Dynamic Perception MX3 User manual
Dynamic Perception MX3 Motion Controller
User Guide
Firmware Version 1.0
Revision Date: September 5th 2013
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FCC Compliance
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to
part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by
one or more of the following measures:
●Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
●Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
●Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is
connected. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help
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Table of Contents
1. Specifications
2. Overview
3. Basic Operation
3.1. Powering the MX3
3.1.1. DC Input Jack
3.1.2. MoCoBus Connector
3.1.3. USB Connector
3.2. Buttons
3.2 Control Screens
3.4 Accessing Menus
4. Main Control Screens
4.1. Program Control
4.2. Camera Control
4.3. Motor Control
5. Main System Menu
6. Camera Control
6.1. Connecting the Camera
6.2. Introduction to the MX3 Camera Cycle
6.3. Controlling Exposure on the Camera
6.4. Controlling Exposure on the MX3
6.5. Controlling Focus, Waking Camera up from Sleep
6.6. Multiple Exposures
6.7. Focus Lock with Shutter
6.8. Limiting Total Shots
6.9. Full Manual Camera Control
7. Motion Control
7.1. Configuring Motor Axes
7.1.1. Configure Axis Using Presets
7.1.2. Configure Axis Manually
7.2. Choosing Your Motion Mode
7.3. Continuous Motion
7.4. Shoot-Move-Shoot Motion
7.5. Lead-In and Out
7.6. Linear Ramping
7.6.1. Symmetric Ramping
7.6.2. Asymmetric Ramping
7.7. Manual Motor Control
7.8. Swapping Directions
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8. Warnings and Alarms
8.1. Input Voltage Alarm
8.2. Motor Current Alarm
8.3. Motor Temperature Alarm
9. Auxiliary Inputs and Outputs
9.1. Auxiliary I/O Technical Details
9.2. Input Program Actions
9.2.1. Changing the Input Trigger Type
9.3. Output Program Actions
9.3.1. Output Before Exposure
9.3.2. Out After Exposure
9.3.3. Changing the Output Level
9.4. Common Use-Cases
9.4.1. Limit Switches
9.4.2. External Intervalometer
9.4.3. “Chasing the Shutter”
10. Cold Weather Modification
11. System Settings
11.1. Metric Display
11.1. LCD Backlight Auto-Off
11.2. Reset to Factory Defaults
11.3. Motor Timing
12. Updating Firmware
13. Trouble Shooting
Appendix A: Menu Tree
Appendix B: List of Supported Cameras
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1. Specifications
Operating Parameters
Temperature Range (Standard) 0C - 80C (32F - 176F)
Temperature Range (Cold Weather Upgrade) -20C - 80C (-4F - 176F)
Maximum Relative Humidity 90% non-condensing
Ports
Camera 3/32” (2.3mm) TRS
I/O Ports 2x 3/32” (2.3mm) TRS
DC Input 2.1 x 5.5mm DC barrel (+)-
Motor Output 3x 2.5 x 5.5mm DC barrel
USB USB Micro B
MoCoBusTM RJ-45 Female
Electrical Characteristics
Input Voltage (DC Jack) 8VDC - 24VDC
Input Voltage (USB) 5VDC
Input Voltage (MoCoBusTM) 12VDC - 24VDC
Maximum Current (DC Jack) 5A
Maximum Current (USB) 500mA
Maximum Current (MoCoBusTM)1A
Motor Outputs
Supported Motor Type DC Brushed Motor
Maximum Current Draw 2A (ea. motor, not to exceed power
source maximum)
License
Firmware GPLv3
Schematics and Board Design Creative Commons Attribution
Share-Alike 3.0
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2. Overview
--The MX3 is an open-source 3-axis time-lapse motion controller with integrated camera control,
multiple device connectivity, and MoCoBusTM support. Built to the highest specification with
industrial grade components, the MX3 is designed to provide years of reliable operation in the
field, wherever your photography takes you.
--The MX3 provides a simple, intuitive means for specifying continuous and shoot-move-shoot
motion-controlled time-lapse videos automatically, using inexpensive DC motors for up to three
axes of control.
--Auxiliary input and output ports allow you to integrate with limit switches and other devices for
more expressive automation in the studio or in the field.
--Cold weather versions expand the operating temperature range for winter shooting in very cold
climates.
--MoCoBusTM support allows for future expansion of the firmware to control MoCoBusTM enabled
devices without a computer.
--Camera control integration automates control over dozens of popular camera models.
--Powerful, industrial-class motor drives combined with a wide input voltage range allow for
control of nearly any common DC brushed motor and for large payloads.
--Automated alarms monitor battery voltage, internal temperature, and motor current draw to
automatically alert on, and reduce the possibility of equipment damage.
