Redrock FF with 'MacGiver' HardStops

[craigbowman]

Finally got my Redrock Follow Focus today. I discovered it didn't actually come with hardstops.

So I found two old 35mm film clips with card pads that work perfect as hardstops.

The notch in the clips slides right into the spring gauge.

 

[PDX_DVX]

Hey, how is the FF other than that? What's it made of? Is there any lag or slop in the gears? Is it gear driven, or belt driven? I was thinking of getting one in the future, but I am curious as to the build quality....Is it mostly metal?

 

[dbarak]

Someone either here or on the Red Rock forum mentioned using those little paper clamps, too.

 

[Finnian]

I just got mine this week as well. I gotta say, this is a pretty amazing piece of hardware for the money. The solid build quality makes me think this little bugger will be around for a while. My only gripe is with the lens gear that's supposed to fit the DVX. It does, but it takes a long time and quite a bit of futzing to get it just right. Also, there is a tiny bit of play in the gears (one degree or less), not enough to deter me from totally recommending this device. I don't yet have a 35 adapter, but here's my little old DVX with my new Redrock follow focus.

 

[craigbowman]

Hey, how is the FF other than that? What's it made of? Is there any lag or slop in the gears? Is it gear driven, or belt driven? I was thinking of getting one in the future, but I am curious as to the build quality....Is it mostly metal?

The focusing knob and shafts are all aluminum. Its gear driven. The gears that go around your lenses and the drive gear that meshes with the lens gear is a heavy duty hardened plastic.

The action is solid but the way the focus knob is attached to the first shaft means a small amount of play before it engages the shaft. Very easy to account for if you mark a stop before letting go of the knob.

The unit feels very robust, but only time will really tell.

 

[RyanT]

I figure this is a best of time as any to finally figure out what whips are. People always talk about getting whips for their follow focus and I assume it's so that the focus puller can get out of the camera mans face and still keep the shot in focus. How does it attatch though? And how would the 35mm film clips replace the hard stops? Does it hit the 35mm adapter assembly?

Man, I'm just so full of questions today. I've been thinking about getting the redrock micro for a while now along with the follow focus and I'm just trying to prevent myself from being a dummy when I get it.

 

[Finnian]

Focus whips are definitely good for getting away from the camera body as well as having some "give" during handheld shots so the operator it's fighting the focus puller while operating. It snaps into a square hole in the center of the focus wheel:

As far as hard stops go, you technically only need them for the DVX lens itself because the focus ring spins forever, no beginning stop or end stop. So, if you setup focus marks on the ff marking disk and then over shoot either the 99 or 00 numbers of the DVX, your focus marks will no longer correspond to the numbers you noted because the DVX starts counting as soon as the focus ring moves back in the other direction. Still and Cinema lenses have hard stops built in because the focus ring is mechanical not electronic. You can never overshoot the beginning or end of the lens.

 

[cheezweezl]

a whip is a flexible shaft that has a knob on one end and a square bit on the other end that fits into that little square hole on the ff knob. since it's flexible, the focus ouller can do his thing without shaking the camera.

here's an idea for hard stops. my pool filter timer has stops on it that tell it when to start and stop. i bet they would fit that ring on the micro. they attach with thumb screws and are cheap. check your local pool supply shop.... i have thought of doing this myself. i have the indifocus which came with stops but they are allen wrench based and a pain in the butt. finger screws are where it's at.

 

[cheezweezl]

As far as hard stops go, you technically only need them for the DVX lens itself because the focus ring spins forever, no beginning stop or end stop. So, if you setup focus marks on the ff marking disk and then over shoot either the 99 or 00 numbers of the DVX, your focus marks will no longer correspond to the numbers you noted because the DVX starts counting as soon as the focus ring moves back in the other direction. Still and Cinema lenses have hard stops built in because the focus ring is mechanical not electronic. You can never overshoot the beginning or end of the lens.

they serve more purpose than that. i use mine to set up rack focuses sometimes. you caan rack really fast and clean this way. really only works on stationary objects though...

 

[Finnian]

they serve more purpose than that. i use mine to set up rack focuses sometimes. you caan rack really fast and clean this way. really only works on stationary objects though...

I see your point. If you're pulling your own focus they can be very helpful, as long as you're sure don't need to focus beyond them. I just prefer to focus by eye if I'm doing it myself.