Tilta Electronic Suction Cup Control Kit

The Tilta HDA-T08-ECK kit replaces the four suction cups of the Hydra Arm Mini camera crane with electronic ones: the vacuum is made electrically, with no valves and no hand pump. The cups sit on the original brackets from the Pro Kit, their cables run to a control unit with a 50 mm speed rail clamp, and that connects with a single 4-pin Lemo cable to the back of the pan axis module. The operator sees the cups' pressure in real time on the crane's controller and raises it from there electronically if it drops. Aluminium alloy, black.

The Tilta Electronic Suction Cup Control Kit is a safety upgrade for the Hydra Arm Mini camera crane. The arm, around 70 kg, is held on the vehicle roof by the four suction cups from the Pro Kit — and those are exactly what this kit swaps for electronic ones whose pressure is reported to the crane's controller, so the operator does not have to rely on glancing at a hand pump's indicator while driving.

Four cups, one control unit

The kit holds four electronic suction cups with mounting brackets that fit the original suction cup support brackets from the Hydra Arm Mini Pro Kit — the speed rail, clamps and straps stay, only the cups are swapped. They make the vacuum electrically, with no valve and no hand pump. The cables from all four run to a control unit that clamps onto the rig's 50 mm speed rail, and a single cable continues from it to the crane.

One Lemo cable, pressure on the controller

Power and control for the cups run from the control unit through a single 4-pin Lemo cable that plugs into the back of the Hydra Arm Mini's pan axis module. The operator then sees the cups' pressure in real time on the crane's controller and, in the event of a leak, raises the vacuum electronically from the controller — no stopping, no pumping. The kit is not meant for the Basic Kit, which has no mounting hardware.

The Tilta Hydra system

Hydra is Tilta's modular system for shooting from moving vehicles: an electronic suction cup that monitors its own vacuum, the shock absorbing arms Hydra Alien and Hydra Alien Mini, speed rail kits for the bodywork and brackets for monitors, cameras and accessories. The parts combine through shared standards (4.5″ suction cup, M25, NATO, 1/4″-20, speed rail) — this one is among them.