Jump to content

6 new Ambient products


TimoK

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 130
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

It would be very easy to substitute the phillips for thumbscrews.

 

Senator--  give me a break.  I asked a question of the manufacturer on the manufacturers forum.  They are here for our feedback.  I am asking if they are going to offer their new product in similar form factor that exists in their previous product line.  Not asking for a custom mod just for me.  Their product is evolving, Timo has definitely been receptive to our suggestions on this thread.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bluetooth does live in the 2.4ghz range, but since the 1.2 spec uses Apaptive frequency scanning to find a clear channel. Setting the CL-WIFi to a high channel above say 10 never worked well. I keep mine low between 1-3 which gets whacked when thr 1st AC I work with brings out his wireless transmitter and sprays all over the low bands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JG: " form factor "

there are actually a number of (mostly small) businesses that will custom manufacture the "slate" portion of slates, and Ambient has already said that they will provide the info and CAD data so anyone in that specialty can easily manufacture custom slates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking at the slate in front of me, it would not be easy to chop the sides of the board. I'd like to see the a trimmed down clapper board option- more along the lines of the profile that the original lockit slates had. Is this going to be available Timo?

The slate is very very cool. Bright beyond description. Very clear. Lots of options for brightness and LED flash for times when the LEDs are too small to be read. It slips in and out of the clapper board with little effort, 4 phillips head screws.

John,

I noted this down. There will be more boards coming out but i hope you understand thati don't want to go into details now.

P.s. glad you like it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Out of curiosity, would there be an example of a PDF sound report generated by the Tonmeister app somewhere ?

:)

There is, but in German so far. I could translate it rudimentary but I don't want to publish unfinished results, as these tend to pop up in other forums or discussions. I'm sorry.but I have to kindly ask for your patience.

As our team is working hard with all their effort to get all these new products ready for our release in June I don't want to pull them away from their work to create something which isn't even completely perfect, yet.

What I can tell you now is:

The Tonmeister App is able to create slate based reports, clip based reports, soundminer exports, wave agent exports, global edl. We now can create editable xml files as well as pdfs. These reports can be send as mail or/ and are uploaded to the production cloud server, into folders with dedicated user rights. Thus no need to look for the right recipients for your reports anymore as new reports will automatically show up in their folders when they are published by you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick observation regarding new slate.

Will there be a small slate body? While it is great to be able to detach the TC display for doc work,it will still be useful to still be able to have an audible clap in some situations. I put my clockit slate in the front of my bag all the time- perfect size. Always clap when I can.

Thank you

John.

P.S. Thanks for the input! Of course we do appreciate feedback from you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brilliant. Thanks Timo.

(And sorry for my insisting...I thought I was lost in the posts flow each time)

It would be great if the 6xx series could trigger the TC ins and outs directly to

Tonmeister, in some way, so it kind of would ''emulate'' the CL-wifi behavior. Would probably need some hardware mod so yes,I know, I'm dreaming... But being able to fill up a sound report as day goes on with my 633 kind of the same way I'm doing it with my 788+CL-Wifi would be an invaluable asset AND make a step beyond some competitor right now. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
I picked up the new Ambient slate yesterday and here's some feedback that you may be interested in.
 
Firstly, I like the ease of setup, same as lockit boxes, therefore no probs.
 
The first response from camera AC was regarding the lack of handle. We were shooting near/over water and their first comment was it was awkward doing one handed slates and feeling like they had a good grip. No surprises on that one. There is no obvious spot to attach a handle, I'll have to put some more thought into that one.
 
The second point was the brightness of the T/C display. It was too bright for night. We turned it down as far as it could go and put a piece of ND6 over the display and it was still a touch too bright.
 
Half way through the night I asked for any other feedback and it was mentioned that the jaws open and close too easily, and a magnet would be good to keep them shut, such as with Denecke slates.
I tried tightening up the screws at the hinge, but that doesn't make any difference to the stiffness of the hinge, maybe there is a bearing in there.
All good points I think, and hopefully useful feedback.
 
Cheers,
Nick
 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I picked up the new Ambient slate yesterday and here's some feedback that you may be interested in.
 
Firstly, I like the ease of setup, same as lockit boxes, therefore no probs.
 
The first response from camera AC was regarding the lack of handle. We were shooting near/over water and their first comment was it was awkward doing one handed slates and feeling like they had a good grip. No surprises on that one. There is no obvious spot to attach a handle, I'll have to put some more thought into that one.
 
