Tilta Nucleus Nano II Wireless Lens Control System Kit II

The Tilta Nucleus Nano II Kit II is a wireless focus set with the Control Handle and two motors. The Control Handle has its own focus dial and joystick, so together with the hand wheel it can drive up to four channels — focus, iris, zoom and a motorised ND. It runs from a Sony L-series battery and also feeds the hand wheel through the contacts in the NATO clamp. Rods, an F970 battery plate and a carrying case are included.

Kit II is the top Nucleus Nano II configuration: the hand wheel is joined by a control grip that adds a second dial, a joystick and a trigger — and with them a fourth controlled channel.

Control Handle: a second hand on focus

The Control Handle is a grip with its own Sony L-series battery (NP-F550/F570, not included) that also powers the hand wheel through the contacts in the NATO clamp. The front dial pulls focus, the joystick drives another motor, and the trigger and M button switch functions. There is a cold shoe on top and a 1/4"-20 thread with locating pins underneath.

1.6" circular touch screen

The screen switches between three main pages — camera control, focus control and motor control. It shows iris, ISO, shutter speed, colour temperature, resolution, bit rate, frame rate and recording status. The interface is driven by touch, so settings can be changed without reaching for the camera.

A motor with five times the torque

According to the manufacturer the Nucleus Nano II motor delivers five times the torque of the Nucleus Nano motor and adjusts that torque to the load on its own. It clamps onto a 15 mm rod and the 0.8 MOD gear ring fits most lenses. Two USB-C ports work as both power input and output, so several motors can be daisy-chained from one source.

A complete rig, ready to hang on the camera

Besides the controller and the motors the kit contains the parts that hold everything together: 15 mm aluminium rods, a rod holder with a dual 1/4"-20 thread, a rubber rod support, a Tilta mounting bracket with locating pins and a Tilta F970 V2 battery plate. Power is handled by a P-Tap to USB-C cable and two USB-C cables.

Up to four channels

On its own the hand wheel drives motors for focus, iris and zoom. Combined with the Nucleus Nano II Control Handle the number of channels rises to four, adding the motorised Mirage ND. The system is backwards compatible with Nucleus Nano and Nucleus-M motors as well as with DJI Focus motors.

Lens mapping and camera control

The lens mapping page shows the focus distance in real time, so there is no need to mark a focus disc in pencil. Camera control runs over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB-C; the range of functions — from Run/Stop to ISO, shutter and iris — depends on the camera model and firmware version.

Works with older gear too

The system drives Nucleus Nano II, Nucleus Nano and Nucleus-M motors and, through the optional receiver module, DJI Focus motors and the DJI RS 2 and RS 3 Pro gimbals as well. Camera settings can be changed on selected Sony, Canon, Blackmagic Design and RED models; the range of functions depends on the model and the firmware version.

What to watch out for

The hand wheel must not be powered over P-Tap — the manufacturer states this explicitly. The NATO clamp on the Control Handle and the Power Handle is intended for the hand wheel only; do not attach other accessories to it or the contact pins will be damaged. Camera control is available on selected models only and the feature set changes with firmware.