Blackbird Quick Guide - Camera Motion Research
Contents
1. 4 Ifthe counterweights don t drop then you must add more counterweights until they do to get the bottom heavy condition 5 Release the counterweight bar from the horizontal position and count the time it takes for the counterweights to fall from the horizontal position 9 o clock to the bottom position 6 o clock This time is called the DROP TIME 6 If the drop time is less than 1 second very bottom heavy then you should remove some counterweights Once you get a drop time between about 1 and 3 seconds you must make a horizontal balance before making the final drop time adjustment Table 1 Suggested Counterweight combinations Camera inai Ibs Gimbal extender each side po Ys small po Ys small optional No ge No Barge No Barge 1 small No A large 1 small B Horizontal Plane Balancing Horizontal plane balancing means adjusting the Blackbird so that the camera is level in the tilt and roll directions in other words it sets the framing of your shots when you just let the stabilizer float Fortunately horizontal plane balancing is easy and it is an adjustment that you may do frequently when shooting And most often when shooting you will want to adjust the horizontal balance so that the camera is level with the horizon in both the roll and tilt directions But leveling the camera parallel to the earth plane also positions the camera so that its center of gravity is located directly over the gimbal This2. 7 Spare screws and locating pin 12 Horizontal bar 15 in 3 Camera mounting plate 8 Universal docking Bracket 13 Instructional DVD 4 Counterweights 9 Table clamp 5 Gimbal extender 10 Tripod adaptor Page 5 Blackbird User Manual Part I Getting to know the Blackbird Parts A Attaching the T bar to the Blackbird support arm The Blackbird is packed in its case with the T bar removed from the support arm To assemble the Blackbird you insert the vertical section of the T bar assembly into the support arm but you must first temporarily un screw and remove the safety stop at the top of the T bar Then insert the T bar into the support arm After inserting the T bar replace the safety stop Safety stop X Re install safety stop after vertical tube is inserted lt 3 ee pos 1 A T bar assembly Tighten the T bar clamp by turning it clockwise to Press button and pullout ban secure the T bar You can change the end clamp to change position of the T bar clamp without loosening it at any time by pressing on the button and pulling it out and then rotating it to the desired position end position The rotational position of the horizontal bar does not affect the stabilizer performance Normally you would have it side to side relative to the camera so that you can hold the Blackbird closer to your body without bumping into it But you can also position it parallel to the camera Blackbird
3. at left This insures that the gimbal extender has at least 3 full threads engaged in the bottom of the stage No more than 6 threads should be showing 1 G SmoothTouch friction adjuster The roll and tilt axes friction adjuster is located below the gimbal center block When turned clockwise it increases friction in the tilt and roll directions Turn it counterclockwise to reduce friction note if the knob turned counter clockwise too far out it will touch the gimbal lower yoke and the gimbal will not rotate freely p v Friction adjuste Observe the freely swinging handle to see the amount of friction being added To do this support the Blackbird with one hand under the camera stage and lift the gimbal to about a 45 degree angle and release it With no friction it should pendulum about 4 to 6 times before coming to rest As you adjust more friction and drop the handle you will see it come to rest after fewer and fewer pendulum swings With a very high friction adjustment the handle will just overshoot vertical and stop Blackbird User Manual Page 10 H Universal Docking Bracket The universal docking bracket allow you to conviently dock or balance your camera and Blackbird on a C stand tripod or table edge The Blackbird handle drops into the post on the docking bracket as shown below ea Blackbird handle post C stand locking screw J Table clamp locking nut Tripod mounting nut 1 4 20 C stand mou
4. inertia by dropping the gimbal down as much as possible and or using the gimbal extender This will force adding more counterbalance weight This is effective in increasing moments of inertia by adding a small amount of weight that can usually be tolerated for these medium weight camera rigs But again it is only effective if the T bar is nearly fully extended When dropping the gimbal down please note limit on how far down it can be to maintain enough thread engagement Blackbird User Manual Page 16 6 Remember moving the gimbal up or moving the combination of gimbal extender and gimbal up will make the rig more bottom heavy Moving the gimbal down will make the rig less bottom heavy For Blackbird technical support please email sales camotionllc com or phone 919 876 6020
