Kickstarter

Creator RRRR on May 13

(This is not urgent so I'll comment here...)

I finally had time to play with mine and I'm happy with my first result!
The rope has to be tight, but I managed to get a [ 60D + ballhead + Genie + Revolve ] going.

One thing I was wondering, how would you go about bracketing in a single "shot/movement"?
If I set it to manual and add bracketing on a Canon 60D, it shoots 1st at -3, then moves and a 2nd at 0, than move and a 3rd at +3, oops!

Also, is there a standard "gage" for the rope that I can ask for at local hardware store? :)

Really looking forward to that new firmware! Cheers!

Creator Casual Pixels on April 29

Anyone else having any success in getting answers from Syrp? The firmware as-is is entirely unusable for slow pans and emails are not being answered. The new web site has no forum and it appears they're not responding here either.

Creator Max Winston on April 12

Mariquel & Gaston - You can use pretty much any ball head to affix to the top of the genie, there are tons of affordable ones from $30+ on Amazon.com. Syrp never stated that the ball head came with the $690 package (the one I also got).

Creator Scott on April 10

What's the eta on the firmware upgrade?

Creator Mariquel & Gaston on April 2

Just realized that I can't place my Canon Mark2 directly in the genie. I need the ball head. Was this missing in my box? I thought I was suposed to receive something I can start using right away.
I see that you sell this in your website at an extra 100 but I thought I would receive a full package to be able to use it with my 690 pledge. Will appreciate your fast reply. Thank you

Creator Dale Reed on March 24

While working on a new version of the software, any chance of:

for the rotating device, having degrees of ZERO (ie so we can use the Genie simply as a timelapse device without it turning at all), AND having it with degrees of more than 360? Currently if I want more than a single 360 degree loop, which I don't think is THAT unusual? I have to pretend it's attached to the pulley device instead, though it's still not ideal.

I also find the settings a bit difficult, as you're changing one setting, another one will change, and often it won't let me change a setting and doesn't tell me why (so for example I wanted to change it so record time was 30 minutes and it stopped at 1 hour 10 mins. I then have to go to the delay, reduce that, which then lets me reduce the time and so on. Surely what would be ideal instead is if I want to reduce record time, that it simply recalculates the delay and reduces that to allow me to still hit my target record time? I know it's doable eventually but when on site, and struggling to see the display (which really doesn't work very well in any kind of sunlight) it's very trying. Instead I'm finding that I'm creating dozens of presets at home to try and cover every eventuality. And on that subject, any chance of being able to create one or two levels of folders to store my presets in so I'm not having to scroll through dozens to get through them all?

Please don't read this all as criticism of the device, which I think is great, just some hopefully good ideas to improve the firmware as long as other things such as bramping etc!

Cheers,

Dale.

Creator Max Winston on March 20

I only recently noticed that the spinning "gear" which the string grips onto is in fact a timing-belt pulley/gear thingy... genius! Thanks so much for doing this! About to incorporate that into a little dolly rig I am putting together. :D

Creator Max Winston on March 19

It would be great if we could set the shutter delay to more than 2000ms. I've been rising my slider up sort of high with 2 c-stands, and even after 2000ms, the camera is still settling from the movement of the genie. Really enjoying using the Genie so far regardless!

Do you guys have any comments or recommendations regarding tension on the genie "string"? It seems like it has to be quite tight (on both sides of the Genie), or the Genie won't get pulled the proper distance, or at all. Just curious about the string, because I haven't seen much documentation about that aspect.

Creator Whiletrue on March 12

is it possible to trigger the shutter more than 1000ms after the moving ?
and to trigger manually (with iphone app ?) the moving and shutter ?

Creator Johannes Schwarz on March 10

Firmware update:
Do you have an approximate date for the firmware release? I'm leaving on a 14 month journey (with little internet access) and the Genie is coming with me....

Feature request:
- Custom delay the start of the motion (in seconds). Now, when in video mode, as soon as I hit start, the Genie will start heading in its direction. But especially when going solo (filming yourself), it would be great if one could delay the start of the Genie, so there is time to get into position. Think of it as "extreme ramping" for the video mode :-)

@DHL...Don't know about customs regulations in other countries. I only had to pay about 35 USD. We have low VAT here (8%) but in theory I should have payed 2x as much. If they charge you a lot, maybe it is worth checking with DHL. Seems they are off at times (I'm on the lucky end this time)

Creator Michael Crawford on March 7

Anyone else getting gouged by DHL for custom fees?

