my attempt to build a Follow Focus
- Thread starter CLD
- Start date
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
yes i did. i had to drill a couple of over lapping holes in my L bracket so i could slide it in and out according to the size of the lens. the only adjustment so far as been for the 28mm. my 50mm and my 70mm-150mm both have the same diameter, so they're fine (except for having to adjust the entire unit forward on the rails for the 70mm-150mm).
the adjustment isnt huge, but you should definiely plan for it.
the adjustment isnt huge, but you should definiely plan for it.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
true genius runs in the DIY section... mine was more of a "doh!" moment though when i put on my 28mm... another excuse to break out the toolsand make the neighbourswonder just what the hell is goign on in my garage..
alright, back home, came from home depot, and this is what I got:
one clamps for the ring. I took the non gear ring off and double stick'd the clamp to the gear.
clamps on nicely..
now here is my follow focus setup so far.. I'm missing the rod support lugs..
this is beta number 1, I might take out the top plate for more room..
I don't think my gear will reach the lens gear..
what do you guys think so far?
im btw I'm making support rods and 35mm adapter holder as well..
more to come.. just waiting for the dayam delayed lugs! ARGH..
one clamps for the ring. I took the non gear ring off and double stick'd the clamp to the gear.
clamps on nicely..
now here is my follow focus setup so far.. I'm missing the rod support lugs..
this is beta number 1, I might take out the top plate for more room..
I don't think my gear will reach the lens gear..
what do you guys think so far?
im btw I'm making support rods and 35mm adapter holder as well..
more to come.. just waiting for the dayam delayed lugs! ARGH..
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
the gear might reach. my biggest question is about the metal bars the are supporting the unit right now. on the support rods, this has got to be able to get UNDER the 35mm adapter and not over-extend too much.
one other thing t make sure to is that your adapter support is solid and doesnt allow the adapter any room to "walk". the slightest pressure on the lens gear to turn for focus pushes against the entire unit.. any slackness and then you've got issues...
one other thing t make sure to is that your adapter support is solid and doesnt allow the adapter any room to "walk". the slightest pressure on the lens gear to turn for focus pushes against the entire unit.. any slackness and then you've got issues...
CLD, where did you get the gears? It looks good so far.
I have to echo Puck - it is very important that the gearbox is solid to the rails and cannot move around. When you focus, since the lens are not all the same and some are tighter then others - it has to be tight to the
rails.
Ok, CLD and Puck you have inspired me to kick the dust off my FF and rails that I built close to a year ago. Here it is, prototype, not-so-finished version. Needs to have a proper turning wheel and whiteboard for marking. It works with the 'pillbox' gearbox I built (what a pain, never again). It needs to have a lens that is used and a little bit looser then normal because of the gearbox - hence why I said to use the fisherman's reel instead or if CLD has a good one, go with that. The gearing is from a simple toys I had lying around. Work I guess but needs refinement.
I have to echo Puck - it is very important that the gearbox is solid to the rails and cannot move around. When you focus, since the lens are not all the same and some are tighter then others - it has to be tight to the
rails.
Ok, CLD and Puck you have inspired me to kick the dust off my FF and rails that I built close to a year ago. Here it is, prototype, not-so-finished version. Needs to have a proper turning wheel and whiteboard for marking. It works with the 'pillbox' gearbox I built (what a pain, never again). It needs to have a lens that is used and a little bit looser then normal because of the gearbox - hence why I said to use the fisherman's reel instead or if CLD has a good one, go with that. The gearing is from a simple toys I had lying around. Work I guess but needs refinement.
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for my gearbox:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150081641136&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:12
This is what I bought.. both 3 ways are pretty big, so my dream in making a T-gearbox FF is gone.. for now. I stuck with the 2, which is on the picture now.
I will readjust everything when I get my lugs so I can put the dayam thing together.. the lugs i got are inspired from "J"s idea, but I got a little bigger.
the other gear I got there is from this site:
www.towerhobbies.com
I got a 70 teeth, 32 pitch gear. the smaller picture is the clutch bell 32 pitch, 24 teeth gear.
David, from that picture, where did you get your gear from?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150081641136&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:12
This is what I bought.. both 3 ways are pretty big, so my dream in making a T-gearbox FF is gone.. for now. I stuck with the 2, which is on the picture now.
I will readjust everything when I get my lugs so I can put the dayam thing together.. the lugs i got are inspired from "J"s idea, but I got a little bigger.
the other gear I got there is from this site:
www.towerhobbies.com
I got a 70 teeth, 32 pitch gear. the smaller picture is the clutch bell 32 pitch, 24 teeth gear.
David, from that picture, where did you get your gear from?
Well, I built the gearbox - I used these cool type-bearings I found, self-made pillow-boxes, a plastic pillbox, gears from a hobby store. It was a painful experience. The other gears for the SLR and the end of the FF are from toys I had lying around.
Did you spend $81.00 on those gears?!?! Wow, that is a lot of money.
I still think the fishing reel is the best/cheapest way to go. I haven't done enough work on mine since its inception, but I think I might go at it again since Puck has done such a nice job on his.
