Tutorials

Accessing the MECHA C2 Controller User Interface (UI) to Create 360° Panorama Presets without the need for using the Smart Phone UI. Good to know if smartphone UI is not available. 

In this video we are going to show you how to create a panorama shooting pattern, or preset, for any lens from 4 to 1000mm, including fisheye lenses, using MECHA C2's Menu.

MECHA will compute a preset for your lens, based on the data it receives
when performing the procedure we describe here.

Make sure the C2 firmware is updated to version 12279 or newer.

Step 1.
First, you need to create a preset with the AUTO setting instead of focal length or number of shots.

In the Preset Menu, use the arrow buttons to find an empty option,
or you can select an editable preset instead,
and press the plus button to enter edit mode.

What we see now on OLED are the latest settings used, so please note it may be different on your C2.

The first parameter flashes, which means you can adjust it.
But in this case, it also means that you can switch between the parameters available here,
which are: focal length, number of shots, and AUTO.
Use the up arrow button to find AUTO.
This is the most important setting, and most of the time you may not need to change anything else.
However, it is good to know what the other parameters are.

So press the right arrow button to go to the next parameter,
which is the number of camera triggerings in each position.
T1 means one camera triggering.

Use the plus button to increase the value, and the minus button to decrease it.
You can also switch to the explained show using the menu button,
to find out more details about the current parameter.
Use the same button to go back to the concise show.

Adjust the other parameters the same way.

Exposure. E1/2 means an exposure of half a second.

For image overlap, set values in the range 5-80%.

Coverage area must be 360 180 for a full panorama.
Any lower values ​​means a partial panorama.

Initial position of the upper rail can be parked (P), level (L), or raised (R).

Direction of rotation: right, left, or unspecified (?),
in which case you must provide it when launching the preset.

The following parameters are displayed on the second and third OLED screens.

Modifier of exposure (M) is the modifier of the duration of shutter button signal.

Auto-Focus (AF) – Duration of auto-focus signal.

Wake (W) – Duration of the signal for camera wake-up.

Before (B) — Pause before each triggering sequence.

After (A) — Delay after each triggering sequence or individual triggering.

Row order. M means middle, D - down, and U - up.
So MDU means middle row first, then down row, and up row.

Zenith and Nadir shots: ZZ, NN means two zenith and two nadir shots 90° apart.

Speed in revolutions per minute.

Micro-stepping value, simple or combined.

Load profile can be Light, Medium, or Heavy. Medium is a good choice in most cases.

Wait alternates with Rewind, and they tell MECHA to wait after the last shot,
or to rewind to the initial position, respectively.

Now all settings are done and you can press the center button to confirm changes.

Step 2.

Press the center button again to launch the preset.

When the display shows "Set POSITION",
make sure the upper rail is in the set position. Level, in our case.

You can use the arrow buttons for this purpose.

Then place a small object in front of MECHA so that it is right in the center of the frame.
The distance to the target object is not important.
In our example, the target object is a small circle.
Press the center button to confirm, and note the message shown on the display.

Step 3.

After 10 seconds, MECHA starts to rotate slowly to the right,
and you have to press the power button when the target object is out of the camera's view.
Then MECHA goes back to the initial position and starts to slowly tilt down,
and you have to press again the power button when the target object is out of the camera's view.

Then MECHA goes back to the initial position, and you can use the preset computed by MECHA.

Notice the term "Comp" in the preset name.
Please note that this parameter contains information about your lens and it will be lost if you switch to AUTO,
number of shots, or focal length.

Step 4.
Press the center button to launch the preset, or use it later, as you do with any other preset.
You can repeat the procedure described in this video whenever you want to try to get a better result.