F55: Arri MFF-2 Follow Focus

A

ArcherShot

Member
Hey guys - I'm having difficulty getting smooth focus pulls on close up objects with a Zeiss Cp2 85mm + Arri MFF-2. There is a great deal of vibration occurring.

I'm moving over from photography, and I'm learning these skills as I go.

Is this a practice issue, possibly a gearing problem, or something else?

Any recommendations to ensure a smooth, vibrationless focus pull?

Thank you!

Chris
 
I think I figured it out, but the solution created a new issue.

The vibration appears to be due to the fact that the camera is slid all the way forward beyond a good center of gravity on the head.

When I move the camera back over the tripod head, the vibration disappears completely.

Unfortunately, with the Zeiss lenses and the recorder, the camera is very back heavy!!

Any work arounds there?
 
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First image: Camera not balanced, but no vibration during pull.
Second Image: Camera balanced, but vibration occurring during pull.

photo 1.jpg

photo 2.jpg
 
I can't tell what your mounting system is but in the second picture though you may have the weight balanced over the head, but it looks like it might be unstable because the base plates are not physically centered on the head, so there is ample opportunity for it to want to get "bouncy. "Hope that's understandable - there is probably a more articulate way to say it. Looks like you need a better more centered mounting system.
 
No offense but you should meet up with a real cinematographer and get some advice. It looks like you spent a huge amount of money without the basic knowledge to even set up a camera remotely correctly. In this case, you are flexing the mounting system with a radically unbalanced set-up.

I'm really curious how you justified that expenditure, not to mention the tripod head, without several years of experience in professional DP work and I don't mean this to sound negative but...

And please excuse me if you are just renting this stuff to play with.
 
That looks really unbalanced. I'm not saying my setup is ideal for everyone, but the Vocas base plate is very practical with the extended length of the R5(and balanced).
OLED01.jpg
 
Shoots56 said:
No offense but you should meet up with a real cinematographer and get some advice. It looks like you spent a huge amount of money without the basic knowledge to even set up a camera remotely correctly. In this case, you are flexing the mounting system with a radically unbalanced set-up.

I'm really curious how you justified that expenditure, not to mention the tripod head, without several years of experience in professional DP work and I don't mean this to sound negative but...

And please excuse me if you are just renting this stuff to play with.
Click to expand...

No offense taken. After a career in tech, I moved to photography. I've been working in the field for about 10 years now. My work is leading me to a narrative place. That being said:

Put yourself in my shoes, if you had a strong background in lighting, ideas for content, access to talent to create those ideas, and money, would you purchase a BMW, go to gradschool or purchase gear to fully realize your ambitions? I like creating, now. Granted, I need to learn video basics and mechanical methodology. No problem, technical issues can be solved to get to the good stuff, the content. The tripod system just came in and the camera's center of gravity is off, no problem. Fix the issue, and move on. There are always issues, there are always solutions.

Learning on a 4K system that will be relevant for years to come doesn't sound like such a bad idea once you run the numbers, if you can afford the upfront cost. Renting a F55 with recorder + lenses + tripod runs about $1500/day. I've used the camera 45 days already. It makes more sense for me to own it, and to really learn the system myself.

I considered purchasing a C300 to reduce costs, but why add a layer of redundancy by learning on a lower tier system? When you do upscale systems, you will most likely sell the old system for a loss and learn new processes anyway.

Furthermore, beyond the camera itself, mastering a 4k workflow is an imperative to be relevant in the future. Why wait to learn it? It doesn't make sense to learn a DSLR/mid-tier workflow and develop habits that don't translate and upscale to a 4k+ workflow.

Finally, owning this system puts a fire under my ass to learn, and to seek out and develop amazing content.

You only live once, and I can't bear to make things look s*%tty.
 
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ArcherShot if that is an O'Connor 1030 tripod head, I would recommend you go with a dovetail plate system which will give you a longer base track on which to mount and slide your carmera pkg more fore and aft. Element Technica (Elements) makes the Micron system which a couple of people here use. There is also the more traditional ARRI dovetail plate system. If you indeed have the 1030 head, there is an ARRI dovetail made to go directly on the head. Element Technica makes one and Allstar makes one as well. If it isn't a 1030 head you can opt in for one of the more lightweight Wooden Camera dovetails. You will also have to get a bridgeplate to go with the dovetail. If you go this route don't rush in. Spend some time weighing the options.

This should solve your problem.

Allstar:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Allstar-ARRI-dovetail-for-O-connor-1030-fluid-head-/221042935891

Micron / Elements

https://elementtechnica.mybigcommerce.com/the-micron-standard/

Elements O'Connor 1030 dovetail

https://elementtechnica.mybigcommerce.com/arri-dovetail-1030-9/https://elementtechnica.mybigcommerce.com/arri-dovetail-1030-9/

Wooden Camera Lightweight Dovetail

http://woodencamera.com/Safety-Dovetail-12.html

Wooden Camera Bridgeplates and other dovetails:

http://woodencamera.com/Camera-Support-Sony/
 
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Thanks for the help Andrew - It is a 1030 head, and it will be nice to have things sorted with the dovetail system.

Cheers!
 
Couple things:

1-If you want to keep the camera built like that with those CP primes, you'll have to go with some sort of dovetail/baseplate system. The balance mech in the top stage of the 1030 is not going to cut it.

2-The Arri LW15 baseplate you bought was designed with larger studio zooms in mind, that's why the foot goes so far out in front of the mount. You have built in the other direction, making the camera heavier in the wrong direction and on top of that using a particularly light, short lens.

If you want to keep your existing Arri LW15 baseplate, you'll need to get a BP-9 studio baseplate and maybe the ET Arri 1030 dovetail, where you'll have the option of going directly to the top casting of the 1030.

Problems like this will have you thinking twice about if you really need that Jetpack on the back if you're not really using it, because it's exacerbating your problem.

If in the future those are the only lenses you wind up using, I'd look into replacing the Arri LW15 baseplate with another that doesn't assume that you'll be using long lenses with a short body. I have the Element Micron system, and also have the pieces to make it full-size studio, and it seems to be much more "balance agnostic".
 
Yep I second Nate on the ET system. I started with a VCT 14 (Sony) type system, and picked up a ET Micron just to give it a go. It's small, simple, light, comfortable on the shoulder, and surprisingly solid for it's size. And it's great for quickly adjusting your balance if you are changing configurations.
 
powervideo said:
That looks really unbalanced. I'm not saying my setup is ideal for everyone, but the Vocas base plate is very practical with the extended length of the R5(and balanced).
View attachment 79866
Click to expand...

+1 on a vct style baseplate. I use a shape 6000 with my f3 setup, and the 2 points of contact front and back really secure the camera weight over the tripod head.
 
Back where we started... the Arri MFF2 is terrific by the way. Agree with all the comments on support. I find the Shape gear very heavy, although very solid. Arri and Vocas both offer nice alternatives. You might go over all this with someone at AbelCine who can help you pit together a system that works for you. They have seen most of the erector set solutions for the F3 and can advise you about what works best.
 
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