TimeLapse Shukuma Operating Instructions Manual

Operating instructions
for Shukuma Motion Controller
Getting started with the SMC
This document describes the means of interacting with the controller through the user interface, and how to use the main controller.
Included with your SMC:
controller
camera cable
velcro
Buttons There are five pushbuttons. Each button is multifunctional.
The four black buttons are “LEFT”, “RIGHT”, “UP” and “DOWN” while the red button to the lower left is the “ENTER” button.
ENTER:
Brings up the main menu, or selects a menu item.
Saves the current value being edited
Exits manual motor control
UP:
Selects the menu item directly above
Increases the value of the currently selected item
Increases motor speed (manual motor control)
DOWN:
Selects the menu item directly below
Decreases the value of the currently selected item
Decreases motor speed (manual motor control)
LEFT:
Moves input selection left (main screen only)
Moves current motor left (manual motor control)
RIGHT:
Moves input selection right (main screen only)
Cancels value input (when changing the value of a selected item)
Moves current motor right (manual motor control)
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Menus and editing values
When on the Main Screen, pressing the Enter button will draw the main menu. Pressing “ENTER” on any menu item will either draw the sub-menu selected or, if the item selected is an input, it will be displayed for editing.
When a value for editing is displayed, you may use “UP” and “DOWN” to alter the value. If you wish to save the value, simply press “ENTER” again. To exit the editor without saving, press the “RIGHT” button and the original value will be restored.
The “RIGHT” button also functions as the “back” button, allowing one to go back one level from any menu, or return to theMain Screen from the top-level menu.
To increase or decrease a number, you can simply hold “UP” or “DOWN” to continue to increase or decrease the value for as long as you hold it down. The longer the button is held, the faster it increases or decreases a value. In this manner, you may easily enter large numbers.
Interacting with the Controller
The SMC is designed to be simple to use, and to let you quickly input the most important parameters during a shoot.
The Main Screen
The Main Screen provides an overview of the current status and also allows for quick modification of key operating parameters. This screen has the following layout:
On the first line we have the current status (On or Off), the intervalometer timing (3s), and a count of shots fired since turned on ([15]). The second line displays the direction and speed for each motor,with motor 1 on the left, and motor 2 on the right.
Pressing “RIGHT” will advance through the values that can be changed directly from the main screen:status, timing, direction and speed of each motor. When a particular value is displayed with a flashing cursor on it, you can change the value using “UP” and “DOWN”.
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Saving Input Values Permanently
When editing certain values (such as RPM for a motor axis, interval time, etc.) they are automatically saved to permanent memory for you. In this way, you will not have to make the same changes between re-start. The values which are saved permanently are indicated in their appropriate documentation. To wipe out permanent memory, and reset to default values, choose the ‘ResetMem’ option in the Main Settings menu.
Please note: direction and speed of a given axis are designed to be changed regularly, and are not saved to permanent memory.
ON / OFF
To gg l e w it h u p / do w n b ut t on s
Increase / Decrease Interval
ON / OFF
To gg l e w it h u p / do w n b ut t
Navigate through the controller
1. Manual Move
To move or position the cart and scope at a location
1.1) Axis 1 - UP / DOWN (to control speed) L / R (to control direction) p....04
1.2) Axis 2 - Info is the same as Axis 1 but control axis 2 p....04
1.3) Scope - Move Merlin manually (also see #5) p....05
2. a) Axis 1
Fine tune adjustments on the motor for motor port #1
2.1) Ramp Shots - ramp in/out of shots p....05
2.2) Lead In - # of shots before move starts p....06
2.3) Lead Out - # of shots after move p....06
2.4) RPM - RPM is pre set. Should you change to a different motor, dial
in RPM of specific motor p....07
2.5) Angle - Adjust the angle of the dolly p....07
2.6) Calibrate - Calibrate the controller p....07
2.7) Cal. Constant - Adjusting the calibration p....08
2.8) Slow Mode IPM - Information to be added p....09
2.9) Dist. per Rev - Setting output drive distance p....09
2.10) Min Pulse - Heavy loads or weak motors p....09
2. b) Axis 2
Fine tune adjustments on the motor for motor port #2
2.1) Ramp Shots - ramp in/out of shots p....09
2.2) Lead In - # of shots before move starts p....09
2.3) Lead Out - #of shots after move p....09
2.4) RPM - RPM is pre set. Should you change to a different motor, dial
in RPM of specific motor p....09
2.5) Angle - Adjust the angle p....09
2.6) Calibrate - Calibrating the controller p....09
2.7) Cal. Constant - Adjusting calibration p....09
2.8) Slow Mode IPM - Information to be added p....09
2.9) Dist. per Rev - Setting output drive distance p....09
2.10) Min Pulse - Heavy loads or weak motors p....09
Notes:
You may change any value when the shoot is running — it will take effect immediately.
