I am a new Movi Pro owner (thank u Freefly for that sale also curse u Freefly for that sale my wallet hurts now) and am wondering if anybody has concocted a one-person-band solution for FIZ control? I see threads on here talking about solutions that involve products that are hard-wired, need their own proprietary power/brain or don't work with MIMIC. Redrock and other companies have motors that plug into the Movi power block and are controlled by MIMIC, but the Bush Pilot wheel is too big to use with a thumb or finger while holding the rig, so I am wondering if there is something out there? Redrock makes this sweet little fingerwheel, I wonder if that can be connected to the MIMIC in place of Bush Pilot with an existing cable or a custom one? Anybody have any thoughts or experience with this?
I am still sleuthing, and feel like the missing link that makes it all come together is a cable that goes from the MIMIC com port into the 3-pin Lemo on the Redrock fingerwheel. I have emails out to Freefly and Redrock to see if they can provide wiring diagrams.
I saw Stephan Knight liked this PD Movie Remote Live 2 from Ikan for follow focus. Here's a video he made about it: I'm loathe to do everything myself, but I'm fortunate to be able to demand Productions hire an AC to help me, or I just don't want the job. Not only to help me with Focus, but there are so many components to my Movi rig, like batteries, accessories, etc., that I just don't want to do it all myself. And it's hard to move through spaces without help sometimes, like going through doors or people. Maybe I'm just old and cranky.
I've seen that solution, but it's hard wired and that motor is big and clunky looking. I am looking for something that can utilize the MIMIC so I can use a compact motor that plugs into the Movi and a thumbwheel that can plug into the MIMIC.
Obviously, Freefly's Bush Pilot is an off-the-shelf solution. I did try it out and didn't find the knob's size that offensive, but I was wearing the Movi on a Ready Rig, and maybe that wouldn't work for you. To each their own. I don't think it's a matter of just making a cable to go from 3-pin lemo to Mimic COM, because it somehow has to work with the Freefly API, and coordinate with that. Redrock has the Commander module, which is like Freefly's Pilot system, and the Navigator, but I'm not sure either of them do what you want. Here's a thread that shows how other people are dealing with this, and also has a great post by Bryan Edmonds (Freefly Support Guru) with photos of his mounting setup for Bush Pilot as a focus thumbwheel, in case you're interested: https://forum.freeflysystems.com/index.php?threads/single-op-focus.9290/
Not knowing the wiring, I feel somewhat optimistic that the Redrock thumbwheel could work with the MIMIC, as both are just passive potentiometers that use three wires. There's no circuitry involved in either wheel as far as I can tell, so it would seem it's just a question of making sure wheel pins 1, 2 and 3 line up with com ports 1, 2 and 3 on the MIMIC.
Optimism: CRUSHED. After some back and forths with both Freefly and Redrock, it turns out that Redrock's fingerwheel won't play nice with Mimic, which is sad. Apparently the bush pilot, while only using three wires like the Redrock fingerwheel, transmits some special messages over the UARTn_RTS wire that the fingerwheel does not. A crying shame! I would hope that sometime soon either Redrock will make their fingerwheel speak Mimic language or Freefly will come up with a fingerwheel or something like it as an accessory so an op can control focus on the Movi ring with Mimic. Redrock makes the Navigator, which can do all this, but I really don't want to spend $1200 for a thing that is exactly what the Mimic is when I already have the damn ass Mimic!
Yes of course, but mounting it on the Movi ring and controlling with one thumb or finger? Don't think it would be good for that.
I'm looking for the exact same thing. Just received my Movi Pro and was hoping the bush pilot might work in a pinch if I could mount it in the right place. I'm guessing not now.