HDRI Community

Sam Rohn

Ex Member

Promote Control Bracketing Controller
07/17/09 at 06:01:41

just picked up one of these, a remote bracketing controller for Nikon, Canon, etc DSLR's - controls camera via USB &/or release cable, allows long exposures via bulb mode, control number of shots, bracket interval in .3 increments of as many stops as you like, mirror up, etc

https://www.promotesystems.com/products/Promote-Control.html

looks like what we've been waiting for

sam

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« Last Edit: 07/17/09 at 13:13:05 by N/A »

promote-remote.jpg (Attachment deleted)

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Blochi Administrator Offline Posts: 1726 Hollywood	Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller Reply #1 - 07/17/09 at 06:53:42 yeah, these look very sweet. Mine is in the mail, actually, gearing up for a review.
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Sam Rohn

Ex Member

Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller
Reply #2 - 07/17/09 at 08:04:54

try to get your hands on a remote cable with a 2.5mm jack, like for canon rebel etc - it will fit the promotes remote port - or get one of these for wireless operation -

http://martybugs.net/blog/blog.cgi/gear/PhottixCleonIIWirelessRemote.html

http://martybugs.net/blog/blog.cgi/gear/PhottixPlatoWirelessRemote.html

both available here - "C6" is the 2.5mm cable - http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Hong-Kong-Supplies__W0QQ_armrsZ1

i got my promote from adorama in NYC, there was a prob w/ the unit i purchased however, when i emailed support (@ 2am EST) they got back to me in 10 minutes, confirmed my issue and offered to overnight me a new unit, which arrived today & works perfectly

now to figure out how to mount it on the side of a nodal ninja.....

sam

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Blochi Administrator Offline Posts: 1726 Hollywood	Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller Reply #3 - 07/17/09 at 08:55:50 Interesting. That Wireless remote would be great for pole panos. If you get your rig together, please post a photo of it. While I keep refreshing that damn UPS tracking page
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Sam Rohn

Ex Member

Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller
Reply #4 - 07/17/09 at 11:21:39

i ordered the plato remote a couple days ago, but just heard back that shipping to NY by airmail would take 1-3 weeks Sad

we'll see -

the promote is about the same height & width as an iphone, and about 2x as thick - fits fine on NN5 upright arm, even w/ cables sticking out the top - i'm gonna go and see if i can find a cheap cell phone case/mount or whatever that can somehow attach to the NN...

actually, i just tried a simple piece of velcro tape, (wraps around the promote & NN5 upright arm, promote rests on rotator arm), works great, a bit of string would do the same job - pics later today

sam

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« Last Edit: 07/17/09 at 13:15:20 by N/A »

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Sam Rohn Ex Member	Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller Reply #5 - 07/17/09 at 13:11:43 boom - promote remote w usb, nikon 10 pin & 2.5mm remote release cable, mounted on a nodal ninja 5, + Nikon D300 w/ Nikkor 10.5mm
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Blochi Administrator Offline Posts: 1726 Hollywood	Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller Reply #6 - 07/17/09 at 17:17:12 Thank you, that's sweet. What about the buttons, you can't reach them anymore ?
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Sam Rohn

Ex Member

Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller
Reply #7 - 07/18/09 at 02:31:40

the velcro tape (not sticky, just hooks on one side and loops on the other) i used is really thin, so you could press the buttons through it if needed, but i'll prob try find something a bit narrower anyway, a rubber band would do -

ultimately, some kind of drop-in cradle would be best to avoid disturbing the tripod/head i think

most of the button pressing will prob be done with the device not mounted, and triggered via remote when it is mounted, i'd be more worried about accidental button presses while mounted and running anyway...

sam

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Arty

Ex Member

Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller
Reply #8 - 07/19/09 at 04:53:17

Hello everybody,

My name's Arty, I lead the design team for the Promote Control, and hopefully I can answer some questions about the device. Christian, if this post violates the forum rules (e.g. by discussing commercial products with a manufacturer rep), I apologize - please just let me know, I won't do this anymore.