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3. Basic Operation
The MX3 user interface consists of a 2x16 LCD display and five user input buttons. Upon
startup, the firmware version will be reported before going to the main control screens.
3.1. Powering the MX3
The MX3 can accept several different power sources. The primary sources for power are the
DC input jack, the USB connector, and the MoCoBus port. For typical use-cases, you will likely
use the DC input jack.
3.1.1. DC Input Jack
The DC input jack is the primary power source for most motion control operations. This is the
only power source that will let you run the DC motor drivers. You can connect a battery, or AC
adapter using a 2.0mm DC barrel connector.
The DC input jack accepts a wide range of voltages, from 8VDC to 24VDC. Whatever voltage is
provided via the DC input jack is the voltage the motors will be run at.
Do not supply more voltage via the DC input jack than your motors can handle. Thi
s
will result in permanent damage to your motors. Check the rating on your motor
s
before connecting them and verify they can support the supply voltage you a
r
providing.
Do not attach two motors with different voltage requirements at the same time. Th
e
MX3 can provide only a single output voltage to all motors.
3.1.2. MoCoBus Connector
The MX3 can be powered via MoCoBus when running as a MoCoBus controller. The motor
drivers will be disabled when the only power source is the MoCoBus connector, as MoCoBus
cannot provide enough power to run DC motors. You may connect the DC input jack and the
MoCoBus connector at the same time as long as they are running at the same voltage.
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Do not connect a power source to the DC input jack while the MoCoBus connector i
s
in-use if the power source is running at a different voltage than the MoCoBus.
3.1.3. USB Connector
The USB connector can be used when connected to a computer or a powered hub, for powering
the MX3 alone. This can be useful for setting up the MX3, or using it as an intervalometer alone.
Motors cannot be used with USB power, this 5V source is not enough power to driv
e
motors. The controller will reset if motors are turned on under USB power.
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3.2. Buttons
Each button may have special purpose depending on user activity, however, the general
functionality of each button is specified below:
1. [Up]
a. Increase value
b. Go up in menu
c. Change control screen
2. [Down]
a. Decrease value
b. Go down in menu
c. Change control screen
3. [Left]
a. Go back one step, close menu
b. Select previous control
c. Abort input
4. [Right]
a. Go forward one step, open menu
b. Select next control
c. Save Input
5. [Enter]
a. Open menu
b. Save input
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3.2 Control Screens
There are five main control screens:
1. Program Control
2. Camera Control
3. Motor 1 Control
4. Motor 2 Control
5. Motor 3 Control
You may switch screens by pressing the [Up] and [Down] buttons, as long as no control on that
screen is selected. To select a control on a screen, first press [Right] to access the first
available control on that screen. Afterwards, pressing [Right] or [Left] switches between
available controls. Once a control is selected, use [Up] and [Down] to change the value of that
control. To stop selecting a control press [Left] or [Right] until no control is highlighted.
More details on the available controls are available in the Main Control Screens section below.
3.4 Accessing Menus
To access the Main System Menu, press [Enter] on any control screen when no control is
selected. Some controls have specialized menus available to them. To access these menus,
press [Enter] while the control is selected. If the control does not have a specialized menu, the
[Enter] button will bring up the main system menu. Controls which have specialized menus are
documented in the Main Control Screens section below.
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4. Main Control Screens
The majority of your interaction with the MX3 will be through the main control screens, each of
these screens gives access to a number of parameters related to that screen. To change
control screens, simply press [Up] or [Down] while no control is selected to cycle through the
available screens.
4.1. Program Control
The Program Control screen controls the basic operation of the program, which executes your
time-lapse film. On this screen, we have control over whether the program is running (Off, or
On), the camera interval (in tenths of seconds), and the motion mode (Continuous or
Shoot-Move-Shoot). Additionally, the run time in hours, minutes, and seconds is displayed on
this screen.
For more information on Continuous and Shoot-Move-Shoot, see the Motion Control section below.
You may start or stop the program at any time through the on/off control, and ma
y
change the interval control while the program is running. However, you may on
l
change the motion mode when the program is stopped.
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4.2. Camera Control
The Camera Control screen controls the basic operations of the camera. On this screen, you
may control whether the exposure is controlled via the camera or via bulb, the bulb exposure or
camera exposure time, and any focus control time. Additionally, this screen displays whether or
not the camera is currently busy (taking an exposure, focusing, or performing some other
activity), and how many exposures have been triggered during the current program execution.
For more information on the camera controls available, and the possible values, see the Camera
Control section below.
Pressing [Enter] on any camera control will take you directly to the camera system
menu.
You can change any camera parameters while the program is running, and they will
take effect on the next shot.
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4.3. Motor Control
The Motor Control screens control the basic operation of each motor axis. On these screens,
you may control whether the motor is enabled, the direction of travel, the speed of travel, the
lead-in and lead-out amount, and the ramp-in/out amounts.