5. will also help with adjusting the drop time and gives the best dynamic balance for fast pans Blackbird User Manual Page 14 You can adjust horizontal balance to get the desired camera leveling by a combination of three adjustments which are e Use the camera stage adjustment controls to move the stage front to back and side to side tilt and roll adjustment e Slide the camera mounting plate forward or back get tilt adjustment into range e Use a different hole on the camera mounting plate get tilt or roll adjustment into range Procedure to adjust horizontal balance The top of the Blackbird is a precision x y stage with control knobs to move the camera forward or back for the tilt angle adjustment and side to side for the roll angle adjustment The tilt angle adjustment knob is at the rear of the stage Turning the knob clockwise moves the stage away from your hand Note that in addition to adjusting the stage front to back you can get considerably more front to back adjustment by sliding the camera mounting plate forward or back A safety pin on the blackbird stage prevents the camera mounting plate from sliding off the stage even if the clamp is a little loose al Camera mounting plate extreme forward You can also get additional adjustment back by using one of the rear holes 4 5 or 6 on the camera mounting plate The roll angle adjustment knob is on the side of the stage and it also moves the stage away from y
6. Blackbird User Manual It is highly recommended that you also view the instructional DVD 2009 Camera Motion Research LLC Rev D Page 1 Blackbird User Manual Warranty The Blackbird is covered by a full warranty for a period of one year for all defects in materials or workmanship Warranty returns will be repaired or replaced at the discretion of CMR The warranty does not include accidental damage from severe handling such as impacts improper use or weather exposure Call 919 876 6020 or email sales camotionllc com for warranty return authorization Shipping charges will be paid by CMR at the lowest cost shipping method Blackbird User Manual Page 2 Table of Contents WY AU ET pI A AEA E E E E A E 1 TW AIC of CONTENSO A 2 Blackbird Part NaMesS sssesssssssesccecsosecseseccccsosescccccccecsescococecossecsescoscscoescocsescosesocoeosescoscscssosescocoscsesee 2 BlackDird Kit COMPONENTS scissioni aa a aaa 4 Part Getting to know the Blackbird Parts sessessessssessessessesessessesoesososssessesoesssoessesoesssssssesos 5 A Attaching the T bar to the Blackbird support arm sesesseseserenesrererureresrererureresrereruneresrerersreresrereruneresrerersrerene 5 BsIVIOUM TIS the Cameri sean E 6 C Adding or removing counterbalance weights on the horizontal baf ssssssssessessreserrresrrssrrrsrrresrersrreserreererns 7 D Procedure tochange horizontal Dar cesars aa A a aaan 7 Es Adusine the empal pos Onnes A a A a A
7. User Manual Page 6 B Mounting the Camera Remove the camera mounting plate from the stage by loosening the clamping screw on the stage Attach the mounting plate to your camera with the 4 20 screw Drop the camera and mounting plate into the top of the Blackbird stage and tighten the clamping screw By loosening the mounting plate camera screw the camera can be moved front to back The saftety pin on the top of the Blackbird stage prevents the mounting plate from sliding off the stage even when the clamping screw is a little loose Always check that the clamping screw is tight and camera is securely clamped before using the Blackbird Which Mounting Hole to Use Place the 4 20 camera screw in the hole that you think will locate the center of gravity of the camera directly over the gimbal Or just start with the 2 hole in the middle of the camera mounting plate and check balance The locating pin screws into the appropriate hole rs If you cannot get the camera level by adjusting the front to s s back and side to side knobs then move the mounting screw 1 2 appropriately For example if camera leans to your left then move the screw to one of the holes on the right 3 or 6 gt d A Y 20 camera screw Note DSLR cameras do not have a hole for the locating pin in the camera mounting plate The locating pin on the camera mounting plate can be removed by unscrewing it store it in the spare parts bag Page 7 B
