Tilta Nucleus-M Review & Set-up

An in-depth review of Tilta's ground breaking wireless focus, iris, zoom system for filmmakers and videographers. bhpho.to/2sYbrAd Tilta is adding a firmware update (April 2018) to reduce torque and remember lens calibration.
Featured Gear:
RED RAVEN Camera:
bhpho.to/2DAxu3G
Zacuto Recoil VTC Baseplate:
bhpho.to/2JYLHuP
This review was filmed in 4K using the Panasonic GH5: bhpho.to/2t0igRF

[@gbesalvador]

Great review and video! She sounds like a podcaster I'd listen to while driving at night, in the forest on a blue-lit night. I could crash and get severely injured, but I'd be content after listening to her review.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Love this comment. Thank you.

[@gbesalvador]

@@NiceladyproductionsCanada No problemo! Can't wait to see more of your videos!

[@mrshaheedmalik]

Totally. The most pleasant review I ever heard.

[@miguelherrera9269]

I have to say that the tone of your voice gives me peace, calm and happiness...I just love the way your voice sounds...

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Thank you!!! Trying to be the calm KZbin reviewer. :)

[@resetartes767]

This, out of a handful of good setup videos for Nucleus M is by far the most useful. Nothing skipped over, nothing assumed. Great stuff!

[@VizTV-Media]

Got my Tilta-M set a few days ago. This video is going to be a great help in learning to get the system operational. Thanks for a detailed upload. Narration is fantastic!

[@jasonspies8760]

What an incredibly wonderful review! Thank you for taking the time to do such an in-depth tutorial...

[@georgedoyle8795]

Great review, getting my unit this week, your video is going to make setup a whole lot easier. Thanks for putting this together!

[@trevorpinnocky]

Looks incredible value. You're one of the best reviewers on KZbin. It's crazy you don't have at least 100k subscribers. Very strong content and production value.

[@OrianIglesias]

I couldn't agree more!

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Thank you!

[@theoffercoach]

I just got mine. It's very buggy. You have to turn motor 2 on and off every time you switch from the handles to the fiz unit. Speaking with Titla tomorrow to get this resolved. But if you read through the nucles m facebook group there are many issues.

[@overnightclassic2]

Well if she didn't hide her face she'd have more subscribers. But she has a good voice so maybe she has a face for radio?

[@overnightclassic2]

@PRIVATE PRIMATE It's not the fact that she doesn't show her face on video. It's the fact that her face is basically nonexistent on the internet. How do you run a video production business without having a profile picture somewhere on your website so clients know what you look like when meeting? From the very few pictures I can find of her (I'm good at looking around on the internet) her face is mostly half-hidden. And trust me, she definitely has a face for radio (if you know what I mean lol).

[@OrianIglesias]

Just the review I was looking for! Thanks for your hard work!

[@nedfridrich7888]

I just got this system, and use it with my Varicam LT for handheld applications in a news/production world. I love it. Very good review.

[@Avidcomp]

Great timing Kelly when you said hit pause. I had just thought to do it and make a cup of tea. Will be back to enjoy your presentation. Great presentation, thank you. By the way, I recommend Cool-Lux gear rings. Have a look at them. All the best.

[@ArchWayE]

This has been a most excellent review. You've definitely sold me on this follow focus system for this price point. The handles would be also useful for a director's monitor cage setup for a focus puller :)

[@knightlightshow]

You have such a soothing voice and a great tempo when teaching -- lovely to listen to when trying to learn something

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Thank you so much! I appreciate it.

[@timofreee]

Thanks for a review!!! Glad you’re doing more videos

[@stereothrilla8374]

YOU ARE AMAZING. This is THE best comprehensive review of a product ever. New favorite filmmaking channel.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Oh, I'm so grateful the video helped. Lots of more in-depth reviews to come.

[@jakeschumacher3245]

Thanks for taking the time to make this great review!

[@Skapo]

I miss your reviews. Thorough & useful information.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

I miss them too, which is why I'm making more.

[@bmon9682]

Thank you I've waited a year for a full review

[@Katsumoto94]

Great and very indepth review... I hope they come out with the nucleus-n soon.

[@Jawmsie]

Man, even just running with a good 1st AC and a manual follow-focus with a whip was awesome the first time I did it. This seems like it'd be a similarly mind-blowing experience.

[@CarlosAraujo-qw3xn]

Thank you very much for the Excellent Review!!! I just bought mine, I can’t wait to play with it!!