For more information on the controls available, see the Motion Control section below.
Pressing [Enter] on the Ramp control allows you to specify different ramp in and out
values, if you specify different values, ‘*’ will replace the ramp amount on the control
screen, indicating two values are in-use.
You can change any parameter while the program is running, unless the enable
status control reads ‘RMP’ indicating that a speed ramp is in progress.
Turning off a motor while a program is running will execute a speed ramp down
immediately if a down ramp value is specified.
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5. Main System Menu
The main system menu can be accessed at any time by pressing [Enter] on any control screen
without a control selected. All aspects of system operation can be configured from this menu.
You can navigate this menu using the five buttons, when navigating menus they have the
following functions:
●[Left]
○Go back one level
○Exit menu (if on main system menu)
●[Right]
○Open sub-menu (if target is a menu)
○Open edit value (if target is a parameter)
●[Up]
○Scroll to next item above
●[Down]
○Scroll to next item below
●[Enter]
○Open sub-menu (if target is a menu)
○Open edit value (if target is a parameter)
On all menu screens and parameter edit screens, [Enter] and [Right] have the same
function.
The ‘>’ symbol will indicate which item is currently selected when on any menu.
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Within any menu there may be sub-menus and parameters to be edited. When pressing [Enter]
on any item, it will either open that sub-menu, or display a parameter edit screen. On the
parameter edit screen, the name of the parameter and value is displayed. When editing
parameters, the buttons have the following function:
●[Left]
○Cancel editing the parameter (Do not save changes)
●[Up]
○Increase value
●[Down]
○Decrease value
●[Right]
○Save current value to parameter
●or [Enter]
○Save current value to parameter
Some parameters will be numeric, and some will allow you to select from a list of options.
When editing a parameter, holding the [Up] or [Down] button for longer increases th
e
rate the value changes.
A menu navigation tree can be found in Appendix A: Menu Tree, individual menu
options are covered in detail by use-case in the sections below.
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6. Camera Control
The MX3 is capable of controlling a camera through its remote shutter port via the use of a
specialized 3/32” (2.3mm) TRS camera cable. If your camera does not have a remote shutter
port, it cannot be triggered with the MX3. You will need a specialized camera cable, available
from Dynamic Perception, for your specific camera.
For most cameras, the remote shutter port gives control over the focus trigger and
shutter trigger, it is not possible to control ISO, aperture, or other settings over this
port. This will require USB control via PTP.
6.1. Connecting the Camera
To connect the camera, first plug the camera cable into the MX3’s port named ‘CAM’. After
connecting the cable to the MX3 plug the other end into your camera’s remote shutter port.
For some cameras you may be required to set a specialized input option to enable
control from the remote shutter port, Check your camera’s user manual to determine
if this is necessary.
To test the camera, power on the MX3 and the camera. Now, set the camera to Manual
Exposure and Manual Focus, then dial in an exposure of 1/100th of a second. On the MX3, go
to the On / Off control on the Program Control screen and use [Up] or [Down] to switch the
program on. You should see the CAM LED on the MX3 light up every second or so indicating
that the camera is being triggered.
If your camera does not fire when the CAM LED lights up, check your settings and t
h
cable connection. If everything appears correct, check your camera’s user manual
for how to enable the remote shutter port.
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6.2. Introduction to the MX3 Camera Cycle
To understand how the MX3 controls your camera, it is important to know the activities that
occur during an exposure cycle. These activities occur on each exposure cycle, and can be
either automatically controlled, or manually controlled.
The following events occur during each basic exposure cycle, and happen at the triggering of the
intervalometer:
Focus Control -> Exposure Time -> Exposure Delay -> Motor Movement -> Repeat
Focus Control activates the focus line of the camera, and holds it activated for the period of
time specified. If no focus control is configured, this takes no time.
Exposure Time activates the shutter line of the camera, and holds it activated for the period of
time specified. In Camera Control Exposure, this time is set to a fixed time of ¼ second, and in
Bulb Control Exposure, it is set by the user.
Exposure Delay has no outputs active, and no other activity will occur on the MX3 during this
period (unless in continuous motion mode - the motors will be moving). This prevents actions
from happening during the exposure. In Camera Control Exposure, this time is set by the user,
and in Bulb Control Exposure, it is set to a fixed time of ¼ second.
Motor Movement if the MX3 is in Shoot-Move-Shoot mode the motor movement happens after
the exposure delay. The sum of all four parameters above becomes the minimum interval time. If
there is any excess time left in the interval cycle it will cycle after the motor movement.
These times are additive and if you set them longer than your interval time, your
interval time will automatically be increased to compensate for the difference.
