008, 04:08 PM

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

Gabriel Florit · June 17th, 2008, 04:23 PM

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.

Jurgen Taghon · June 17th, 2008, 05:15 PM

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

James Huenergardt · June 17th, 2008, 06:41 PM

I'm headed to Guayaquil.

That would be really cool to meet another DVInfo EX1 owner in another country.

Jim

Dean Harrington · June 17th, 2008, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabriel Florit

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.

Philip used a $170 pan and tilt head that had only 2 speeds. It worked very well. The speed control on the Orion unit sounds like more control on speed ~ well worth the costs.

Gabriel Florit · June 17th, 2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean Harrington

Philip used a $170 pan and tilt head that had only 2 speeds. It worked very well. The speed control on the Orion unit sounds like more control on speed ~ well worth the costs.

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.

Dean Harrington · June 17th, 2008, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabriel Florit

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.

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.

David Elkins · June 19th, 2008, 04:13 PM

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

Alexander Kubalsky · June 19th, 2008, 05:28 PM

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

Satoru Murata · June 28th, 2008, 12:42 PM

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.

Alister Chapman · June 28th, 2008, 02:49 PM

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.

Terje Rian · July 7th, 2008, 07:04 AM

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!

Sverker Hahn · July 15th, 2008, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satoru Murata

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 got my Orion yesterday, and my first tests confirms your observation: cruising is much faster. For my needs, it means that I can´t use cruising but have to press the button for 10 - 20 minutes. Not good.

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.

Bob Grant · July 15th, 2008, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Kubalsky

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

I have the KD-Mount-Info.pdf sent by Lonnie. It claims load of 2.5Kg which is what the EX1 weighs without battery, SxS cards or lens hood. Also spec says speeds are 1deg /sec and 0.2deg/sec. For the price I'm not complaining, if it lasts a couple of shots with the EX1 on it I'll be happy but it'd be good to clarify just what the specs are.

Alexander Kubalsky · July 15th, 2008, 08:00 AM

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.

June 17th, 2008, 04:08 PM	#1
James Huenergardt 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, 06:41 PM	#4
James Huenergardt 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 19th, 2008, 04:13 PM	#8
David Elkins 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 28th, 2008, 12:42 PM	#10
Satoru Murata 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
Alister Chapman 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

June 17th, 2008, 04:23 PM	#2
Gabriel Florit 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
Jurgen Taghon 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 19th, 2008, 05:28 PM	#9
Alexander Kubalsky 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

July 7th, 2008, 07:04 AM	#12
Terje Rian 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, 08:00 AM	#15
Alexander Kubalsky 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.