[@godboy159]

Just ordered this system. Very excited! Sub earned!

[@brunoscali]

I think this is the best tutorial and review for this product, on youtube!! Saludos desde Argentina! 💙

[@haaake]

Ohhhhh. That is SO cool that you can power the motors from the handles! You just sold me.

[@AlexeyOrlov-CINE]

lol I was just about to recommend this for your new rig.

[@bomber9334]

Just bought the ~Nucleus M, amazing review thank you for helping me learn so much in a short space of time.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

You bet! Hope you’re enjoying it.

[@craigstynardt4990]

Best walkthrough for this system. 💪 Also a 🥂 for that beautiful Alexa!

[@EmeraldAudiovisual]

In-depth review with lots of little titbits, that many leave out. Kudos for the work put into this.

[@Marco1Rabadan]

Had a production change my fiz to this last minute... and this video saved me. Thank you.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Glad I could help.

[@kentmccracken]

Thank you so much. Wonderful presentation and information. I look forward to coming back when I get ours to set up. Easy listening voice and pace. Best.

[@Carlito_MD]

This video was gold trying to setup my Nucleus M! Thanks!

[@jomaari]

Just bought one. Great review. I feel secure about my purchase. Thank you.

[@miguelherrera9269]

Nice Lady! I have a Portkeys LH5P. With it, I can fully control my bmpcc 4k. I have discovered the monitor has a USB port with enough voltage to operate the variable ND filter motor for the Tilta Mirage matt box, which I have linked to the zoom commands in my Nucleus M. This is my motor 3 and I don't need a battery in that little motor anymore. I have a Meike 25mm lens, so the zoom channel was available. My second discovery was awesome too. The monitor is a mirror of all bmpcc 4k menus, so it includes REC and Stop functions. Despite the scepticism from Portkeys sellers, I connected my 7-pin Lemo right-handle top connector to the 5-pin Lemo in the Portkeys and now I can trigger recording from both the fiz unit and the handles so it is awesome. Rec goes from the handle to the monitor and from the monitor to the camera. No latency! I just wanted to share this tip. Take care.

[@Dauntlessfilms]

Nice Lady, you do the best product reviews on the net!

[@bluestilling101]

Great tips and review. I could not agree with you more about the build quality of this system.

[@JeffRemasPhotography]

Excellent presentation and well done. Thank you very much.

[@djunabug]

Wish I could subscribe 1,000,000 times! Excellent review. Thank you so much!

[@AdamStern]

Excellent review. Thanks for this.

[@Bestow12345]

the best walkthrough yet! Only thing I didn't understand was how to set up the grips.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Hi, you setup the grips the exact same way as the hand unit. Double-click to get into the menu. Choose what knob (they call it a know but it can be the front dial) that you want to link to the motor. So front right dial (knob) is motor 1 (for focus etc). Make sure they are on the right channel to change the settings of that motor and you're ready to go.

[@chakk0]

That's so amazingly done! Thank you!!!

[@chargamer]

Great review as always. Keep it up!

[@BenjaminRowlandTV]

Excellent review. I think I am sold!

[@Urkstore]

I have a gig tomorrow and this helped me a lot. Best set-up tutorial I've seen so far. Thank you!

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Thank you!!! Glad it helped.

[@jcfilms4433]

Thank you! You did a nice job. Great focus puller.

[@alexchan3471]

Huge thanks for this video, made my life a lot easier!

[@simpsonbart54]

Super ausführliche Beschreibung!! Danke!

[@MySaulgarcia]

Great Video, congratulations!

[@FastFreddyRC]

Great review…so much to know!!

[@davidcohen7791]

On eof the best review on this unit i saw. Thank you for that. But new firmware incomming improving the Nucleus M in many ways

[@danteuss88]

This was great and informative, thank you!

[@FilmmakerTery]

Thank you so much for your in depth review/tutorial. You helped me setup and get to know my new system more.

[@cogmission1]

Love your reviews! I like your voice! Keep it up!

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Thank you!

[@iiiNelsonImages]

Thanks for the in depth review.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

You bet!

[@CaptainFram]

Thanks so much for the detailed review! This is going on the wishlist!!

[@ashleylazarus-cinevisionus2722]

Excellent review!

[@editorialbrain]

so thorough that i thoroughly liked and subscribed as well.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Thanks for watching!

[@editorialbrain]

Yesterday I bought the full kit! Your video gave a solid enough breakdown to help me decide. Thanks again! Excited for it to show up!

[@OliKember]

Really helpful and clear. Thanks.