Creator Dale Reed on March 5

So far so good, done a few timelapse shots with the genie already. Needs more options on the software (bramping etc) but you're already working on that so no complaints here. Good built quality, solid construction, and just good fun to play with! I've now got to start trying to build my own slider/dolly to try that too!

Is there anywhere for people to share the lapse video's they make? It'd be interesting to see what people are doing, share ideas and more importantly settings! I guess I should check out your website before asking this as I'm sure there'll be something available there!

Creator jeanpoole on March 4

It's been a long time coming - but now that I've finally got my hands on one - wanted to say a massive CONGRATULATIONS - on making an incredible little device... the thoughtfulness of design on so many levels, is really beautiful.. and i find the little genie a delightful object in it's own right... a great build quality! And thanks too for sending me out a replacement quickly when it turned out that my first one had a rare motor problem... fantastic service.

We're living in miraculous times - it's great that an idea like this can get supported and executed... ( even if a lot of us are getting cynical about the tech-ambitions and projected timelines / quality of a lot of newly proposed projects... )

Congrats again - look forward to posting work with it later for you to see... and to seeing what others are doing too... tag it up people!

Creator Jason Butts on March 4

Anyone in the united states get a customs duty invoice in the mail? I did says I owe $26.

Creator Kelvin Li on February 26

Any update on the smartphone app?

Creator Hector Villicana on February 25

Here's is a somewhat silly, but still helpful suggestion: How about sending out stickers/bumper stickers to sponsors? Or some sort of related marketing ephemera to pass around?

Creator Dale Reed on February 25

Has anything been done about a printer friendly manual as yet? Would really make sense to have a black text on white background version!

Just got my tax bill today, £136! Wonderful, always forget about the darned tax and duty when backing Kickstarter projects, particularly the more expensive ones like these!!

Creator Felipe Gordillo Corvalán on February 20

Thanks Chris+Ben i will send the email ASAP. Thanks for the work, i really loved the Genie and i'm already saving for your next product

BTW to all other backers, i just found a bag that match exactly the genie and the accesories, is the lowepro Rezo TLZ 20, i brought it in my city for arround of 24 USD. It also match the Lowepro Harness and i think would work also in a Think tank belt/harness. http://products.lowepro.com/product/Rezo-TLZ-20,2017,8.htm

Creator Felipe Gordillo Corvalán on February 19

I got mine yesterday and the taxes in Chile were so high, arround 225 USD... and arround of 85USD for the broker fee

Anyway... was kinda weird the metal loops for the rope have a different number of velcros, one have 2 and the other one just had one, is that ormal? (anyway it can be easily fixed), also was sad that the linear movement doent have a 1/4" thread or the genie doesnt have a provided 1/4" on the top to connect the camera directly without the ball-head

If the rope is not perfectly atright and tight the genie is not moving, is that normal? (i'm just worried)

In other row of ideas, will be great in a future firmware we will be allowed to change the acceleration of the movement, for example that it will start moving slow and then will get faster or opposite.

Creator Thomas on February 17

@Creators Happy with my Genie! It would be most helpful is we can have an
updated User Manual.pdf incorporating all your advise with relevant FAQ answers
(3 months +/- from now) on a white background (+1 @ Jost Jahn).
+1 @Michael Blitch for the suggestions.

Still looking forward to your development of the sensors you have mentioned earlier.

Thanks for your all your hard work, the product was worth the wait!

Creator Tim B on February 16

Don't forget to tag your videos on on vimeo with 'syrp' and 'genie'. Want to see all-yall videos!

Creator Tom Minton on February 16

Will there be a forum for the Genie on the Syrp Website?

Creator Chad B on February 15

Is the motor suppose to make a whining noise?

Creator Jost Jahn on February 15

Because the manual isn`t in the box (just the electric declaration and not to put the baby in the microwave etc.) wanted to print out the manual from the website. Scary: White types at black background. How I shall print out this?? Can you make also a printer friendly copy with black letters at white background? Thanky you

Creator Jost Jahn on February 15

Now also arrived in germany, Ineed time to try it ou

Creator Andreas Kostner on February 13

@Olof: 85444210 is the group they put mine into "cables". I guess I was lucky for them only "seeing" the 2 cables: http://www.zolltarifnummern.de/…

Creator Olof von Lindequist on February 13

@Andreas, can you tell me in which category the custom people put in the Genie in, I think that EU wide it should be same and that influence the duty tax massively. Here in Spain they want to apply the same tax as for optical cameras, that can't be right.

