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How to shoot and edit panoramic landscapes with the Syrp Genie Mini and Photoshop

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A couple of months ago, Syrp updated the firmware on the Genie Mini to add a couple of very cool new features. One of those was the ability to automate the shooting of panoramic still images for stitching. It’s not a difficult process to accomplish, but there are one or two gotchas and things you have to look out for.

In this video from The Slanted Lens, Jay P Morgan explains the whole process, from start to finish. With the New York cityscape as his subject, Jay walks us through setting up the Genie for the sequence, shooting the images, and then stitching them together in Photoshop.

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This $99 device will motorize any slider

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There are some pricy (and awesome) motorized slider solutions out there (we quite like the Syrp Genie), but they are all kinda expensive. Anything with decent controls (screen/app) is 500$ or upwards. What if you throw some creative thinking into it?

Videographer Nitsan Simantov constructed a variable speed slider motor from a TurnsPro – a $99 egg timer style panning device (kinda like the Genie Mini we reviewed, but $150 cheaper). The idea is to use the TurnsPro as a push/pull device. Connect a piece of string to the thread of the revolving head and tie that string into the slider cart (this is why this built rang a bell with the Syrp Genie).

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Syrp’s new Slingshot is a motion control zipline that lets you dolly your camera for hundreds of feet

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Creating super long slider or dolly shots is something many timelapse photographers and filmmakers dream about doing. For some, hyperlapse techniques and a lot of post production work is the answer. For others, that’s far too much work. When you look at the whole process, you can quickly see why. For others, the solution is a cable cam zipline type system.

It works with the Syrp Genie (review here), to provide you with a level of control that is otherwise difficult to achieve. Until now, though, these have been DIY solutions. In fact, you can see our own DIY Syrp Genie cable cam here. Today, though, Syrp have released their official cablecam, the Slingshot.

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We are giving away the best time lapse system ever – the Genie Pan Track Kit

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Update: this giveaway has ended, please jump to the bottom to see the winner. Huge thanks to SYRP for the prizes. 

If you are reading this site for any amount of time, you you know that we are big fans of adding movement to time lapses. And while there are some small and nifty devices out there, nothing beats a full rig. And the Genie Pan Track Kit is one of our favorite. Guess what? We’re giving one away! (street value $1,365.00 USD).

The kit is made up from four parts (and you can use them combined or individually): a Genie, a Magic Carpet Short Track, a Genie Mini, and a SYRP ballhead.

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DIYP reviews the SYRP Genie Mini – A Clever camera motion solution

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I recently had the opportunity to review the Syrp Genie Mini Panning Motion Control System for time lapse and live action video ($249 from B&H, Amazon).

If you’re looking for an economical way to add clean, smooth motion to your time lapse or live action video clips, the Syrp Genie Mini is a great place to start.

Having previously reviewed the full size Syrp Genie ($789 from B&H, Amazon) including building a DIY hyperlapse cable cam cart I expected the Mini to be well designed and well built.

However, I didn’t expect just how easy and fun the Genie Mini would be to use in the field – continue reading for the complete review…

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