Tilta Nucleus Nano II Wireless Lens Control System

The Tilta Nucleus Nano II is a wireless focus system for compact cinema cameras and mirrorless bodies. The basic kit contains the hand wheel with its 1.6" circular touch screen and one motor delivering five times the torque of the first generation. The main dial pulls focus, the control rocker drives zoom or iris, and camera settings can be changed over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB-C. The system also drives Nucleus Nano and Nucleus-M motors.

The Nucleus Nano II is Tilta’s smallest wireless follow focus. The round hand wheel sits in one palm, the motor clamps onto a 15 mm rod and the touch screen does the rest — a focus disc marked in pencil is no longer needed.

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.

Dial, rocker and buttons

The main dial pulls focus with adjustable resistance; the damped control rocker drives zoom or iris and suits smooth eases in and out. The REC button starts and stops recording, the FUNC button switches functions. The whole body sits in one palm, leaving the other hand free.

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.

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.

Power and charging

The built-in lithium battery is rated 1800 mAh and, according to the manufacturer’s own testing, runs for up to 20 hours continuously; the real figure varies with use and conditions. It charges over USB-C. Mounted on the Power Handle or the Control Handle, the hand wheel draws power through the contacts in the NATO clamp and lasts considerably longer.

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.