About the buttons and having them pressed - it's valid concern when the remote control is in "stand-by" mode (waiting for a command), however when an exposure sequence is active, all buttons except for Power are blocked to avoid any erroneous input (in "Manual Hold" mode Start button is also enabled). The Power button can be used to toggle display backlight or turn of the device as a way to cancel the current exposure sequence. Hope this helps

P.S. I will be looking over the current thread, maybe some of you can throw in a new idea or two on how we can improve the device. New firmware version is in the works, it might not have too many new features at this point, but we working out a few firmware-related ideas that might be promising.

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Blochi

Administrator

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Posts: 1726
Hollywood

Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller
Reply #9 - 07/19/09 at 16:07:37

Hi Arty,

No problem at all, your presence in this forum is highly appreciated. We like developers that listen, in fact, the lack thereof from Canon/Nikon made your product possible and necessary.

So, yeah, here you go - first user requested feature would be a cradle or or other means of attaching the device to a rig. Maybe some good things can be learned from cellphone cradles.... or maybe a strap like these runner iphone thingies. Looking at Sam's picture, I also wonder if there could be better solutions for the cables. A) Having both cables strung together would reduce the chance of them tangling up, and B) Having about a phone-cord style cable, with curly loops, might be nicer. I know from working with a regular remote control, that sometimes they start dangling in the picture....

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sloan Ex Member	Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller Reply #10 - 07/20/09 at 13:26:47 Hi Arty Very impressive looking - I just had one quick question - why was 1/4000 sec. the fastest shutter speed available in the HDR mode? cheers Steve
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Arty

Ex Member

Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller
Reply #11 - 07/20/09 at 14:23:07

Blochi wrote on 07/19/09 at 16:07:37:

Hi
So, yeah, here you go - first user requested feature would be a cradle or or other means of attaching the device to a rig. Maybe some good things can be learned from cellphone cradles.... or maybe a strap like these runner iphone thingies.

Hmm... looks like a good idea to me. We will contact our carrying case manufacturer and see if they can offer something like that. I would imagine it to resemble those iPod's arm bands in overall construction, and having a velcro strap on the back. One potential issue is that it might slide down the tripod leg when attached - so either a rubber backing is needed inside the leg strap, or it has to be attached above a leg lock or something.

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Arty

Ex Member

Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller
Reply #12 - 07/20/09 at 14:30:43

Quote:

Very impressive looking - I just had one quick question - why was 1/4000 sec. the fastest shutter speed available in the HDR mode?

Hi Steve! This minimum has been chosen at this time to get around a USB protocol limitation. It is technically possible to use a different protocol to set shutter speeds shorter than that, but it'd require some significant (and camera brand-dependent) extra work that we decided to leave for a future firmware release.

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Sam Rohn

Ex Member

Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller
Reply #13 - 07/28/09 at 02:04:00

just received my phottix wireless remote (12 days shipping), the plato remote i ordered works great with the promote remote

i actually ordered a cleon and a plato, and they gave me a free upgrade to cleon2, plus a 2.5mm cable & a nikon 10 pin cable

the Phottix C6 2.5mm cable is 2.5mm on both ends, so perhaps any 2.5-2.5 cable will do, if so, one could order for their cameras normal cable, and get the 2.5 for promote @ radio shack

sam

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Arty

Ex Member

Re: Promote Control Bracketing Controller
Reply #14 - 07/28/09 at 03:29:10

Quote:

just received my phottix wireless remote (12 days shipping), the plato remote i ordered works great with the promote remote

i actually ordered a cleon and a plato, and they gave me a free upgrade to cleon2, plus a 2.5mm cable & a nikon 10 pin cable

the Phottix C6 2.5mm cable is 2.5mm on both ends, so perhaps any 2.5-2.5 cable will do, if so, one could order for their cameras normal cable, and get the 2.5 for promote @ radio shack

Congratulations on your setup, Sam! Show us some pics when you have them

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