chrosziel follow focus

M

matthewd5

Veteran
i am considering the chrosziel focus gear.

to be clear, this is the wheel on the side that you turn that in turn through various gears turns the focus on the camera manually for people too lazy to reach further in.

had to explain that because whenever i hear the phrase follow focus i think its a box the actor wears and the camera box adjusts focus automatically based on how far they are away from the cam.

has anyone got this? i'd love to hear any firsthand feedback.

matthew
 
Re: chrosziel follow focus

I myself don't have it, but it's really worth getting if you do a lot of motion shots. It makes focusing so much easier(and easier if you have a focus puller). If most of your shots are static, you don't really need to use follow focus and you could dave a lot of money.
 
Re: chrosziel follow focus

i always thought the focus puller was a horrible waste of money but that was when i was doing run and gun and some static stuff, but now i'm envisioning more and more doly/crane work with an occasional assistant.

so moving focus is becoming more and more important.

matthew
 
Re: chrosziel follow focus

It sounds like a waste of money....till you use one. ;)

I've been using a remote (with a puller) for years, and years, and years......I must be getting old.
 
Re: chrosziel follow focus

You'll need an experienced 1st AC to do all the focus pulling. I think moving shots is what makes your movie a movie. But getting that focus while the person is moving around is tough! If I had money to spend, I would get the follow focus system for my dvx. It would be difficult for me to pull focus and operate at the same time.. If you do get one.. have fun with it. :)
 
Re: chrosziel follow focus

Hey Matt, There are a few New suppliers on eBay for under 500.oo, don't know about the quality. I have the one from JBKcine, $1000. Kinda poor quatity. The Chrosziel one is nice but the scale is on the top. Strange. If you can, get an old ARRI one, Light weight. They are the best. And Pookie's right, once you start, you see how much more natural it is. I use mine always.

Good Luck !

Steve
 
Just bought an ex-demo JBKCinequipt FF-201/15 follow focus off Ebay.

Looks less well engineered than the pictures of the Chrosziels, but can't really complain as it was a fraction of the price! Also, as it's driven by a toothed belt and less well enclosed, I might be able to more easily adapt it to work with a DIY radio remote focus when it's on a crane or steadicam support. There is a small, probably insignificant, amount of backlash (JBK say <10' - not sure if that is seconds of angle). Their more expensive FF-202 model claims half the backlash.

It works fine except I have a Chrosziel base plate and rods which sits further forward than JBKCine's own rods system. Together with the bulkier (greater depth) of the JBK, this gives only just enough clearance and takes quite a bit of messing around to get the drive gear to line up in the same plane as the focus ring. Both their DVX100 focus ring and supplied drive gear are cine style Mod. 0.8 ( Film 32 Pitch)

It would also just about mount on the right hand side except that part of the gearbox housing fouls on the standard lens hood. May try and trim part of the housing off.

Gear ratio is about 3:1. That is, it takes about 3 turns of the focus knob for 1 turn of the focus ring.

Question for kai: Can you tell me what gear ratio is the Chrosziel please?

Also, anyone know anything about the Cavision version?

Thanks for any info!
 
Now that I think about it, I could probably build my own follow focus system from guitar tuning machines. They work on the same principle, you just need to add a couple of more parts to it.

Hmmmm.... I actually should try that some time.
 
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