DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

CDA Tek’s LiDAR module lets you get fast autofocus on any camera – even in the dark

Oct 27, 2020 by John Aldred Leave a Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

It’s taken a while for this one to come to market, having first been teased in July 2019, and it’s still not quite there, but it’s close. Originally shown off as an early prototype alongside the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, the CDA-Tek AFX, as it’s now known, works with the Pocket 6K as well, communicating with either camera over Bluetooth, requiring no external cables.

But the AFX also has an extra trick up its sleeve. It now also allows you to add LiDAR autofocus support to any lens, including manual focus ones, thanks to new communication protocols added for the Tilta Nucleus-M and Nucleus-Nano focus motors. It’s being launched via Indiegogo, already having hammered its goal with 30 days left.

YouTube video

The AFX unit uses a LiDAR Time of Flight sensor, much like DJI’s recently announced add-on for the DJI RS2 gimbal. It emits invisible (to us and the camera) light rays and then measures how long it takes for them to bounce back in order to determine how far away something is. It then tells your Pocket 4K or 6K to focus directly at that distance, nailing focus every time.

For non-Pocket users or if you’re using a Pocket with a manual focus cinema lens, the AFX also talks to the Tilta Nucleus M and Nano focus motor units to spin the gears and tell your lens where to focus. And it will even provide continuous autofocus, with both the Pocket 4K/6K and manual focus lenses on any camera. For the pockets, communication is made over Bluetooth, while the Tilta Nucleus units are cabled into the device.

A wireless compact controller is also provided, allowing you to change a number of settings on your Blackmagic Pocket camera, including aperture, ISO and white balance. As to what features it might provide when using a Nucleus focus motor is currently unknown.

The AFX offers two modes of operation. You’ve got AFS and AFC. AFS mode, the lens focuses on the nearest central object when the trigger on the controller is pressed and it remains in that position until you press it again or manually refocus the lens. In AFC mode, the lens continuously keeps focusing on the nearest central object – handy for tracking a person walking towards camera, for example.

It also features a “Natural” mode, which allows you to rack focus between one distance and another, automatically adjusting the focus transition time depending on the distance between the two focus points. You can preset up to four focus points and switch between them instantly or with the transition time applied.

Looking at the video up top, it’s very snappy, and shouldn’t suffer from any of the overshoot issues you might suffer when using a camera’s native autofocus or even trying to use a focus wheel manually.

As CDA-Tek points out in their Indiegogo campaign, however, and just like DJI’s LiDAR unit for the RS2, the AFX only looks at the central point of the frame. It can’t find things off to the side. So, if you’re having your subjects off-centre, you’ll likely need to focus and recompose (in AFS mode), or have all your focus distances predefined so that you can bounce between them as your shot progresses.

CDA-Tek says that the development is done. The hardware and software development is all done and the campaign now is purely to fund the production. You can find out more and back the project for yourself over on Indiegogo. Pledges for existing CDA-Tek PBC owners are €199, while new customers can back the campaign for €275. Shipping is expected in January 2021 and the final retail price, once the campaign ends, will be €350.

Hopefully, we’ll start to see this tech actually built into the cameras themselves over the next few years. After all, smartphones are getting Time of Flight sensors built-in quite regularly now. So, why not?

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

DJI’s LiDAR module gives you autofocus even with f/0.95 manual focus lenses This new gadget gives fast, accurate continuous autofocus to the Blackmagic Pocket 4K The CDA-Tek PBC is a tiny Bluetooth controller for the Blackmagic Pocket 4K and URSA Mini Pro Viltrox completes its fast autofocus prime lineup with the 56mm f/1.4 for Canon EF-M

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: autofocus, Blackmagic Design, Gear Announcement

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« Ricoh has officially announced the Pentax K-3 Mark III capable of ISO 1.6 Million
Here’s how you can light product photography using small LED light sources »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • Samyang adds 100mm T2.3 to its compact autofocus cine prime lineup
  • Build your own DIY night vision camera with a Raspberry Pi
  • This adorable LEGO retro camera set hits the stores soon
  • Here are the cameras that shot Flickr’s best images
  • Meta AI image generator Imagine gets its own website

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy