ANyone interested in a $299 Follow Focus?

I am working on a remote controlled camera system. It has tracking, pan and tilt, but i haven't come up with a way to do the focus, I wonder if i took apart the servos from one of my lenses, I could do focus that way... Hmmm.
 
Damn, I'm knee deep in volume 2, and now you want a follow focus!? I'll see what I can do, but no promises. Lucidz, yes you could absolutely make a remote follow focus with servos made for remote control cars. You'll need to get a speed controller that not only handles the pan and tilt of the two motors for the camera, but one that has a third control for the servo. Take a look at this one: http://www.vantec.com/rdfr.htm

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
 
vjbrennan said:
Volume 2! Alright Dan. Any hints on what's inside?
Click to expand...

Well, the biggies are a full steadicam rig (with a fully custom vest for the builder--very cool!) and a tire dolly with wheels that crab. Among other cool stuff: boom pole with shock mic mount, motorized pan and tilt head for the cranes in the first book, working on a telepromter (seems to work so far), a shoulder mount, and hopefully I'll have room for some other stuff, but it's getting pretty fat. The first volume is almost 350 pages, and this one is looking to be about the same sized monster. In the first Volume, I tried to keep the rig designs so that anybody could build them. I've not saddled myself with that major problem in the 2nd, so a few of the rigs will be a little more difficult to make. Hopefull not too much so. I'll know better when I pass the book on to the beta builders.

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
 
ummm, can I be one of those? I haven't built everything in Volume 1, but there's nothing in there I CAN'T build. I'd love to have a peek. Your book has been a lifesaver to me. I recommend it all the time.
 
vjbrennan said:
ummm, can I be one of those? I haven't built everything in Volume 1, but there's nothing in there I CAN'T build. I'd love to have a peek. Your book has been a lifesaver to me. I recommend it all the time.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the recommendations. Well, like volume I, there will be step-by-step photos, so I'm sure you won't have any problems! But I guess I was referring more to the parts. As you know in the first one, I tried to design everything around pretty available parts. But when making a full stabilizer rig or a motorized pan/tilt head...some of those things just aren't at your local home depot!

Dan
www.dvcamerarigs.com
 
I would buy one, if it is made to fit the HVX200 and remote focus capable. Stabilizing shots need remote focus capability as well as some crane shots.
 
I would love to see a DIY matt box with rails!! Christ, $500 for a low end one is outrageous. Shouldn't be too difficult to build.

Also I would love to cheaply build my own light stands.

Is the new book shipping?

Maybe you should sell individual plans for the new stuff?

Ben

danslak said:
Thanks so much for the recommendations. Well, like volume I, there will be step-by-step photos, so I'm sure you won't have any problems! But I guess I was referring more to the parts. As you know in the first one, I tried to design everything around pretty available parts. But when making a full stabilizer rig or a motorized pan/tilt head...some of those things just aren't at your local home depot!

Dan
www.dvcamerarigs.com
Click to expand...
 
bena said:
I would love to see a DIY matt box with rails!! Christ, $500 for a low end one is outrageous. Shouldn't be too difficult to build.

Also I would love to cheaply build my own light stands.

Is the new book shipping?

Maybe you should sell individual plans for the new stuff?

Ben
Click to expand...

Hopefully the book will be ready by the Christmas Rush (some time in November). I'll probably be offering the full stabilizer plans to those who bought Volume I of "Killer Camera Rigs" a little early. Originally, volume 2 was to go to the printers much much sooner, but people kept requesting certain types of rigs, and I kept designing them. The initial outline for the book was a few harder to build rigs and the rest on lighting. But it looks like I'm going to have to put lighting in a 3rd volume. Once the writing is finished, it still has a battery of tests from beta builders to go through before I feel comfortable taking it to press or offering up the stabilizer plans just yet. But making progress! Thanks for asking!

As for light stands: Look into speaker stands:

http://www.guitarvision.com

Type "Speaker Stand" into their search engine. They run about $40 for some really solid ones that go up neary 7'. Can't make them for much less than that!

