New Arriflex Follow Focus MFF-1

Wow, thats pretty nice. Ive pulled with Arri FF4 and 5 before and they were amazing, if this is anything up to the build or durability of the FF4 and 5 then this should be good...

Its nice that Arri are starting to recognise the little film makers out there.
 
$3700 is for the whole kit (Matte Box, Rails and FF). I like the fact that you can reverse the gears so you can pull focus properly with nikon lenses and the like....
 
That follow focus really has my eye. If you look closely, the clamp is open ended, meaning if you want to flip it to the other side, just loosen and lift. Not more removing the mattebox to switch sides. The reverseable gearing is pretty awesome too. What I want to know is how much the mattebox alone is. I've concluded my RR MB is just too big, it's donut system sucks, has no clip on, and the rods bump into the MB. If the Arri is within 4 to 500 dollars of my RR MB then you'll find my RR MB at marketplace.
 
judging from the total price of $3700 I would estimate the FF and the mattbox to be each around $1500 and the rails about $700. I wrote an email to arri to find out what the FF costs. I will keep u updated as soon as I know more...
 
Hai,

In the Netherlands you can buy the followfocus for €1450, Mattebox for € 1015 and the Rodsystem for €300 without tax. Normaly in the USA it's the same amount in $. So $1450 for the followfocus etc.

Ciao Marco
QBFOX productions
 
unfortunately in the US they won't be breaking the packages up (at least initially).

i should be receiving a package by the end of the month. anyone interested in the matte box and support? i simply need the follow focus.
 
In the video, the Arri rep says the mmb1 has 4x5.65 filter stages, but made no mention of other filter sizes-notably 4x4 which work fine with the smaller cameras and are a lot cheaper too.
I'm hoping they offer 4x4 filter stages. Those larger filters are bloody expensive.
 
I was at abel cine tech in NYC the other day and they had the FF and MB on the EX-1,
The follow focus is awesome, such a great feel.
They do sell the bundle or you can buy them individually.
 
I played with the new Arri FF at Abel and it's most impressive. Here are the features I like:

- Detaches from the rods without having to take off MB. Saves time for switching to "dumb" side.
- Box and gearing movement is top notch. As smooth as any of their top of the line FF.
- You can flip gear box so focus knob goes in the right direction for Nikon lenses
- Virtually no discernable backlash/play.
- Great hard stop system. Very fast to adjust and lock. Amazing feature not even on their high end stuff.
- Gear can flip sides by unscewing a small bolt and then re-attaching to the otherside. Necessary for flipping to the right side.

Now for the bad news:
- The one I tested had slight but noticeable play between the focus knob and box (not in the gearing itself). Some may find this splitting hairs but I'd find it annoying with long lenses and reversing direction. This connection from knob to shaft needs to have no play at all.
- No small gear available. This comes in handy for lenses with small focus draws (Nikon 17-35, 50mm 1.4, etc)


So how does it square with its competition: The Chrosziel DV FF.

- It's gearing action feels as solid. Though I like the Chrosziel's dampening better.
- The ability to pull it directly off the rods is feature Chrosziel doesn't have, which I think should be standard on all single sided FF's.
- Chrosziel has the small gear. Which brings me to gears. Chrosziel's gears just pull straight out. No small bolt to loosen and pull. While the bolt system on Arri may look more secure, the Chrosziel gears have no chance of falling out as the tension is more than adequate. Also, the "pop out" gears of Chrosziel makes changing gears faster and eliminates the possibility of losing the tiny bolt on Arri. When switching lenses being able to switch from large to small gear quickly is big feature Chrosziel has over Arri.

- Build: Both are top of their class and approach similar issues differently. Arri has a well machined knob for every angle as where Chrosziel looks mind numbingly simple with fewer parts.
- No sophisticated hard stop on the Chrosziel. Though I like its marker better.
- Because of the simplicity of the Chrosziel aside from taking it on and off, I feel it's quicker to re adjust for lens changes. Just one knob - that's it. As where the Arri involves loosening the rod adjustment and then adjusting the articulating arm.

In summary, the Arri looks more impressive on first glance and has some clear advantages. But the simplicity of the Chrosziel and what I feel is a slightly better movement with no play on the knob gives it a slight edge for me. For some, being able to switch the direction for Nikons is a top feature. I think alot people make a bigger deal than it is for an AC to have to go in the other direction. None of my AC's have found an issue as some folks make it to be. They're quite clever and get used to it in seconds.

If Arri takes care of the play on the knob and offer a small gear, it would be a coin toss.
 
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Closer to 1800.00 for the FF. The whole package (MB, FF, Support) is a good deal. The Arri MB is the real deal. The craftsmanship on it is nothing short of amazing. This was definitely a well aimed broadside at Chrosziel. If I had the extra scratch lying around that would be my next buy.
 
Any word when the Arri 4x4 filter trays become available? It's going to take a while before i can replace my 4x4 collection with P - size filters, not to mention the $$$$$$.
 
I havent heard anything. That was the same issue I had. I ended up getting the Chrosziel 450 Mattebox and bought the Arri MFF-1 separate from Abel. It comes in this Thursday...can't wait!
 
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