Peak Film · pfGlass · SidePod
pfGlass SidePod
pf C2 and pf G4 in one pod on the side of the Tilta Nucleus-M hand controller: camera and lens in one hand.
On a small crew the person pulling focus is often the person running the camera as well. The SidePod puts both jobs where that hand already is: the camera's settings and the lens's scales sit beside the wheel that moves the lens, one screen above the other.
What is in it
- pf G4 lens data, on top
- Focus, iris, zoom and an auxiliary such as ND, read from the Tilta Nucleus motors and shown as scales mapped to each lens, in metres or feet and T- or f-stops. In the SidePod it is wired to the hand controller.
- pf C2 camera control, below
- Record and playback, timecode, ISO, shutter angle, frame rate, white balance and tint, codec and media, for a Blackmagic cinema camera, on its own touchscreen.
- One pod, one hand
- The two units share one housing on the side of the Nucleus-M, beside its zoom rocker, record button and focus wheel.
- Updates from our own server
- Each unit takes new firmware over Wi-Fi, with the server's certificate checked, and only when you open its update page — never in the background.
The rest of the pfPod system
The same two units also mount in the pfPods: pf C2 or pf G4 on its own in the single pod, or the pair side by side in the twin pod. The SidePod is the version for working from the hand controller.
Where it stands
The SidePod is in active development and use on our own shoots. If you are a focus puller, DoP or owner-operator and it sounds like something you would want on a set, we would genuinely like to hear from you.
Get in touch through Peak Film.
The pfGlass SidePod was commissioned by Peak Film and built by Paul Walster, who writes about the engineering behind it, and about cinema camera repair and electronics generally, on his own site.
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