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Top 10 reasons for pan drift...

Discussion in 'MōVI Pro' started by Steven Deneault, Nov 10, 2019.

  1. Steven Deneault

    Steven Deneault New Member

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    Hi everyone.

    So I thought I'd ask/post something that could potentially help others (and me) when you're dealing with a Movi Pro that has pan drift. I'll give an example of what I recently have been dealing with and maybe that could lead us to discussing other situations and solutions...

    I'm a camera operator working on the TV show Riverdale for the last 3 seasons. I've been using Movi Pro for all three seasons.

    Here's the current issue I'm having with pan drift....We build the movi on the jib and I'm operating with the alpha wheels and movi controller. I'll set the shot, from A to B. and at point A the camera is rock solid, holds position perfectly. When the camera is moved to point B (Jib moves the gimbal higher / lower etc) the gimbal now starts to drift and I have to back pan to hold position (sometimes very difficult depending on the drift).

    I've resorted to dialing in "pan trim" and "pan speed" in the user 1 and user 2 knobs on the Movi Controller, to try and dial out the drift, but it seems to rear its head no matter what.

    I'm constantly dealing with this and am hoping we can discuss the possible culprits of the pan drift happening in one position of the shot and not in another. Improper balance? Hold strength etc?

    Look forward to hearing some thoughts and situations others have dealt with.

    Best,
    Steve Deneault
     
  2. Graham Futerfas

    Graham Futerfas Well-Known Member

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    I go into the Dual Op settings and set the Pan Window to 1 instead of zero. This seems to allow the gimbal to ignore any "noise" in the analog signal from the Movi Controller, and you can trim it out with Pan Drift on the user knob. The downside is there's a little play in the Pan gear now, but I don't find it affects my operating terribly, and it's better than dealing with the drift.
     
  3. Wayne Mann

    Wayne Mann Member

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    Hi Steven,

    Something you can check to see how true you gimbal moves is to have the gimbal mounted to something that holds it still and then do a tilt move from camera looking level or horizontal to straight down. As the tilt axis is moving look at the gimbal closely to see if the roll axis or pan axis is moving (drifting) at all. Neither one should move period. If the pan, tilt and roll axis sensors are mounted perfectly true (square) to the gimbals three axis points there will be drift. My Movi Pro does this, but on a drone it is not noticable for the most part. So what this means is when you do a move with the jib or crane the pan axis sensor may not be perfectly square and it is seeing this vertical move or lateral move as a yaw move and driving the pan motor to compensate. This may or may not be what is going on with your gimbal, but it is something to check to see if you have issues that may be causing your problems.

    Wayne Mann
    www.helicamhighdefmedia.com
     
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  4. Steven Deneault

    Steven Deneault New Member

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    Wayne!
    Thanks for chiming in. Tuesday morning I'll test this for sure. And it kind of makes sense to me!

    Hopefully there’s a cure.

    Also the drift shows up intermittently, which I find odd.

    QUOTE="Wayne Mann, post: 89399, member: 306"]Hi Steven,

    Something you can check to see how true you gimbal moves is to have the gimbal mounted to something that holds it still and then do a tilt move from camera looking level or horizontal to straight down. As the tilt axis is moving look at the gimbal closely to see if the roll axis or pan axis is moving (drifting) at all. Neither one should move period. If the pan, tilt and roll axis sensors are mounted perfectly true (square) to the gimbals three axis points there will be drift. My Movi Pro does this, but on a drone it is not noticable for the most part. So what this means is when you do a move with the jib or crane the pan axis sensor may not be perfectly square and it is seeing this vertical move or lateral move as a yaw move and driving the pan motor to compensate. This may or may not be what is going on with your gimbal, but it is something to check to see if you have issues that may be causing your problems.

    Wayne Mann
    www.helicamhighdefmedia.com[/QUOTE]
     
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  5. Steven Deneault

    Steven Deneault New Member

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    Thank you Graham,
    I’ll test that as well.
    All the best,
    Steve

     
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  6. Wayne Mann

    Wayne Mann Member

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    Hi Stephen,

    If you had a sensor "out of square issue" the gimbal drift would be very consistent for a given move with the jib.


    Wayne Mann
    www.helicamhighdefmedia.com
     
  7. Steven Deneault

    Steven Deneault New Member

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    Update for you guys. Tried all suggestions but nothing has helped. I found an official freefly troubleshoot guide and they mention something about “crane mode” or “drift assist” settings? Am I missing something? Can’t find this anywhere.
     
  8. Graham Futerfas

    Graham Futerfas Well-Known Member

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    They changed the Heading Assist in firmware version 2.0 (Blackjack), and added a Dynamic Heading Assist, which I can't say I totally understand.

    Previously, I used mostly Heading Assist Off, or Fixed Mount. Fixed Mount could eliminate drift completely, because it references the Toad in the Hole's position, but the problem on a Crane or Jib, is that it Majestically follows the movement of whatever it's mounted to. So as the Jib swings, the Movi will start to Pan with it on its own, which kind of sucks for the operator, because you're having to back-pan and compensate for it the whole time.

    One technique I used was to go into Fixed mount during the lighting setup, so I could walk away from the wheels and let them work, then switch to Heading Assist Off for the takes, because a little drift wouldn't usually be a problem. But then you forget to switch and your first take or two sucks.

    I'm very surprised you can't use Pan Joystick Window to remove the drift. It definitely works for me. Next time I have a Movi set up in this configuration, I'll try to remember to make a video about it.
     
  9. Kurt Wallrath

    Kurt Wallrath Member

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    Just to throw in my 2 cents, in the app, check and see how many satellites the gimbal is communicating with when you’re having drift issues and when you’re not having those issues. Also, what type of camera and lenses are you using on the MoVI Pro?

    Graham, please keep us posted if you make a video the next time you’re in this set up. I’d be interested in seeing it also.
     
  10. Steven Deneault

    Steven Deneault New Member

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    Thanks Kurt. I'll check SAT's tomorrow.We use Alexa Mini, Summilux lenses on Riverdale. Still having the pan drift issue. Trying to get my beta app updated to have this "drift assist" "crane mode" option but having troubles getting the APP to update properly (allow me to use these settings).

    I haven't opened a ticket yet, maybe it's time.
    Steve
     

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