8. a tecitee 7 F Attachine the ginbail extende esa a a a a a si cibisest gidehowes 8 G Smoothrouch rieton adjust ccs t inane ne E AN A A Men banaue weadan es 9 H Universal DOCKING Bracke Rossore iaa a A 10 FRI gf erayo Ada O a A E R T A 11 Part II Blackbira Balancing BasSiCScisisissisccsnisecsinconnrens eiaa a a a 12 A Vertical Balancing Drop Meneer A coast aik Bale 12 Ba HORIZOnitalk Plaine Dalal Cl 2 oaea vena seatanamin oedeacamed onaien Seana NAE 13 C Final vertical balance drop Time AG USEIME NE wis caieeeacidini cols E aN E nae EA E 15 D Gimbal Friction effect on drop time and horizontal balance cccccceessccccesececceseceeceesececsesecesseeceeeeeeeeeeas 15 E General guidelines and strategies for vertical balancing and setting up the Blackbird cecccceeeeeeeees 15 Page 3 Blackbird User Manual Blackbird Part Names lt Camera mounting plate Camera stage gt BIEN T ttt K ai ea Front to back tilt adjustment Gimbal locking nut nR Upper control ring E Gimbal Lower control ring Side to side roll adjustment er Safety stop Support arm A PFPFECECEEEEE FA T bar clamp PECECEEEEE T bar assembly Counterweights Counterweight screw Horizontal bar screw Blackbird User Manual Page 4 Blackbird Kit Components Camera Motion Research 1 Chassis 6 Horizontal bar 11 in 11 Assembly instructions 2 T bar assembly
9. lackbird User Manual C Adding or removing counterbalance weights on the horizontal bar Equal amounts of counterbalance weights should always be used on each end of the horizontal section of the T bar To add or remove weights simply loosen the locking nuts on each end of the horizontal bar to make space for the weights The first weight is keyed on a tab on the horizontal bar and additional weights nest together After adding weights retighten the weight nuts Each large weight weighs 0 2 lb and each small weight weighs 0 1 Ib So you can combine weights equally on each side from 0 to 0 9 Ib in 0 1 Ib steps example 2 large plus 1 small 0 5 Ib D Procedure to change horizontal bar The 15 inch horizontal bar provides noticeably more pan axis moment of inertia than the 11 inch bar Smaller cameras weighing less than about 3 lbs will benefit the most from using it Remove the weight screws that are on the present bar you are using and set them aside Remove the horizontal bar screw and set it aside Slide out the horizontal bar Insert the new bar and line up the tapped hole through the bottom of the T joint Screw the horizontal bar screw back in to secure the bar Re insert the counterweight screws on the new bar E Adjusting the gimbal position The gimbal stem screws into the bottom of the camera stage and is locked in place by the gimbal locking nut To adjust the gimbal position loosen the locking nut and screw the gimbal up
10. nting hole do not install table clamp here Table Clamp C stand Table f Caution The docking bracket is designed with high strength components that are suitable for any possible loads from the Blackbird and camera But users must verify that C stands or tripods or tables can support the high loads and torques Page 11 Blackbird User Manual I Tripod Adaptor The tripod adaptor allows for quick transfer of your camera between the Blackbird and a tripod The adaptor is mounted to the tripod standard 4 20 connection and has a mounting surface and clamping screw similar to the top stage of the Blackbird Blackbird User Manual Page 12 Part II Blackbird Balancing Basics The balancing instructions below may seem complicated at first look But balancing a camera on the Blackbird can be relatively easy if you understand the basic concepts and after you get some practice you should be able to balance any camera in 15 minutes or less Once you know the correct counterweights to use for a specific camera you should be able to remove the Blackbird from its case install your camera and balance it within 5 minutes or less The Blackbird was specifically engineered to make balancing quick and stable There are two balancing adjustments that you will be making which are vertical balancing and horizontal plane balancing A Vertical Balancing Drop Time The purpose of vertical balancing is to achieve a condition where the s
11. or down You will have to screw down the locking nut if you want to raise the gimbal up Always tighten the gimbal locking nut securely after adjusting the gimbal position Note that you can screw the gimbal down too far and not have enough thread engagement with the camera stage base To prevent this there is a visual cue on the gimbal stem that 1s a thread cutout It is OK to have the thread cutout visible as shown below If you go further and start to see the threads again you have dropped the gimbal too far and don t have recommended thread engagement in the base should have at least 3 full threads engaged Blackbird User Manual Page 8 Notice thread gimbal is screwed NO down too far F Attaching the gimbal extender For cameras less than about 2 Ib you will need to use the gimbal extender which drops the gimbal down to allow correct vertical balance To install the gimbal extender first remove the gimbal and handle by loosening the locking nut and then unscrewing it counter clockwise completely out Then insert the gimbal extender and lock it into position with its own locking nut Finally re insert the gimbal and handle into the bottom of the gimbal extender and tighten its locking nut Blackbird 4 R gt R Gimbal extender locking nut lt Gimbal extender lt Gimbal locking nut Page 9 Blackbird User Manual The maximum extension for the gimbal extender is shown
