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Usage of the USB-C port

Discussion in 'MōVI Pro' started by Brian Crosland, May 24, 2017.

  1. Brian Crosland

    Brian Crosland New Member

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    Hi,

    I'm a research scientist looking to buy a MoviPro to take stabilized video from a research ship. My two cameras each use USB3.0 to send data to a nearby laptop. I plan on powering the cameras using a D-tap to Lemo 2pin connector from the 14V cam and the 12V aux ports, but I'm still trying to figure out if there is a way to use the USB-C port (or other ports) on the TSU to get data off of the camera platform to the outer frame of the MoviPro.

    I guess my question is: where does the USB-C port go? Is it only for power? Or does it send data to the MoviPro internal hardware somewhere? Is there some way to get access to it on the outer frame of the MoviPro? Or am I stuck running USB cables outside of the frame?

    Sorry if my description is unclear, I'm not familiar with camera / video equipment.
     
  2. Graham Futerfas

    Graham Futerfas Well-Known Member

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    Hi Brian, good question. I haven't heard of anyone using that port, so I'm not sure what it does. There's another USB port on the bottom of the Mimic, but I'm not sure if the data passes through wirelessly. I think Freefly left some of these ports open to future expansion.

    You could email Freefly Support and ask them: support@FreeflySystems.com

    What cameras are you using? Maybe there's another solution.
     
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  3. Brian Crosland

    Brian Crosland New Member

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    Hi Graham, thanks for the quick reply.

    I'll be using a pair of sCMOS cameras, either pco.edge 5.5 USB or the Andor Zyla 5.5 USB. They also come in a version that something called CameraLink (instead of USB), but that requires a pair of 26-pin connectors per camera and a full-size desktop PC so it's no good for our "fly-halfway-around-the-world-and-get-on-a-tiny-research-ship" project.

    I'm still waiting for final camera pricing before making the decision on one or the other manufacturer, but both of them use USB3.0 to transfer uncompressed 16-bit 5.5 megapixel images at ~30fps, which (apparently) maxes out a single USB3.0 connection.

    We can't really go with any other cameras because of the 'scientific' properties of interest to us, eg low noise / very good linearity / high dynamic range.

    I'll try Freefly support, thanks!
     
  4. Brian Crosland

    Brian Crosland New Member

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    Excerpt from an email reply sent to me from Chris Harrison at Freefly:

    The USB ports on the MoVI Pro are not for communicating any type of data, with a camera body that has USB ports. It is for power only.
    I guess I'll have to run two USB cables with some velcro or zip-ties around the frame. Thanks Graham and Chris.
     
  5. Aaron Marquette

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    Hey Graham, I've successfully used the TSU USB power port for:
    -BlackMagic HDMI to SDI box power
    -Sony A7 series camera power. The A7 still needs a battery installed and the camera LCD shows a charging icon. This triples the A7 battery time but won't power all day - unfortunately.

    The USB cable (micro B-C) is the same one that connects the MIMIC Pro to PS4 gamepad.
    Cheers
     
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  6. Deniz Ozgoren

    Deniz Ozgoren Support Mage
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