CineStar camera gimbal

seattle_helo

seattle_helo

Member
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Tabb, my understanding is that this gimbal is brand new and just being released now. Were you the designer? It looks a little unconventional. It also looks simple and lightweight. I'd love to see any new photos you can share as well as some of the logic and reasons behind why it's designed the way it is. It appears to be mostly CF- any aluminum? What does the camera mounting plate look like? Is the system stabilized via another FlightCtrl board for the gimbal servos?

Lot's of questions, I know... :rolleyes: ;) But I am very interested and planning on getting one to integrate nicely with the CS8.

nick
 



Emowillcox

Emowillcox

Member
Hey Nick.. cool looking mount.... I’ve been out of town for a few days.. but where did you get that photo and who is Tab.. that the guy in the video..flying or maybe the guy making this mount.. would be nice to see a longer video clips of footage come from the RED machine! Just curious and wanting to catch up to speed here!
 

seattle_helo

seattle_helo

Member
The photo I posted is from Tabb's facebook blog. Tabb is an aerial cinematographer who has, to the best of my understanding, developed a line of products for professional AC & AP work. Those products are the CineStar 6 & 8 multi-rotors and this gimbal.

Have a look at his impressive work here: http://freeflycinema.com
 

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Tabb Firchau

Member
Hey guys, sorry for the delay in responding. I got caught up in a couple last minute film shoots that kept me away from my computer. So the CineStar gimbal is designed and manufactured by FreeFly Systems (which I am a partner in) FreeFly in the past has just been a company that is for hire for Aerial Cinematography. Over the years the team here has developed some innovative products that I have been using over the years in my filming business. In this last year we decided to start selling some of our designs and the CineStar 6, 8 and associated camera gimbal are our first 3 products to be released.

The main goals behind this gimbal were to make it adjustable, rigid, and robust. By using the tube and clamp design this camera mount can adjust to suit a wide variety of cameras. I have mounted a whole range of cameras from the gopro up to the RED epic. If you need a little bit more clearance on tilt axis for instance all you have to do is adjust the mount down a bit by loosening 4 screws and re clamping.

Additionally by using the 25mm carbon fiber tubes the mount is very rigid and slop free. Mounting a camera to a 25mm tube allows for a very solid mount point and keeps the camera from flopping around which can ruin otherwise great footage.

I have attached a photo of the mount with no camera for you to see how the camera attaches. The camera mounting plate (though it looks skimpy) is 5mm thick CF and is very rigid. Since the mounting plate can slide left and right to obtain proper CG we can get away with a small and lightweight camera mounting plate. The tube and clamp design also makes it easy to get the mount to CG perfectly so that your systems gyro stabilization will work smoothly

View attachment 1079

Any other questions fire away and I will try and answer in less then 2 weeks this time! ;)
 

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seattle_helo

seattle_helo

Member
Tabb, I saw Perry Kavros down in California over the weekend and we had a nice chat about AC stuff. Such a great guy. But this multi-rotor stuff is all new to him! :D Gives me hope it's not too late for me either. ;)

The gimbal looks great- I like the design and the logic behind it. What's the possibility of adding a third axis and having a panning option? If I want that functionality (for a separate camera operator) do you think it's best I go with a conventional gimbal or is that something you can add to this one?

nick
 

Macsgrafs

Macsgrafs

Active Member
Nick, as I told Bart yesterday...its better to have & not need it, rather than to not have & need it!!!

Ross
 


mitmit

mitmit

Member
Hey Tabb,
looks awesome, could you please specify weight of it?

jes1111 said:
Hi -

The gearing looks very "high" - 6:1? 8:1?
Click to expand...

more like 5.5-6:1, should be pretty smooth with fast savox's..

cheers
Dimitri
 
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Tabb Firchau

Member
Nick, Perry is a great guy! Really fun to chat and hang out with and hear about all the wild things he is up to. I think he just picked up a Cine6 from Quadrocopter this last week to help a friend in Canada out with.

3rd axis is on the way, we are just refining / testing a few different designs to see how light / low profile we can make it.

Jes1111 Gearing is about 5:1

Dimitri- Thanks! Let me weigh one and get back to you.

Gimbals are in production now and will be hitting the streets soon.

Best,

Tabb
 


seattle_helo

seattle_helo

Member
Tabb, Perry mentioned picking up a CS to do some testing up there. He was excited about it- it will be interesting to hear his thoughts on it.

A couple more questions for you:

- what kind of lead time are you anticipating for the 3-axis gimbal?

- can you show how you mount the top tube to the plate on the CS? Is it done with more half clamps?

I've got to tell you I am really impressed with the construction, fit and finish of the CS8. The parts are well designed, simple and so strong. Love the modularity not only of the detachable booms but also how the identical half clamps can be used universally throughout the machine. Very slick. Very nice.

nick
 

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Tabb Firchau

Member
Dave- I am using the MK flight control on all my machines right now. Only the main unit on the machine but I may try a 2nd once I add a 360 gimbal to my machines


Hey Nick, I am anxious to hear what Perry has to say as well!

In response to your questions:

1. I am not sure on timeline exactly, I am hesitant to give a date until things have firmed up a bit. It is top priority right now though so we are working to get it out asap.

2. Yes it does use the same clamps so that you can just loosen 4 screws and the gimbal slides right out for easy breakdown for packing. I am away from my CineStars right now but will grab a pic for you next time I see them.

Thanks for the kind words on the Cine8! The team is working really hard on this project and it gets everyone very excited to see / hear of customers enjoying the product and using them to create!
 


SYNDK8

SYNDK8

Skyvokker
Those videos were so helpful, I really liked how you mounted the RED on there and how well the parts are designed. You mentioned in the end that you couldn't find any other solution for taller cameras; even the AV320?

Also for the 360 gimbal you are working on; will it be an addon upgrade or a new separate product?
 

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