Dynamic Perception

Stage Zero Dolly

Owners Manual
AV NORGE AS,
Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly Owners Manual
Fornebu, Mars 2012
2011 Camera Obscura Verlag Matthias A. Uhlig
1. Edition 2011
The trademarks and brand names used in this book are property of their respective
owners.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unpor-
ted License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San
Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
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Contents
Designated Use 5
General Safety Specifications 5
Assembly 6
Assembly of Motor & Cart 7
Operation 12
Stage Zero Dolly Setup 12
MX2 Controller 12
Buttons 12
Menu 13
Manual Move 13
Axis 1 13
Ramp Shots 13
Lead In 13
Lead Out 13
RPM 13
Fixed SMS 13
Angle 13
Calibrate 14
Slow Mode IPM 14
Dist. Per Rev 14
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Min Pulse 14
Axis 2 14
Camera 14
Interval sec 14
Max Shots 14
Exp. Time ms 14
Exp. Delay ms 14
Focus Tap ms 14
Shutter + Focus 14
Settings 15
Motor Disp 15
Motor Sl. Mod 15
Backlight 15
AutoDim 15
Blank LCD 15
Input 1 15
Input 2 15
Metric Disp. 15
Reset Mem 15
Scope 16
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Designated Use
The Stage Zero Dolly is a device designed to capture motion controlled timelapse
sequences using a DSLR.
Please note: The Stage Zero dolly is always work in progress, as is the MX2 control-
ler. All specifications are subject to change. Please refer to the Dynamic Perception
Website at www.dynamicperception.com for up to date information.
This manual is based on firmware version 0.83.
General Safety Specications
Use of the Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly is at your own risk.
The user is liable for any damage done while operating or transportig the Dynamic
Perception Stage Zero Dolly.
The supply voltage must not exceed 12 V. Higher voltages might damage the control-
ler, motor or motordrivers.
The Stage Zero Dolly is designed to be used in dry environments or indoors. Especial-
ly when using a mains supply, the user must obey any local safety regulations.
When used outdoors, a sufficient weather protection is needed.
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Assembly
Parts List
Part Count
Plate 1
Support Angles 2
1x1x 9 Support profile 1
Motor 1
Rail-Cart Parts 1
Motor-Mount Parts 1
Belt-Clips (2x) 1
Belt (2 m) 1
Hex Tool 1
End Caps + Screws & Fasteners 2
MX2 Controller 1
Power Supply 1
Rail 4 or 6 1
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Assembly
At first, check if you have all parts using the parts list.
Assembly of Motor & Cart
Slide the aluminium rollers on the button
head bolts so that the flange is at the
head.
Screw the bolts into the plate from the
bottom.
NOTE: The top side of the plate has the
v-shaped countersink hole. If you expe-
rience problems aligning the motor, try to
mount it on the other side.
Secure both bolts with the stainless steel
nuts, so that the rollers are still able to
move.
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Using a wrench, unscre the bolts from the
motor as shown in the picture.
These bolts hold the motor together, so
be carefull that it does not fall apart.
Now slide the 1-1/4 long, black thumb-
screws into the holes in the motor and
place the aluminium spacers on the
screws
Hold motor and plate sideways so that
the spacers cannot slide off the screws
and attach the motor to the plate. Firmly
tighten the thumbscrews.
NOTE: If you cant properly align the mo-
tor, you probably need to turn the plate
upside down.
Next, you mount the belt pulley on the
motor shaft. Rotate the motor until the flat
section of the D-shaped shaft faces the
outer edges of the plate, using the MX
controller. Do not rotate the shaft manu-
ally, you might damage the gearbox.
Attach the pulley and fasten both with the
enclosed hex wrench.
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NOTE: This is how you rotate the motor
with the MX2 Controller:
Attach the motor cable to the motor1 jack
of the controller.
Screw the slider pads (the ones with one
flat side) to the support angles.
Now attach the double oriented slider
pads to the support profile by loosening
the screws until you can slide the t-slot
nuts into the profile.
Power up your controller and press
ENTER.
With the UP/DOWN buttons, you select
the speed of the motor, with the LEFT/
RIGHT buttons you move the motor.
To attach the profile to the plate, use the
countersunk 1/4 screws. Dont tightem
them all the way just yet.
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Attach the support angle on the motor
side of the plate with the thumbscrews
and put the motor on the rail.
With the cart on the rail, attach the se-
cond support angle and check, if the cart
moves without resistance.
With the tension of the support angle
thumbsrews you can control the friction
of the cart. Make sure, its not to hard or
your system will need more power than
it should.
If everything moves alright, tighten the
1/4 countersunk screws to attach the
support profile firmly to the plate.
Now you need to attach the belt cips on
both ends of the rail.
Use the shorter thumbscrews to attach
the long t-slot nut to the belt clip plate.
The looner thumbscrews hold the toothed
belt clip. Now slide the belt clip assembly
onto the rail on the motor side.
Do likewise on the other end.
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Now thread the belt through the roller as-
sembly and secure it tightly on both sides
with the belt clips.
To tighten the belt, you can now move the
belt clips in opposite direction until the
belt is tight. Dont overtighten it. For best
results, place the cart in the middle of the
rail while tightening the belt.
