Bolt Steadiness — Lens Choice and Camera Position Strategy¶

Summary¶

Vibration and unsteady shots are a common concern with Bolt-family robots, which are designed for speed rather than silky-smooth motion. However, many shakiness issues can be significantly improved — or eliminated — by choosing the right lens and positioning the move correctly, rather than treating it purely as a mechanical or tuning problem.

The key insight: a wider lens moved closer to subject requires far less robot travel than a longer lens from farther back. Less travel = lower axis speed = less vibration = steadier shots.

Common Sources of Unsteadiness¶

Long lens from a distance — forces large, fast axis movements
Camera not firmly mounted on platform (particularly Alexa Mini range — poor mounting, lens weight bends the mount)
Pan axis working hard — pan generates the most vibration on the Bolt family
Starting from a full stop with tight timing (backlash at start of move)
Worn or loose gears (requires MRMC service)

Solutions¶

[CONFIRMED] Use a wider lens and move the rig closer¶

Peter Constan-Tatos (master operator): "If you choose a longer lens and do a movement with your Bolt then the machine has to move a great deal to go round or past the target you are shooting. If you were to use a much wider lens instead, and put your whole move closer, then the machine would have to move much less distance, and much less fast, and will produce much better shots."

This is the single highest-impact change for improving Bolt steadiness on a production. Moving closer with a wider lens: - Reduces total travel distance for pan, tilt, and track - Reduces peak axis velocities - Reduces the amplitude of any vibration - May require more care with lighting, but the stability improvement is substantial

Confidence: 0.9

[CONFIRMED] Minimise pan axis travel¶

The pan axis is a primary source of vibration on the Bolt family. Position the rig so that the move uses as little pan travel as possible, relying more on the track for lateral movement where available.

Confidence: 0.8

[CONFIRMED] Use a backlash position or pre-run from motion¶

If starting from a complete stop, the robot must take up gear backlash before the move runs cleanly. Two approaches:

Option A — Goto Backlash Positions (Flair built-in): Store a position slightly before the move start position (0.1–0.2 units offset in the direction of travel) and use it as a pre-run point.

Option B — Pre-run from earlier in the timeline: In Job Type / Move Start, choose Along Path mode to ensure the rig is already moving smoothly when the shot starts. Adjusting the Preroll Factor for individual axes also helps.

"I often manually move the rig a bit further then Goto One before I run the move to get a smooth start. Any offset between 0.1 and 0.2 Units should take care of any backlash without taking up too much space." — TimHC, 2021-09-02

Confidence: 0.85

[CONFIRMED] Mount the camera firmly — check Alexa Mini¶

The Alexa Mini in particular has a flexing mounting problem where lens weight bends the camera mount adapter. Use a proper support cage or riser that distributes lens weight directly onto the arm plate rather than relying solely on the camera body mounts.