12. our hand when you turn it clockwise If the camera is leaning to the left then you turn the roll knob clockwise to level the camera Also if after using all of the roll angle adjustment on the stage the camera is still tilting to one side or the other you can use one of the off center mounting holes on the camera mounting plate For example if camera leans to your left then move the screw to one of the holes on the right 3 or 6 Page 15 Blackbird User Manual C Final vertical balance drop time adjustment Now that you have the horizontal balance adjusted you can go back and do the final vertical balance For most people a drop time of 1 5 to 2 5 seconds works best If the drop time is too fast then you can raise up the T bar to get a slower drop time or if the drop time is too slow then you should lower the T bar You can get a additional drop time adjustment by raising or lowering the gimbal because this has the effect of moving the pivot point Moving the gimbal up will decrease drop time and moving it down will increase drop time D Gimbal Friction effect on drop time and horizontal balance The Blackbird feature that allows you to add friction to the tilt and roll gimbal axes can help you get noticeably better shots It accomplishes this by damping gimbal motion while still maintaining reasonable gimbal isolation of hand movements You will find that adding even a large amount of gimbal friction has a small effect on the drop
13. tabilizer is just a little bottom heavy Getting this right will minimize the pendulum motion of the stabilizer when you walk around with it The amount of bottom heaviness is described by measuring the drop time of the rig as explained below simbal is pivot point When you hold the stabilizer in the horizontal position think of it as a simple mechanical balance where the gimbal is the fulcrum or pivot point of the balance like a see saw If the rig is bottom heavy then when you release the T bar the counterweights will drop down Count the seconds from release until it just swings through vertical and that is the drop time i Adding some gimbal friction with the Smoothtouch control will also help reduce undesirable pendulum motion Page 13 Blackbird User Manual Vertical balancing to get the right drop time can be accomplished by a combination of three adjustments which are e Using different amounts of counterweights on the horizontal bar e Adjusting the position of the T bar up and down e Adjusting the position of the gimbal up and down Procedure to get rough vertical balance 1 Set the T bar position to about 8 on the scale just a starting point with room for adjustment 2 Refer to Table 1 below and put the suggested counterweight combination for your camera weight on each side of the horizontal bar 3 Hold the Blackbird in the horizontal position and note whether the counterweights tend to drop or go up
14. time with the normal 90 degree drop But it can make adjusting horizontal balance much less sensitive In other words for small angles off vertical in either the tilt or roll axes say a few degrees up to 10 degrees there can be significant damping So with high gimbal friction you may want to shake the handle gently while setting the horizontal balance E General guidelines and strategies for vertical balancing and setting up the Blackbird 1 For best performance try to balance the rig so that the T bar is nearly fully extended Itis a mistake to think that if you add some counterweights and move the T bar up to maintain vertical balance that you will have a more stable rig If you do that you will have a heavier rig that has LESS moment of inertia in the tilt and roll axes only the pan axis will benefit from the added weights 2 If you want to take low shots and want to get the camera as close to the ground as possible or you want to minimize the chance of bumping into the weight bar then you should balance the rig with the T bar raised up appropriately 3 If you want the lightest weight rig then adjust the gimbal high close to the camera stage but always try to get the T bar nearly fully extended 4 For cameras weighing less than about 2 lbs you usually must use the gimbal extender to get vertical balance 5 If you have a camera weighing more than about 2 Ibs but less than about 3 5 Ibs you can increase the pan and tilt moments of
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