Pressing “LEFT” will back up one setting on the screen
Pressing “ENTER” at any time when on the main screen will bring up the Main Menu. and speed of a given axis are designed to be changed regularly, and are not saved to permanent memory.
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3. Camera
Adjust settings on controller that involves and controls the camera
3.1) Interval Sec - Configuring camera control p....10
3.2) Max Shots - Setting the number of frames to take p....10
3.3) Exp. Time ms - Controlling exposure with SMC p....11
•3.4) Exp. Delay ms - Controlling exposure with camera p....11
3.5) Focus Tap ms - AF, focus tap, shoot in live view p....12
3.6) Shutter + Focus - Focus with shutter p....12
•3.7) Repeat - Mirror Up and bracketing p....12
3.8) Repeat Delay - Mirror Up and bracketing p....12
4. Settings
Adjust settings for the controller
4.1) Motor Disp - Choose speed value (cm, inch, %) p....13
4.2) Motor S1 Mod - Choose between modes (Continuos, Interleaved) p....14
4.3) Backlight - Backlight auto off p....15
4.4) Auto Dim (sec) - LCD Brightness p....15
4.5) Blank LCD - Disable the LCD p....15
4.6) I / O 1 - Using remote inputs and outputs p....16
4.7) I / O 2 - Using remote inputs and outputs p....16
4.8) Metric Disp. - Turn ON/OFF cm display p....17
4.9) Reset Men - Reset to defaults p....17
4.10) Scope - Enable scope control p....17
4.11) Cal. Spd low - Setting the calibration targets p....17
•4.12) Cal. Spd hi - Setting the calibration targets p....17
4.13) Alt Out Pre ms - Using SMC to control other devices p....18
4.14) Alt Out Post ms - Using SMC to control other devices p....18
4.15) USB Trigger - Information to be added p....18
•4.16) Invert Dir - Information to be added p....18
4.17) Invert I / O - Information to be added p....18
5. Scope
Adjust speed for manual move on scope
5.1) Pan Man. Spd - Adjust the pan speed of manual move scope p....19
5.2) Tilt Man. Spd - Adjust the tilt speed of manual move scope p....19
1. MANUAL MOVE
1.1 / 1.2 Manual motor control
Manual Motor Control can be used to position the cart on the rail between moves.
Using Manual Control
While on the manual control screen, you can use “UP” and “DOWN” to adjust the speed of the motor, up to its max speed, and by holding “LEFT” or “RIGHT” down, the motor will move in the given direction at the specified speed until the button is released. To exit the manual control screen, press “ENTER”, then back until in the main screen.
Notes:
In manual control mode, the available speeds at which the cart will move will range from about 50% to 100% of full speed, at lower speeds the cart may not move.
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Actions:
1. “ENTER” to enter the main menu
2. Select Manual Move and press “ENTER”
3. “UP” or “DOWN” to select the desired axis, and press “ENTER”
4. “UP” or “DOWN” to set the desired speed
5. Hold “RIGHT” or “LEFT” to move in the desired direction
6. “ENTER” to exit the manual control screen
7. “RIGHT” to return to the main menu
1.3 Manually move the Merlin
Once you have enabled scope control, you will now have a new option available in the manual control screen labeled scope. This option enables you to control both axes of the Merlin from a single screen.
Inside the scope manual control screen, use [left] to cause the pan (yaw) axis to start moving left, and [right] to cause the pan axis to start moving right. Pressing either button again will cause the motion to stop. [up] and [down] cause the tilt (pitch) axis to move either up or down, again, pressing either a second time will stop movement.
Press [enter] to exit this screen and return to the main manual control screen.
