QUICK START

1 Mount Moon Eyes

• Mount Moon Eyes close to the lens, close the film plane. Se below how to measure and adjust the offset.

• Align Moon Eyes with the lens - parallel whit the lens barrel. (If misaligned, there can be Slight Parallax effect on closeups.)

• A clear view is to prefer.
  
  
  

2 Mount Moon Brain

• Place it on the camera body closer to the power source.

• Connect to the Eyes with the Brain with one of the supplied 50 cm or 100 cm cables.

  
  
  

3 Connect Serial cable to you focus controller.

• If you want distance readout on the Hand Unit of your focus controller. Serial cable is attached.

• NOTE: If you want to connect to a LBUS device - you will need a serial converter such as ARRI LCUBE CUB-1 or ARRI UMC-4

  
  
  

4 Plug into power.

• We recommend connecting Moon Brain directly to a battery.

• Moon Smart Focus 1 does not support 24 V and comes with a D-tap to Lemo cable.

• Moon Hybrid supports 24V. We recommend a RS cable 3pin to 2pin LEMO.

• D-tap advice. Make sure to plug in D-tap first to avoid power spikes - the LEMO connector is more reliable. When unplugging, remove the LEMO side first.

• NOTE: The ARRI Alexa 12.8V 2-pin output does not have sufficient power.

• NOTE: The ARRI Alexa 35 24V4A can be used with the Hybrid. Moon 1 need a power converter cable.

• NOTE: Some Tilta Cages with power distribution will not deliver sufficient current.

• A 30 cm 2-pin LEMO to D-tap cable in the box. RS 3-pin to 2 pin LEMO is recommended for the Hybrid.

• Power draw can spike up to 30w. It will draw approx. 20w running at max AI performance. 10w on low performance.

• Green LED on Moon Brain means you have sufficient power.

  
  
  

5 Start the Moon App

• All current Moon Systems are provided with a dedicated Mobile Device with tha Moon App installetd

• The Moon App will connect to the Brain over WiFi

• Moon Brain will Show a BLUE led when WiFi is up.

  
  
  

6 Adjust offset

• If the sensor plane of Moon EYES and the main camera is not vertically aligned, you can compensate with an offset value

• Moon Eyes sensor plane symbol to the Camera Sensor plane indicator symbol.
  Note* it is not the absolute distance, but the distance from sensor plane to sensor plane.

• Go into settings - OFFSET - enter value in mm.
  
  
  

6 Pro Tips

• WiFi Settings
  Beware: Radio transmission on set might conflict with the video streaming to the Moon App.
  Please try to switch channels on your Wireless Lens Control System, or Wireless monitor which might cause radio interference.
  You can changing Moon WiFi band (2,4 or 5 gHz) and depending on your location, you can change channels in the settings. Moon Settings - WiFi
  
  If you can not use WiFi at all on set. You can use moon without a mobile device - Set Moon Smart Focus in the Nearest Person Mode - or Nearest Point Mode - and then turn off the Moon App.
  
  
  

• Field of View setting.
  Moon Eyes have a SuperWide capability of 85 degrees horizontal FoV. You can change it in Settings-Sensor.

• 65% crop is default setting. We recommend to set it just a little wider than the frame of your cine lens- so you can take marks from actors moving outside of the frame.

• We recommend 50% crop for long lenses.

• Stay away from 100% if you experience video lag. It can add slight lag in the app if you do not have good WiFi connection. But dont worry. The distance output to your follow focus does not lag.
  You can also go into LoFi mode by clicking on the FLASH SYMBOL and you will go into low resolution video streaming.

• Max and Min limits
  With 10+ people moving in frame, too many labels might distract you, and could possibly affect performance.
  
  You can then filter out labels by adjusting min and max tracking distance slider.
  
  You can also reduce the tracking zone.
  
  
  

FAQ

How big is MOON SMART FOCUS 1?

• The BRAIN 110 x 85 x 40 mm / 4.33 x 3.34 x 1.57″ Weight is approximately 300g / 10.58 oz. Place it back for best weight distribution.

• The EYES width 124 x 30 x31 mm. Weight is approximately 100 grams only. Place it close to the sensor plane.

• The app can run on a dedicated iPhone or iPad.

• It connects over WiFi and can be tethered over ethernet if WiFi is not allowed.
  
  
  

What are the different tracking modes?

These are the tracking modes currently available in Moon Smart Focus 1

• Nearest Person: automatically recognizes the person nearest to the camera regardless of how many people are in the shot. Toggle between first up to fifth person if you wish.

• Person: Click on the label to select the person you want to track. Click on the to deselect.

• Point mode: choose to track the nearest distance within a point/square of adjustable size.

• Object mode: Track the nearest distance of an objects outlines.

You can rest assure there are more exciting tools coming with upgrades.

What is the range and accuracy?