[@HamsterRocketeer]

Great review, keep them up!

[@TomasVillegas]

Great review!

[@richarddzisiewski7197]

Great review...thinking about pulling the trigger on this system

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

It's an awesome system for the price

[@richarddzisiewski7197]

@@NiceladyproductionsCanada Just received this piece of kit and didn't disappoint. This ticks all the boxes for me!!

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

@@richarddzisiewski7197 great to hear!!

[@gigglegrenade]

Fantastic video!

[@PotentStudios]

Great and informative review! Do the handles also vibrate when you hit the marks? And can the system control a pocket 6k?

[@melissabaltierra5218]

This helped me so much thank you!

[@tobidepro]

I understand every bit of this ❤

[@jade_soto]

So helpful!!! Wow! One question: which is the selection button? You mentioned holding it down to select which motor to calibrate, but I don’t see that button in the manual. Thank you!! 😊

[@hudsonshires6141]

Excellent review! Subbed. A quick question. I am interested in integrating these with my motion control system from Edelkrone. Is there a way to simply set A and B positions for focus and zoom, then say “go from A to B in X seconds” and have it automatically execute the ring movements? Thanks!

[@marcomonge4893]

Excelente presentation by the way, if you dont mind I have a quick question: I am, Planning to purchase the Tilta system as 5/5/18 for a sony fs7 what are your thoughts about it?

[@pharmabuse6135]

Thanks for another great review! If you have two cameras, is it possible to control focus on camera A with the remote follow focus, and control focus on camera B with one of the the hand grips? Perhaps by setting them to different channels...

[@dantan357]

Great video I now have a two camera setup and was wondering can I set up focus for both of my camera using the one hand grip on one camera and my second hand grip and motor on another camera and have them focus independently? What are your thoughts

[@ericbarrios1301]

Hi Kelly awesome video! How long did it take for them to ship it? It's currently on back order so I was wondering if it took awhile to get to you. thanks

[@erikjohnson7361]

Was the intention to create an ASMR review experience? If so, mission accomplished. Thanks for the in-depth walkthrough. Now to buy all the extra stuff... I wish they included some of it, like the rosette mount for the back of the focus wheel, otherwise I guess they expect people to wear it around their neck on the included leash?

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Yes! Around their neck or attached to a monitor by rigging it up somehow. Thanks for your comments.

[@HannesFamira]

Hey Kelly, have you tried to trigger record/stop on an Atomos recorder from the buttons on the hand grips of the Nucleus-M? Neither of the to companies have an answer for me…

[@raredreamfootage]

When powering the motor via the handle's batteries, how long will the battery last for?

[@robertniessner554]

Kelly, after two years of usage - what are your thoughts on the hand unit? I've experienced that - at least for my hands - it feels a bit uncomfortable after some time in the usage. I've found the DJI focus to be much more ergonomically designed and hand held friendly.

[@albertusbodenstein1976]

Thanks for the review. So with every lens change, you have to set it up again.. How long does it normally take to do a lens change?

[@kidagocreative]

Why is there a four second delay when remote triggering record on the RED?

[@cinemavius]

thankyou for the review !! if you mind im asking, where can I buy that kind of solid gearring you use in the videos ?

[@ezequielcamposolmo9460]

Hi there, is this equitment is compatible to canon rebel T7

[@seanconley8191]

Thank you so much.

[@jorismaasvisuals]

Amazing review! I definitely want to have this system on my DJI Ronin. Will be a heavy setup probably (if the Tilta fits that is).

[@hudsonshires6141]

Joris Maas Visuals You may want to look at Tilta’s Nano wireless focus, specifically designed for the DJI Ronin.

[@gregia7]

You just saved my life!

[@theoffercoach]

I wish my unit was as bug free as yours. From day 1 I've been having problems with it. Right now- motor 2 needs to be turned on and off every time you want to switch from Master to Slave mode on the fiz unit.

[@woolenwoods665]

how is tilta nuclues' torque comparing to DP movie's live 2 or air 2? thx for your review!

[@YZWAY]

Hello thank you for review! and please help me, I wanna buy wireless follow focus and my choice is redrock focus or title nucleus m, who the best choice? thanks!

[@dutchmilk]

can you use just one grip and one motor? if yes how do you get it to work?

[@niquoOG]

Do you know if the motors can handle the 16v from a Dynacore battery? or is there a way to power them from a v mount battery?