The second point was the brightness of the T/C display. It was too bright for night. We turned it down as far as it could go and put a piece of ND6 over the display and it was still a touch too bright.
 
Half way through the night I asked for any other feedback and it was mentioned that the jaws open and close too easily, and a magnet would be good to keep them shut, such as with Denecke slates.
I tried tightening up the screws at the hinge, but that doesn't make any difference to the stiffness of the hinge, maybe there is a bearing in there.
All good points I think, and hopefully useful feedback.
 
Cheers,
Nick
 
 

 

I was disappointed with the slate.  saw it for the first time yesterday.  at the bare minimum,  the display section needs to be lower than the sticks, so that you can get your fingers in between for a little grip.  also,  it is common for camera assistants to update their notes just after slating.  this version does not stand-up on its own.  perhaps the backlit version will. nick -  you mentioned the lack of a magnet for the sticks,  that was very evident in my handling of the slate.  since the slate is modular, and there are more slate bodies  in the works,  we have to wait to evaluate the next versions. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Nick and Ao,

thanks so much for the constructive feedback. We are aware of these legitimate requests and are working on a solution as we speak.

As Ao stated, the Slate is modular thus stands, handle and a clapstick with stronger magnet are easily attached afterwards. Of course we will ensure that no one of the first buyers will regret his quick decision. ;) For the brightness, a night modus is on the list for the next firmware updates.

 

Nick, good to hear you like the user interface as we worked long to make it as easy as the Lockit one.

 

Cheers Timo

 

Btw. I'd like to share a picture of the beautiful bag of Diego Casares who customized his Petrol 602

 

Bl2LHlkIMAEMJLx.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also own the new slate, and am also working with camera assistants that are finding the slate quite challenging to use due to ergonomics. It is very difficult to hold onto and pretty much impossible to slate with one hand. I concur that moving the display a little further away from the sticks would likely be a successful solution. I also agree that the "low" option in the auto brightness menu should allow the display to go much dimmer than what is currently possible. Likewise for the manual brightness settings.

Thank you, Ambient, for confirming that the early adopters will be taken care of, and for being so receptive to the user's needs and observations.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I have been working with cl-WiFi for a bit, but just this week I realized a missing feature that will be great on the new ambient tonemeister app: ability to trigger the tone. When setting headphones or line to video, it will be great to wirelessly activate it, rather than keeping it running. Any chance of that Timo (Mr ambient) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Diego,

thanks for that input, I wrote it on our list. To be honest, this is already a very long list as you can imagine... Thus depending on how time consuming the programming of this gadget would be, it might be implemented in a future update or it would have to wait until all major features are integrated.

 

Cheers

 

Timo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

These are my two useful DIY additions to a brilliant product.

 

First is a handle which protects the finish of the brain while providing a single handed slating solution. I had to pickup one size longer screws and spend an hour at my friendly textile manufacturer.

 

Second is a pair of stiff rubber door stops found at the local 3M plastic shop, two part epoxy, and voila: Durability increase and has the ability to stand up.

 

I agree that a magnet closing system is vital.

 

I agree that the brightness needs to adjust far lower level.

 

I would request a lip on the upper clapper for a thumb for single handed operation.

 

I agree that the ACN is a huge success and works well between both of my slates over the past 20 or so days of filming. 

 

 

Thanks for a great new slate!

Eric

post-2595-0-20099800-1402045699_thumb.jp

post-2595-0-64953700-1402045729_thumb.jp

post-2595-0-57198300-1402046313_thumb.jp

post-2595-0-93351200-1402046334_thumb.jp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JW: " wondering whether Ambient is considering this a work in progress and may be incorporating some of the changes "

TIMO: " ...on our list. To be honest, this is already a very long list as you can imagine... Thus depending on how time consuming the programming of this gadget would be, it might be implemented in a future update or it would have to wait until all major features are integrated.... Of course we will ensure that no one of the first buyers will regret his quick decision. "

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great mods/additions. I am quite interested in this slate and also wondering whether Ambient is considering this a work in progress and may be incorporating some of the changes that have been suggested.

Jeff,

We will publish or own mods very soon.

Eric,

Awesome mods! I love your handle!

I'll be back with some news.

Cheers

Timo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...