Attach the end caps with the enclosed
screws.
Depending on wether you ordered your
rail directly from DP or from another sour-
ce, the fasteners for the screws are alrea-
dy installed.
If not, follow these simple steps.
Use a hammer or the back of a screwdri-
ver to push the fasteners into the outer
holes of the profile.
Cut off excess plastic with a knife.
If you have problems screwing in the screws, use a small drill to widen the fastener a
little bit.
You are almost done now. Using the enclosed 3/8 screws, you can attach a ball head
(Manfrotto, Novoflex and others) to the cart for easy camera positioning.
If you want to mount the controller directly on your cart, use Velcro.
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Operation
Stage Zero Dolly Setup
With the enclosed t-slot nuts you can fasten the rail on two tripods. Makes sure the sy-
stem is securely fastened and mount your camera onto the cart. Connect the camera
cable with the camera jack and the motor with motor1 or motor2. At last, power
your controller using a battery or the enclosed power supply.
MX2 Controller
After powering the controller, a splash screen shows the firmware version of the con-
troller for a few seconds before the Main Screen is displayed.
Main Screen
-----------------
On 3s [15]
R30.50% L0.00%
-----------------
1.ON/OFF
2.Interval
3.Shot count
4.Motor 1 : direction and speed
5.Motor 2 : direction and speed
Buttons
The MX2 Controller has 5 buttons:the ENTER button, and 4 arrow buttons UP,
DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT.
ENTER opens the menu and enters values, RIGHT leaves the menu or jumps back
one step in the menu hierarchy.
Enter values directly
Press RIGHT to access the values in the Main Screen . If a value is selected, it wil
blink. Using UP or DOWN, you can alter the value.
You start a program by switching the first position in the Main Screen from OFF to
ON.
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Menu
You access the menu by pressing ENTER. To navigate, use UP/DOWN, LEFT &
RIGHT. Select menu entries by pressing ENTER or cancel by pressing RIGHT.
To change values, press UP/DOWN.
Manual Move
The Manual Move menu allows to manually move the motors.
Select appropriate axis (Axis1 & Axis2).
UP/DOWN adjust the motor speed.
LEFT/ RIGHT moves the motor.
To leave Manual Move mode, press ENTER then RIGHT to leave the menu.
Axis 1
In this menu, you can set the values for motor1:
Ramp Shots
Number of frames that the dolly accelerates to full speed
Lead In
Number of frames at the beginning of a dolly move before the dolly starts
moving
Lead Out
Number of frames at the end of a dolly move after the dolly reaches its final
destination
RPM
Motor speed in revolutions per minute. The standard value for the enclosed
motor is 8,75 and does not need to be changed.
Fixed SMS
ON: Shoot-Move-Shoot will travel a fixed distance
OFF: The distance the dolly travels between two shots will be calculated from
interval and motor speed.
Angle
Offset value for movements in vertical or angled directions. Choose the most
appropriate value for your setup. 0 for horizontal movements. 45 & 90 for an-
gled and vertical movements.
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Calibrate
Calibrates the motor for the actual load and orientation. Usually, this value
does not need to be changed.
Slow Mode IPM
Threshold value for Slow Motion Mode Usually, this value does not need to be
changed.
Dist. Per Rev
Distance traveled per motor revolution. Usually, this value does not need to be
changed.
Min Pulse
Optimizes motor settings. Usually, this value does not need to be changed.
Axis 2
Refer to Axis 1.
Camera
in Camera Menu, you can change the camera parameters
Interval sec
Interval between two shots. This overrides the setting in the Main Screen and
vice versa.
Max Shots
Max shot count. Set this value in order for down ramps to work.
Exp. Time ms
Exposure time in milliseconds. Most cameras need between 70 and 100 ms. If
your camera is in bulb mode, the exposure time equals this setting.
Exp. Delay ms
Delay in milliseconds after an exposure. Usually this needs to be set at a higher
value than your cameras exposure time.
Focus Tap ms
Focus Tap time in milliseconds
Shutter + Focus
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ON: Shutter & focus will be triggered together (z.B. Nikon)
OFF: Only the shutter will be triggered
Settings
Global settings. Most settings will be saved to the controllers non-volatile memory.
Motor Disp
Display motor speed in inches per second or percent.
Motor Sl. Mod
Set the Slow Motion Mode to Pulse (continous movement) or Interleave (Shoot-
Move-Shoot)
Backlight
Adjusts backlight intensity
AutoDim
Number of seconds the display backlight is turned off after last interaction.
Blank LCD
Switches off LCD. LCD will be switched on pressing any button
Input 1
Configures trigger 1
Start :Starts current program
Stop :Stops current program
Disable deactivates trigger 1
Input 2
Configures trigger 2
Start :Starts current program
Stop :Stops current program
Disable deactivates trigger 2
Metric Disp.
Distance will be displayed using the metric system
Reset Mem
Resets factory defaults. Good practice after a firmware upgrade
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Scope
Specal functions for controlling Merlin pan & tilt heads.
For more information, please referto the online user manual at :
http://dynamicperception.com/?main_page=wordpress&page_id=242
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Dynamic Perception products are available at
www.slidetrack.no