User's Manual

Detailed User Guide 37

previously remembered position. You can track the progress by observing your camera distance scale

- when it stops moving, the focus transition is complete. Please note that the actual focus transition

can only be done while recording the clip. When the clip is not being recorded, "Center" + Up/Down

combinations are reserved for saving focus presets.

9. After the clip recording has been finished, you may want to erase your previously recorded focus

presets and start over. Simply press Up and Down buttons at the same time while changing the

focus setting in the Video Control mode - a confirmation beep will sound, and dots on "up"/"down"

arrows will disappear. Your focus presets are now erased and you can begin saving new focus presets

by using the procedure above.

The following checklist should be considered while using focus transitions with the Promote Control:

1. Once a focus preset has been saved, do not operate your lens focus ring. These changes in focus are

not communicated back to Promote Control, and when you recall a previously saved focus position

from Promote Control, it may not arrive to the position you actually saved. If you accidentally shifted

the focus using your lens focus ring, press Up and Down buttons on your Promote as described above

to erase previously saved focus presets and start over.

2. When using Up/Down buttons to move focus position while preparing your preset, take care not to hit

the focusing limits of your lens. If you do, Promote Control will not know the lens in fact did not move

past the limit, and again, resulting calculations may be incorrect.

3. Connecting an external HDMI monitor to your camera may assist in focusing your lens more precisely

using this manual method.

If for any reason you are not satisfied with the default focus change step size, you can change that using

Promote Control Setup settings. The "Video focus step size" setting can be set to "Small", "Medium"

or "Large". The actual step size will depend on your lens focal length, aperture used while recording and

distance to the subject. Please note that with "Large" step, your lens may not have enough time to

refocus before the next focus shift command is sent, and the transition may not execute correctly. In that

case change "Video focus step delay" Setup Setting to a higher value. Normally 200-300ms is enough

for most lenses even with the "Large" step.

NOTE: smaller focus transition steps usually provide a smoother transition, but lead to a slower transition

effect. The default setting of "Medium" works fine for most lenses. With telephoto lenses or other lenses

with shallow depth of field a "Small" setting may yield a smoother result, while still maintaining an

acceptable transition speed.

7.8 Manual Shutter Hold

Use "Manual Hold" mode to time exposures manually using an external timer. The camera shutter opens

when the "Start" button is pressed on the Promote Control, and closes on releasing the "Start" button.

This mode is intended to mimic the behavior of a basic remote shutter release cord.