Creator michael blitch on February 13

Great. The main concern, and something I hope can be taken into account, is overload protection in the case of telling the Genie to travel further than what is allowed. I'd had to destroy a $700+ motor because I was too much of an idiot to not measure the travel distance accurately and set it as needed. I plan to do starscapes when hiking, so it is easy to forget some details when exhausted and trying to get things set up in the dark before going to sleep. Maybe allowing the unit to measure it's own length might prevent this. Train the unit by having it at the starting position and then run it the length of the track and return. That way it'll know exactly how far it has to travel by how many revolutions it had to complete.

If possible, I'd love for the battery indicator to show percentage other than icon (e.g. as iPhone allows). Even full charged, the icon just seems to show ~75%. I'm sure you guess are working diligently at this and I'm excited to see it all come unto play. Being able to changed settings by app will be great. So far I really like the unit and look forward to using it for future projects.

Creator Max Winston on February 12

Just a suggestion for a future Genie accessory: Some kind of attachment or plate of some sort, so that the Genie can be programed to track AND pan at the same time. Could be connected via usb to the Genie and controlled by the Genie. If something like this was available, I'd absolutely buy it. I realize that one could do this with 2 Genies, but a slightly more affordable option would be awesome. I have no idea what it takes to make this, of course. Anyways, my 2 cents.

Creator Andre Joanisse on February 12

got mine yesterday as well. Luckily in Australia, we have a $1000AUD GST free allowance, so no duties/tax/vat to pay.
Thanks guys, looks fantastic.

Creator Andreas Kostner on February 12

@Olof: read below, I paid 116€, mostly 21% VAT.
@michael: There was a thread on Facebook. Actually you can set the wait time after movement. Just scroll down to advanced settings in the timelapse menu, there you can set the wait before trigger from default 200ms to up to some seconds.

Creator michael blitch on February 12

I'd like to be able to set some kind of pause between movement and triggering. It is a heavy set up to move; unit, camera head, camera, lens, etc, so even with a stead tripod the system shakes for a few moments. Right now it moves->triggers, even before shaking might have ceased. I'd like it to trigger->move. I'm not sure how to really accomplish this currently.

The manual mentions something about setting date/time, which I couldn't find within the unit. Does this mean that we can set a schedule? There are many times this would be useful, such a a park that doesn't allow access at night. Camera can be set up just before closing, triggered to run at some particular point, and then shut down and be retrieved later.

Being able to set the unit of measurement (e.g. feet vs meters) would help those of use still using the imperial system. Yes, many of us hate it too and can quickly do conversion calculations most of the time, but it just makes things a tad easier at times.

Though I haven't tested yet, I'd like to know if there is some kind of overload protection. If I accidentally set my distance traveled to 2.5 meters and the actual only travel distance is 2.3 meters, I don't want the motor, or anything else, to burn out as it is trying to drive itself over the extra distance. Is it designed to shut down before damage occurs?

Creator Olof von Lindequist on February 12

hi, can you please help me with information on how much duties, taxes , vat and broker fees you had to pay to DHL. Here in Spain they want 250€ and i think this is insane!

Creator Mr. Sitze on February 12

Arrived today, looks really good, feels really solid. Nice work, gentlemen, and thank you! Can't wait to try it!

Creator David Shogren on February 11

Guys...the Genie arrived in NM today.....thanks much for all the work.....

Dave S
Minnesota and New Mexico

Creator Ty Miller on February 11

Mine arrived today, can't wait to try it out! It's a beautiful accessory!

Creator Thomas on February 11

Worth the wait! Any suggestions to minimize the noise while shooting in Video, anyone? Please and thanks!

Creator christian foss on February 11

Woooo arrived! Thanks so much for your brilliant effort guys! Can't imagine there being a better project to have backed and your updates we're genuinely interesting and helped keep minds at rest when you ran into issues.

Hope the updates keep coming to improve the device and can't wait to see what you guys think up next!

Creator Tom Minton on February 11

Thanks for the User Manual guys!