Bush Pilot showed up in the mail today, and I couldn't wait to try it out. It's smaller than I expected! Feels well-made though. I already own a Bartech for remote focus, so I'm more interested in Bush Pilot for Iris control, but I also wanted to try it as a Single-Operator-Focus option to work with my Heden motor. I have one suggestion for the Freefly software team: it needs a 'Reverse' button in the menu. Some lenses focus different directions than others, but I'm used to turning the knob a certain direction to pull focus closer or farther away. My initial setup is reversed and it's hard to get my brain to go in the opposite direction. I could also try putting the motor on the other side of the lens or flip the gear around, but a Forward\Reverse Button in the Mimic seems like it should be easy. I tried to trick it by turning the knob opposite ways when calibrating it, but that didn't work. I was concerned it wouldn't work with Canon\stills lenses that don't have hard stops, but for my Canon setup, I use gear rings that kind of create their own hard stops for the motor, so it was able to work. Being able to calibrate a lens manually would also be nice -- turn the knob to either end of the lens you want, and then it maps it. The Mimic can still function as a Pan\Tilt\Roll controller at the same time as a focus controller, which is definitely cool for small, dual-op shoots without needing an extra AC. Here's some photos of how I mounted it to the Ring with an Ultralight arm, an Impact Atom clamp, and some 1/4-20 spacers.
Awesome! Mine shows up tomorrow and I'm hoping to try it out over the weekend! I second the reverse button on the mimic. Also would be SUPER sweet if we could load lens profiles and add a camera start/stop button to the focus page on the mimic so we don't have to jump back and forth between pages. Tabb! Is that possible? josh
Hi Graham, mine will show up tomorrow and I also am excited. Would the motor direction reversal be possible when you program the knob? For example, instead of starting with clock wise -> counter clock wise, what if you start with counter clock wise -> clock wise?
Hi Josh, I tried calibrating the knob opposite, and it didn't work. The motor wouldn't turn anywhere when you do it backwards. Flipping the motor to the other side of the lens did work, but in the end, we'll really need a Reverse switch. I've never tried to operate a Movi and pull focus at the same time. It's not so easy, but you can sort of get used to it. It's much better with an AC. I couldn't do this without using a support vest like my Ready Rig. I need the vest to take the weight of the Movi, so my hand can lightly grab the Mimc\Bush Pilot to focus while I move.
How does it operate? Is it smooth? a good alternative to professional systems, or simply a $300 back up?
It's not replacing the Bartech, Preston, or WCU4 for me, but... it's nice to have an affordable controller that interfaces with the Movi's FIZ ports. I'll find a use for it.
I also think it can be great for having an Iris motor attached and controlled by the OP/DOP while the focus puller maybe uses a WCU4 for focus.
Yeah that what we are using it for when the Prestons rented. Great inexpensive option for iris, but would never be used for focus on-set.
Thanks guys for the complete picture. Iris motor it is, looking forward to the sale of MIMICS as an independent product.