[@morganmaugeri6078]

Hi, thank you so much for this fantastic review. just a question: is it possibile to setup Fiz on Focus and separately Handle at same time? I'd like to leave dp free to use iris on handle but pulling' focus by myself. thx ***

[@michaelfrymus]

will this work with mirrorless cameras? or do you need a cinema camera with proper ports?

[@DarknesslllON]

O love that ASMR reviews

[@ifilmjason]

what cable did you use for the run/stop function on the DSMC2?

[@WesleyClouden]

yes just in time nailed it, yes omg the bugs where crazy on my NOV unit had too pass for the PD-movie 2. but lest see how many bugs by Next NAB or CineGear 2017.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Yes, it's unfortunate to hear that. I believe because of was one of the last people to receive a unit in the initial 300 to buy one, mine may have been more stable than the others before me. Time will tell.

[@danielmacannan]

Awesome vid, although I do wonder; how comfortable is it to operate the rig as you have the handles mounted directly onto the studio handle grip bridge, I would have though it'd be more comfortable if you mounted the handles on a pair of adjustable extendable arms that attaches to the grip bridge.... Thoughts?

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

I find it comfortable to have the handles mounted to the rods because I like my elbows to rest against my torso when shooting handheld with a shoulder rig for more stability. Extendable arms would be great too. I think it depends how long your arms are and what should rig you use.

[@t.c.f2228]

hi whats the youtube channel of william the focus controller guy ? with hihg level art direction that sounds like some creative stuff. please reply as soon as possible thanks.

[@robertfeliciano5723]

Is it still working after nearly 3 years? I've read some mediocre reviews lately.

[@matthewpeer9396]

Man I bought the wrong batteries. I got 18650s but they are too big? Which ones do you have?

[@corneliusdobeneck4081]

The socks ... oh my ... :D Great review. Best as far as I have seen not to say that this actually IS a review unlike most of the other video. Have you tried running this with some wireless mic system? I've got the Rode Link and it runs on the same 2.4G frequency. Would be a pity if the systems interfere with one another but also a crucial information. Thanks for getting this up! Salute.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

The key is to keep whatever is running at the same frequency a bit away from the motor, there are also 15 channels to choose from. I purposely bought a Cinegears wireless transmitter that runs on a higher frequency to make sure I wouldn’t have issues.

[@corneliusdobeneck4081]

@@NiceladyproductionsCanada Makes sense. Had the Rode system before and don't like to drop it. Will get he Tilta this week and give it a go with the Rode Link system. When I get some results one way or the other I post here.

[@corneliusdobeneck4081]

Bloody thanks! Without your "looking into it" review I would have not been able to set my system up because .... Amazon send me a bloody unit in CHINESE! :D

[@jmez927]

what kind of camera is that

[@fortlionstudio9778]

Great video! VERY helpful. With the issue with the 70-200 (around 10:40), do you think it's because of how tight that particular ring is? I have that exact same lens and the zoom ring is a pain to turn.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Hmmm. I wouldn't think it would be the reason. Most people say it's best to put pressure when first calibrating. I also think rigging it so the gears are below or above the lens really helps. Tilta just announced a new firmware will address the high torque issue.

[@robertniessner554]

When working with the DJI Focus I had the same problem. To me it seems that the torque is so strong that it bends the rod away (if the the rod is not fixed with a second clamp at the front end to the other rod) and/or it bends the lens away - especially on EF mounts. I have no PL mounts to test but I think those are less prone to unwanted movement. For the best of my lenses I do always use manual calibration even when the lens has hard stops.

[@renderfarmr]

Have you ran into the problem where one of the handles does not change the digit number of the knob anymore and so turning the handle knob does not turn the motor gear anymore? I feel like I have deactivated something. But I did a reset and a handle calibration and it's still the same problem. Right handle works, left doesn't anymore. Any tips?

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

Haven't run into that problem, no. Have you tried plugging a handle directly into a motor to see if it will operate anything? So are you saying your can't change the knob number to match your motor number?

[@NebulousFilms]

Do you need all of the parts for it to work? Or could I only buy one motor and one handgrip? Because that's all i actually need.

[@NiceladyproductionsCanada]

The system comes with all the parts. If you are wanting a hand unit and small motor for still type lenses, there’s the Nucleus N available.

[@briantrim4153]

The only point I would have liked to see touched upon was the fact that not all 18650 batteries work with this system. There are two types of this battery-One with a raised positive node and one with a “flat” node. The flat ones don’t fit so mentioning this would have been useful. Otherwise-great review and tutorial on the setup. Thanks