Remote follow focus for £150/$300

Yeah, the battery pack is compact and everything, but only puts out 6v and not as much current as a vlock.

It runs fine, but when you turn the motor, the current available drops and the lamps flicker. If this dosn't bother you, then I dont think using the battery pack is going to be much of an issue.

Il post a comparison video.
 
alekstef said:
The motor will just be running a bit slower. Obviously it is not optimal, but it will work fine unless you really need fast turning speed.
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Well that's basically equivalent to having play in your gear. Not really acceptable for an AC or for fast focus rack.
 
Huy Vu said:
Well that's basically equivalent to having play in your gear. Not really acceptable for an AC or for fast focus rack.
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I must remind you that the battery pack is ment to be a backup power source. If he choose to use it as his primary power source, that's fine, but he can't expect full performance.
 
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Huy Vu said:
Well that's basically equivalent to having play in your gear. Not really acceptable for an AC or for fast focus rack.
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Is nothing like having play in the gears. The HoFo has no play at all (less than all manual FF's i have ever used)

The problem is, AAs cant provide as much juice as V locks. To produce a battery that will provide the same performance as a vlock battery would cost as much as just using a vlock battery.

I know some people are on a budget, im just providing a solution to these people.

Im not one to leave anyone out. :-)
 
If you look at servo specs, manufacturers list two specs: one at 4.8V and at 6.0V

If you run the 4xAA pack with rechargeables, you will have 4 x 1.2V = 4.8V so the servo will run at less power and less speed (and I am assuming less noise). Since Peter is suggesting running it through a 12V power supply, I am also assuming that you will be able to run the HoFo with any power supply from 4.8V - 12V.

If you have a 5 or 6 AA battery pack, I am fairly certain that you will be able to run the HoFo at full speed. Of course, Peter will have to verify that but it's not hard to rig yourself a 6xAA battery pack. The convenience with the 4xAA battery pack is that there are commercially available enclosed ones that have a built-in switch that allows you to turn the battery pack off. I haven't seen any 5 or 6 AA battery packs that are enclosed with the switch.

Of course, you can get 6.0V with the 4xAA battery pack by using non-rechargeable alkaline batteries since they hold 1.5V each.

Either way, running at lower voltage should not introduce any play in the gear since they are not related.
 
I'm looking forward to the wireless HoFo FF.

I was also researching into a still "Remote but Wired FF" alternative and to date couldn't locate one nicely completed/packaged solution either.

where it would be just the thinnest possible wire that will supply power and controlling running to the motor on the rails.
the focus puller will have to walk next to the camera operator with the steadicam but if the wire is so thin and flexible it wont interfere.
the control unit would have the knob and power.

the rails would only hold the small motor then (no power on rails, no wireless needed accessories)

is something like this an option? just a thought.

Pete will u ever be developing smth like this? Perhaps a cheaper wired HoFo option?

or does anyone know of anything on the market that does this?
i saw some DYIs like this: http://www.vimeo.com/1232129, but none are properly packaged to my knowledge. and dyi must be pretty hard getting the necessary knobs, threads, packaging, etc...
 
Well to maintain accuracy using a motor like this, the wire needs to be as short as possible.

What I would do, if I were to do this at all, would be to send the signal using RS232, which would mean there would have to be a powered decoder device on the camera.

This will cost as much as the wireless one.


I dont really plan on making a wired version, but the wireless one is very affordable and focus pulling on a wire is a pain in the arse, and to any experienced steadcaim op, a thin wire does make a difference....
 
A thin wire is a risk for technical failure. An op may pull away sharply (for many reasons) either breaking the connection or ruining the shot.

Any cable running from the op (fiber,sound, dual link HD-SDI...etc) has to be threaded and balanced throught the sled, off the gimble, across the arm and looped through the vest before running free to a spotter.
 
Reasonable-size update:

So it looks like im going to NAB, I have hijacked someone elses stand. Im officially there to sell another product (unannounced) which I am designing for a broadcast company but will have the HoFo under the counter, so come and say hello.

Also will be at Broadcast Live in London, and IBC in Amsterdam.

Also got some other products that im sure you would be interested in.
 
I'll be there. I will definitely stop by, if you have time I'll introduce you to Jim Bartell (Bartech). He is a great guy and he loves to meet young innovators.
 
Hi,

I do have an update.

I had a meeting with the elelctronics company today and we have changed the internal wiring and electronics to make assmebly faster, and more cost effective, and in the very unlikely event of a failure, it also makes repairing much easier.

I have also settled with laser engraving on both the RX and TX. I am just waiting for the machine shop to get back to me with sample parts and then I can start ordering bits for the first run.
 
Drawing on the experience of some people I have worked with on this, im not going to give any price details until all the quotes are back in. It will be very reasonable.

First batch will be about March time.
 
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