6.3. Controlling Exposure on the Camera
For most time-lapse videos, it is best to let the camera control the exposure time. In this case,
we simply need to know how long the exposure is set for. The MX3 will signal the camera to
trigger a shutter cycle, and the camera will time the exposure.
To let the camera control exposure, set the camera to Manual exposure mode, and set the
correct exposure time. Then, on the MX3 go to the Camera Control screen and use the [Right]
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button until the Exposure Mode control is highlighted, and then use the [Up] or [Down] buttons
until the ‘C’ symbol is displayed -- indicating that the exposure will be controlled by the Camera.
Now, press the [Right] button to select the Exposure Time control. Use the [Up] and [Down]
buttons to select a value which is equal to or longer than the exposure time on your camera.
Camera Control Enabled
It is usually best to err on the safe side, and choose an exposure time on the MX3
which is longer than the exposure time on the camera, especially for
Shoot-Move-Shoot motion control. This ensures that the MX3 does not try to perfor
m
any actions while the camera is exposing.
6.4. Controlling Exposure on the MX3
For some videos, it will be better to control the exposure directly from the MX3. This usually best
for long night shots or situations where exposures greater than 30 seconds are required. In this
case, the MX3 controls the length of the exposure by triggering the shutter for the entire time the
exposure must be performed.
To let the MX3 control exposure, set the camera to Bulb mode. On the MX3, go to the Camera
Control screen and use the [Right] button until the Exposure Mode control is highlighted, and
then use the [Up] or [Down] buttons until the ‘B’ symbol is displayed -- indicating that exposure is
controlled in Bulb mode. Now, press the [Right] button to select the Exposure Time control. Use
the [Up] and [Down] buttons to select the correct exposure time.
Bulb Control Enabled
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Most cameras cannot handle a bulb exposure shorter than 1/30th of a second. For
exposures less than 1 second, bulb exposure is not recommended as deviation can
occur in the bulb timing between the camera and the MX3.
6.5. Controlling Focus, Waking Camera up from Sleep
For some creative shots or to wake the camera up before exposing during long intervals, it may
be necessary to control the focus line for the camera before triggering a shot.
To control the focus line, go to the Camera Control screen, and use the [Right] button until the
Focus Time control is highlighted. Now, use the [Up] and [Down] buttons to modify the focus
time in half-second increments.
To wake a camera up from a soft sleep during long intervals, not more than ½ second of focus
time should be required.
Focus Control Enabled
Most cameras will require at least 1-3 seconds to autofocus in a well-lit scene, for
darker scenes, you may have to set the focus time much longer.
6.6. Multiple Exposures
For multiple exposures, such as using auto-bracketing when your camera requires you to trigger
the shutter for each bracketed exposure (single frame drive mode) or if you want to use the
Mirror LockUp function on your camera (MUP). This is especially useful when shooting very long
exposures in Shoot-Move-Shoot mode and you want to use the camera’s Mirror Lockup function
so that no vibration happens during an exposure. In this case set the Repeat shots to 1; one
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signal to make the mirror go up and another to trigger the exposure.
NOTE: HDR with Auto AEB + multi-frame drive mode
When doing bracketed exposures with Auto AEB (and multi frame drive mode) set on the
camera, the Repeat Shots function is not used, instead the Exposure Time and Exposure Delay
settings are used to control this cycle. Add up the total time it takes to cycle through the AEB
shot sequence and set the Exposure Time to match on the MX3. The Exposure Delay time
must provide enough time for the camera’s buffer to clear (will vary depending on camera model
and memory card speed). With this method the AEB shot sequence will be executed as fast as
is possible particularly when high speed multi frame drive modes are selected on the camera.
To enable repeated exposures, enter the Main System Menu and then select the Camera
sub-menu. Within the Camera sub-menu, find the Repeat Shots parameter and set the value to
any number greater than zero. The number you specify will be how many times after the first
shot the shot sequence will be repeated.
Menu Navigation:
1. [Enter] to enter the Main System Menu
2. [Up] or [Down] until Camera is selected
3. [Enter] to enter Camera menu
4. [Up] or [Down] until Repeat Shots is selected
5. [Enter] to edit the parameter
6. [Up] or [Down] to modify the value
7. [Enter] or [Right] to save the new value
6.7. Focus Lock with Shutter
Some cameras, most notably those made by Nikon, require the focus control to be held along
with the shutter control to trigger an exposure. This feature is enabled by default, and should not
present a problem. However, if you need to change this setting, it can be accessed from the
Camera menu:
Menu Navigation:
1. [Enter] to enter the Main System Menu
2. [Up] or [Down] until Camera is selected
3. [Enter] to enter Camera menu
4. [Up] or [Down] until Focus Lock is selected
5. [Enter] to edit the parameter
6. [Up] or [Down] to modify the value
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