Moon is built to assist you with moving camera and moving actors, and we have selected the best available sensors and algorithms for the job.
It cannot be compared with a tape measure and laser, which should always be your preferred tool for very precise mark taking.

The sensor precision is hyperbolic, just like a cine lens.
We have selected a sensor to accommodate working with shallow depth of field for any wide and normal lens.

• Close range is 0,35 meters. If you need closer range - you can set up the eyes with a negative offset behind the camera sensor plane.

• Up to 5 meters (26 feet) where IR projector will assist with tracking accuracy and low light performance.

• Actor tracking is working up to 10 meters. It will track multiple persons.

• Point tracking up to 16 meters (52 feet) and beyond if the conditions are right.

Performance will increase with proper lighting conditions.

How many persons can it track?

Moon Smart Focus will easily track up to five people and more.
If you are shooting in crowds, you can easily reduce the tracking area or tracking depth range.
You have sliders accessible at all times for live adjustments

What is the field of view (FoV)of the EYES?

User configurable from 20 to 87 degrees for the stereo vision sensor. Widest is approximately the same as 14mm on a Super35.

We recommend cropping the field of view to 10-15% larger than the field of view (FoV) of your main camera. In this way you can detect actors - just before they enter the scene.

Can it track animals or vehicles?

You can click and track any object with point mode and object mode with ease.
The current software version does not have AI based autodetection of objects, animals or vehicles.

How and where does it track a person?

In Nearest Person MOON uses AI algorithms to detect actors and measures the distance to the eyes: If the body is turning around or the eyes are not visible:
These is the order of priority:
1: Nearest Eye (You can select left eye, right eye, nearest eye, average in settings)
2: Nearest Ear If Eyes are not visible
3: Back of the Head if Ears and Eyes are not visible
4: Chest or Back if head is not visible

Can I use it for autofocus?

Most Lens Control Systems have a configurable function button for focus tracking or autofocus. First connect Moon Smart Focus to you lens control system with serial cable.

Try it out. Once you get to know Moon Smart Focus, this might become more useful than you think.

What are the mounting options?

For Moon Smart Focus 1:
The EYES has a 3/4 inch hole ti the back. It should be mounted close to the camera sensor plane.
The BRAIN can be mounted via V-mount or cheese plate with inserts. We recommend it further back for best weight distribution.

Power requirements

9-19V (Lemo 2 Pin)
20W peak
* Please be aware that some 12V/14.8V outlets on Alexa Mini and Tilta cages might not supply 2 ampere of current as specified. The battery might not be able to supply all components of your system. Insufficient current (Ampere) can cause reduced performance and fps for the Moon Software. Try using a dedicated battery.

Can I just unplug the cable?

Yes. If you want to power it down while plugged in.
You can also power it down from Settings/System. Replug the power cord to restart.
Please wait for the boot process which can on rare occasions take minutes.

Where do I mount the MOON EYES?

The eyes should be mounted parallel with the main lens direction.
Preferably centered, or under the lens. The three camera sensors must have a clear line of sight.

Offset:

Moon EYES must be mounted in parallel with the lens. An offset can be applied if the sensor planes does not align.
Measure the z-distance between the sensor plane and the sensor plane of your camera.
Enter a positive value if the sensor is in front of the camera, negative if behind.
The EYES has a short range limit of 35 cm, so if you want to get up even closer, just move it back to negative offset.

You can also mount it with an Y and X offset, there is no setting needed, you will still get correct distance measure (From Camera sensor plane to focus plane.).
Just make sure the sensor and the camera is pointing in the same direction, same angle ( must be parallel).
Do not tilt Moon Eyes, this might introduce small error at top and bottom.
If you do crop the field of view, you can compensate for x and y if you want the same view.

Can I use any focus hand unit system together with it?

Yes you can connect any lens control system with accepts serial input from range finder/distance measures.
We currently recommend cMotion cPro, ARRI WCU-4, ARRI Hi-5 which require a LCUBE or WCU-4 serial converter
You can also use systems that can work with serial data from rangefinders such as Héden YMER-3, Preston MDR3, MDR4, HU3 and HU4.
Our aim is to support all systems of there market, and tests are ongoing.

Do I use my own iPhone/iPad?

We recommend a dedicated iPhone/iPad. With Moon Smart Focus 1, we supply a mobile device pre-configured for Moon Smart Focus use.
We do not currently support other phones, but we will be happy to instruct you how to use your own device.

Can I choose an Android phone instead?

We currently supply every system with a dedicated iPhone that’s suitable for the task.

Do I need any type of training/course to be able to use the system?

Most users would say no training is needed to get started. However, to really get an edge and explore new techniques, you should join one of our workshops or online demos for inspiration. Rental houses will regularly offer new users a brief education/course

How can I contact you?

Start with michel@moonlightingindustries.com - he will be your guide.