Did you spend $81.00 on those gears?!?! Wow, that is a lot of money.
I still think the fishing reel is the best/cheapest way to go. I haven't done enough work on mine since its inception, but I think I might go at it again since Puck has done such a nice job on his.
updates on my FF..
I just got confirmation that my lugs are shipped and will be here tomorrow.. finally I can test it out without having to use little wires..
well I decided to buy myself a dremel.. I went to target and they have one for 20 bux.. 30,000 rpm.. which is pretty good for the price (its on sale)
Not being about to find an adjustable hole saw, because I have no use for one sized saw, I decided to cut my whiteboard with the FF... and here is the result:
now the mount onto the FF..
I guess its ok for now.. not a perfect circle, but close enough..
now I wait for the lugs and install the whole thing..
So, does anyone know how to make a spring so I can attach another gear and have it move up and down to adjust to the lens?
I just got confirmation that my lugs are shipped and will be here tomorrow.. finally I can test it out without having to use little wires..
well I decided to buy myself a dremel.. I went to target and they have one for 20 bux.. 30,000 rpm.. which is pretty good for the price (its on sale)
Not being about to find an adjustable hole saw, because I have no use for one sized saw, I decided to cut my whiteboard with the FF... and here is the result:
now the mount onto the FF..
I guess its ok for now.. not a perfect circle, but close enough..
now I wait for the lugs and install the whole thing..
So, does anyone know how to make a spring so I can attach another gear and have it move up and down to adjust to the lens?
If you see the pic I posted, I avoided this with a socket-head screw and a sliding plate across the parallel base of the mount. This way, I could pull it in and out depending on which lens I had. The spring stuff seems a lot of work.
I really like the way your is turning out. The white board is nice and looks good. You need to also put a small metal piece to indicate on the whiteboard where the stops are going to be. It can be as simple as a piece of tin with an arrow at the end.
I really like the way your is turning out. The white board is nice and looks good. You need to also put a small metal piece to indicate on the whiteboard where the stops are going to be. It can be as simple as a piece of tin with an arrow at the end.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
so I shot my first 35mm adapter short on saturday. The Fisherman Focus came into effect and worked great. During the whole production I noticed some flaws that definitely need to be addressed and I'm going to fix those immediately.
The biggest one was that the printer tended to slip sincre the teeth arent that deep,so as soon as I get the few focus gear in, it's replacing that one. Still it served its purpose.
you can see the movie here: http://www.flyinmonkey.com/videos/CallWaiting.mov
Some pics of my rig to follow with me using the Fisherman Focus (white wheel is cut from a cd case and the handle is the backend of a lens cap, screwed together)
The biggest one was that the printer tended to slip sincre the teeth arent that deep,so as soon as I get the few focus gear in, it's replacing that one. Still it served its purpose.
you can see the movie here: http://www.flyinmonkey.com/videos/CallWaiting.mov
Some pics of my rig to follow with me using the Fisherman Focus (white wheel is cut from a cd case and the handle is the backend of a lens cap, screwed together)
Nice job Puck. I found that my teeth/gearing worked well and did not 'jump'. Again, a loose lens is your best friend.
The Mini-CD is a interesting idea - I am going to have to check that out. But it would still require a white board or something to be attached to it so the user can erase the soft-stop marks.
The Mini-CD is a interesting idea - I am going to have to check that out. But it would still require a white board or something to be attached to it so the user can erase the soft-stop marks.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
didn't quite get the loosest lens out there. it's pulling teeth (pun intended) to get it to turn sometimes and unfortunately it's my workhorse 50mm. looking into alternate lenses forfuture shoots.
unfortunately due to time contrainsts (we only had the location from 1pmtil 6pm) i didn't even get to switch lenses to use my 28mm or my 70mm-150mm and didn't see how my follow focus adjusted outwards in field conditions. As you know, when doing it at home, it's always different than when you;re doing it on the shoot... so no major adjusting for me on this one.
unfortunately due to time contrainsts (we only had the location from 1pmtil 6pm) i didn't even get to switch lenses to use my 28mm or my 70mm-150mm and didn't see how my follow focus adjusted outwards in field conditions. As you know, when doing it at home, it's always different than when you;re doing it on the shoot... so no major adjusting for me on this one.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
hey leteeci, are those printable 8cm CDs really big enough? I'd been considering those but they just didn't seem to be the right size...
I broke my "whiteboard" wheel (from the cd case) when I drilled 2 holes for the hardstops. Brittle plastic... now it's held together with duct tape at the back of it... so now i gotta go and start all over again... maybe with a real whiteboard. you lknow,one of the mini ones from Walmart. My neighbour apparently has the hole tool thingy...
I broke my "whiteboard" wheel (from the cd case) when I drilled 2 holes for the hardstops. Brittle plastic... now it's held together with duct tape at the back of it... so now i gotta go and start all over again... maybe with a real whiteboard. you lknow,one of the mini ones from Walmart. My neighbour apparently has the hole tool thingy...