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
 
Dan, I'm a huge fan of the first book, though I can't find those stupid L brackets for the dolly anywhere....


Anyhow, a mattebox or just a rail system would be amazing and would pretty much guarantee a sale. I know there are 12mm (not 15mm unfortunately) rails at home depot for about next to nothing, and aluminum is cheap, as would be a 12mm drill bit I assume. So I can't see how this would be terribly hard to make, but I'm just too lazy to design it and I'm also better at destroying things than building them by an unfortunate margin.

By the way, which rigs in the first book would support my dvx with rails, a 35mm adapter, and a decent sized lens? They all seem pretty sturdy, but the dvx is getting heavier and heavier as I add more and more junk to it. Also, I totally thought of that remote controll car idea for a follow-focus but dismissed it immediately...at least I was on the right track--I should have more faith in myself!
 
I hope you can find the time to put in a matt box with rail system ;') That would get a sale out of me.

Are you going to be offering a free upgrade to v2 if you buy v1 before v2 is shipping?

danslak said:
Hopefully the book will be ready by the Christmas Rush (some time in November). I'll probably be offering the full stabilizer plans to those who bought Volume I of "Killer Camera Rigs" a little early. Originally, volume 2 was to go to the printers much much sooner, but people kept requesting certain types of rigs, and I kept designing them. The initial outline for the book was a few harder to build rigs and the rest on lighting. But it looks like I'm going to have to put lighting in a 3rd volume. Once the writing is finished, it still has a battery of tests from beta builders to go through before I feel comfortable taking it to press or offering up the stabilizer plans just yet. But making progress! Thanks for asking!

As for light stands: Look into speaker stands:

http://www.guitarvision.com

Type "Speaker Stand" into their search engine. They run about $40 for some really solid ones that go up neary 7'. Can't make them for much less than that!

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
Click to expand...
:laugh: :laugh:
 
Policar said:
I know there are 12mm (not 15mm unfortunately) rails at home depot for about next to nothing, and aluminum is cheap, as would be a 12mm drill bit I assume. So I can't see how this would be terribly hard to make, . . .
Click to expand...

Getting two parallel 15mm (or 12mm, for that matter) holes in a block of aluminum or whatever is easy...if you have a good drill press or borer.

Got one?

Me, either. :(

I wonder how much a machine shop would charge...

Dan
 
Policar said:
Dan, I'm a huge fan of the first book, though I can't find those stupid L brackets for the dolly anywhere....


Anyhow, a mattebox or just a rail system would be amazing and would pretty much guarantee a sale. I know there are 12mm (not 15mm unfortunately) rails at home depot for about next to nothing, and aluminum is cheap, as would be a 12mm drill bit I assume. So I can't see how this would be terribly hard to make, but I'm just too lazy to design it and I'm also better at destroying things than building them by an unfortunate margin.

By the way, which rigs in the first book would support my dvx with rails, a 35mm adapter, and a decent sized lens? They all seem pretty sturdy, but the dvx is getting heavier and heavier as I add more and more junk to it. Also, I totally thought of that remote controll car idea for a follow-focus but dismissed it immediately...at least I was on the right track--I should have more faith in myself!
Click to expand...

Shoot me an e-mail, and I give you a slew of alternatives for the brackets (though I'm surprised you can't find them!). I'm always available to help out, so don't hesitate to e-mail me if you run into trouble.

All the rigs will support the DVX with rails and 35mm adapter. Though, the stabilizer in Volume 1 is hand held, so maybe not a good idea unless your arm has been replaced by some sort of Robot/Human hybrid.

The rails are easy enough, it's the matte box with filter holders that is the tricky bit.

Dan
www.DvcameraRigs.com
 
bena said:
I hope you can find the time to put in a matt box with rail system ;') That would get a sale out of me.

Are you going to be offering a free upgrade to v2 if you buy v1 before v2 is shipping?


:laugh: :laugh:
Click to expand...

You're a laugh riot, mister! Unlike the latest computer program where they charge you for fixing their bugs, Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the book will have completely different rigs. Someone suggested "Son Of Killer Camera Rigs" for a title. I like it!

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
 
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