my attempt to build a Follow Focus

the gear that attaches to the FF. the gear on the SLR is perfect. I just wanted a little security,becaue the one thing that i had been wishing for at last week's shot, was a wider gear on the FF in case of any minor shifts, which, while they shouldn't happen.. do.
 
so any updates on your rigs guys? I'm almost done I guess.. I just have to paint it when I finalize my screwing and drilling.. how about you guys?
 
UPDATE:

here is my latest update on the support rails and follow focus..

support rails.. done..

sr.JPG



here's the full shot of my rig



full.JPG


on the side...

side.JPG



and here's my Follow Focus.. I made the two bars slide with this and knob on top.. I still got to cut that extra bar to the side off..

ffsl.JPG


back.JPG


ISSUES THAT CAME UP

my sliding mechanism isn't long enough, time to dremel more.. (I hate it since it takes sooo long!)

My adapter support does not seem to be going too well.. I don't have room anywhere to place it.. any suggestions?

That's that.. time to make a few adjustments and I'm practically done! YAY!
 
dude, you need to make another support separate of the Follow focus to hold up the lens. gotta buy 2 more of those Ilsco parts
 
I did.. but like I said, there is no room.. the FF took up the shaft.. I gotta figure something out..

what did you use for your support? and how did you make it >
 
Dude, look at my pic. Just make one that sits just before the FF, between the sled and the FF. All you need is a little one that will hold up the Brevis and you will be fine. BTW, it does rock and looks great too! Nice job.
I have been too busy myself with work. I did go to Princess Auto looking for bits and bobs on the weekend but came up short.
 
like David said. besides you need the support to hold it into place. when you start focusing the focus gear pushes against the entire camera.. you need somethign to push back
 
yea I notice it pushes, I slid the FF even more closer in which the FF pushes the lens a bit. That actually stops the gears from slipping. But I still need to find a way to add my support.

my gearbox is huge, I have a ring and lugs, but they don't fit.. time to buy more toys.. whee...

what did you guys use to hold the adapter down? what ring support?
 
i'm currently using the very same support you're using to hold your gear onto the lens. It's mounted onto a little plastic thing I found at Ikea, but I had to shave it down just a bit to make sure everything was flat. The camera being totally on the level is kind of important.

I'm actually now in the process of rebuilding my support rail system and I'm liking the new design, so the support system is actually going to be updated as well, but the actual support for the adapter is going to remain the same.

I'll be mounting my gear and putting everything else together tomorrow, so plan to take pictures this time around. It's actually looking a little like a clunkier Zacuto and its nice and solid.
 
Me neither. I'm stuck in rehearsals right now, and have a meeting at 10:00AM tomorro, so no chance to build until the afternoon. I'm pretty excited about it though. I'm combining a baseplate and the support, very much like the Zacuto and it's pretty easy to build.. just a few small parts to cut and drill (regular hand drill)
 
With my support, I used a piece of aluminum and shaved a semi circle in it to support the lens. I then dremeled a hole in the middle of it, made a slot so I can move it up and down to get the height just right.
Puck, I am thinking of building a new stage myself, I really want to check out what you are working on...
 
here's a little quickie of what I'm building. It's using the ILSCO parts that J has suggested, as well as the smaller similar partsfrom Home Depot.

I'll be mounting my baseplate (with a little bit of cutting, but it's a cheap one so I don't mind) between and on top of the middle parts.

Pictures will come tomorrow evening of the baseplate and the follow focus. Don't have the digicam,so just gonna take shots with my DVX so I can at least chronicle the build step by step.

baseplate-sketch.jpg
 
Using the Ilsco pieces (TA-350 since my rods are 16mm) . this is to show how i connected the middle pieces together. (smaller pieces found at Home Depot)

base-support-joins.jpg


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Without Tripod Plate. I had to attach another plate at the bottom to come flush with the rod connectors.
base-without-tipod-plate.jpg


With Tripod Plate
base-complete-bottom.jpg



This is the complete piece:
base-complete.jpg


Hope this helps. For the additional parts I had some aluminum strips lying around that were the perfect width between the rod connectors. I was able to saw those into 3 pieces, for the plates on top and bottom (for support) of the connectors and then for the tripod plate. The parts where the tripod screw into, those can be found at your friendly neighbour hood camera store. I scavenged mine from old cameras around the house, plastic and otherwise.
 
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Hey, CLD what kinda lens you got? The Focus Gear I got fit my canon FD lens perfectly (except for having to add the strips of padding that came with the Focus Gear). Ikelite makes a variety of models for different lenses..
 
i got the nikon version puck... it does fit, but since i got a bunch of varieties of lenses, ranging from up to an inch difference in diameter, I had to cut it and use the clamps from home depot. That actually works pretty well, IMO..

your baseplate looks pretty good.. nice and sturdy. One thing I notice about my baseplate is that the metal rods that holds the quick release plate is flexible a bit, so maybe I can get thicker connectors, it might be sturdier.

I did a quick test FF around my house.. not so bad.. works pretty well.. All I need now is something to line up against the whiteboard..
 
my design is definitely sturdy without any bendy bits. everythign pretty much fits together edge to edge and once it's all aligned and screwed together, it's snug and solid as a rock.

you should try it out. I notice on your baseplate that the aluminum seems to bend just a little in the middle between the connectors.

I just built my support braces. will post pics soon.
 
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