You can configure the speeds at which the pan and tilt axes move in the scope manual control screen by accessing the Main Menu->Scope menu, and configuring the desired manual speed, from 0.1 deg/minute, to 1,440 deg/minute.
Actions:
1. [Enter] to enter the main menu
2. [Down] to select Manual and press [Enter]
3. [Down] to select Scope, and press [Enter]
4. [Up], [Down], [Left], and [Right] to position the Merlin
5. [Enter] to exit the manual control screen
6. [Right] to return to the main menu
2. a) AXIS 1
2.1 Ramping or feathering into moves
The SMC motion controller can “feather” or ramp into and out of moves causing moves to start slowly and get faster within the video, providing a nice accelerating or decelerating effect. It does this by altering the distance moved between shots, or the speed moved, starting with no speed and ramping up to your desired speed over a configurable number of frames.
Additionally, a lead-in or lead-out can be used to add a static period before or after a motor’s movements, adding to your ability to create the shot you want.
Configuring Ramping
A ramp into or out of a movement is done by changing the speed or distance moved based on the number of frames that have been exposed. For example, I can set the ramp value for an axis to 25 frames, and at 25FPS output video it would take one second for the motion in the output video to come to full speed. This is achieved by starting the motor at no speed, and then increasing the speed just enough to match the desired output speed at the right interval to reach full speed at the desired frame as specified in the ramp value.
If you also configure the max shots parameter for the camera, the SMC will automatically ramp down the motor to zero speed so that motion completes when the max shots count is reached.
To understand how ramping will affect your output video, take the following parameter values:
Output video = 25 frames per second Max shots = 250 (10 seconds) Ramp rate = 25 Axis speed = 30%
Notes:
Ramp settings for a particular axis are saved between power-off cycles.
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The following will happen in the output video:
For one second, the motion will accelerate to full speed For eight seconds, the motion will run at full speed (30%) For one second, the motor will decelerate to no speed
This illustrates how ramping is achieved and the end result in your output video.
Actions:
1. “ENTER” to enter the main menu
2. “DOWN” to select Axis x and press “ENTER”
3. “DOWN” to select Ramp and press “ENTER”
4. “UP” or “DOWN” to input the number of frames to reach full speed
5. “ENTER” to save or “RIGHT” to abort without saving
6. “RIGHT” to return to the main menu
7. “RIGHT” to return to the main screen
8. “RIGHT” as many times needed to select the desired axis speed
9. “UP” and “DOWN” to adjust the desired speed
10. “LEFT” to the On/Off control
11. “UP” to start the program running
Once the program starts running, the speed will set its self to zero for any axis with a ramp value configured. If you stop the program running before it reaches full speed, it will now see the current speed as the desired speed, and you will have to increase it back to your original value.
2.2 / 2.3 Using a lead-in or lead-out
A lead-in defines a period of time, in frames from the beginning of the shoot, that the motor should not move. Conversely, a lead-out defines the period of time from the end of the shoot that the motor should not move. Each axis can have its own lead-in and lead-out times defined — however, to function, a ramp value must be set for that axis as well. Leads are executed through the ramping/feathering function of the controller, by simply preventing it from starting a ramp before a certain number of frames have passed (in the case of a lead-in), or reducing the overall number of frames counted before ramping all the way down to zero (in the case of a lead-out).
As with ramping/feathering, a lead-out is only used if the max shots parameter has been set, and therefore the controller can determine when to start reducing speed.
To help clarify this function, we’ll use the same parameters from the ramping example, and add a lead-in and lead-out. Take the following parameter values:
Output video = 25 frames per second Max shots = 250 (10 seconds) Ramp rate = 25 Lead-in = 25 Lead-out = 25 Axis speed = 30 %
The following will happen in the output video:
For one second, no movement will occur For one second, the motion will accelerate to full speed (0% - 30%) For six seconds, the motion will run at full speed (30%) For one second, the motor will decelerate to no speed (30% - 0%) For one second, no movement will occur
Actions:
1. “ENTER” to enter the main menu
2. “DOWN” to select Axis x and press “ENTER”
3. “DOWN” to select Lead-in or Lead-out and press “ENTER”
4. “UP” or “DOWN” to input the number of frames to lead in or out with
5. “ENTER” to save or “RIGHT” to abort without saving “LEFT”
Notes:
The ramp value for each axis is controlled independently.
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