General Focus Levers, Do They Work??

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Dangerpays

Well-known member
Hey Everyone,

Anyone tried any of this type of focus solution for your DSLR rig? Seems like a good system and the price is certainly right :thumbsup:
http://monaceio.com/lever_focus.html

Cinevate makes a nice one, but if you ask me it is atrociously expensive for what it is:

FF_lever.jpg
 
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Hasselblad used to have something like this for the focus ring on their lenses. Called it a "rapid focus lever", I used it a lot and it made things go faster and smoother at a wedding.
 
Perfect. Thanks Bruce! I am mostly doing weddings at this time of year and I think it could be a great tool.
 
I just wrapped a 18 day shoot for an indie feature- all shot by me on my 7d- and I used an improvised(homemade) focus lever instead of a follow focus. It really suprised me by how smooth it worked. The only big problem was the lack of stops, so you just had to know where you were. But operation was very smooth. I used a 3 inch bolt, a pipe clamp and a rubber band.cost about 3 dollars.
 
Nice one! I have one like that I DIY'd myself, but these ones look slick which is important when you're in front of clients at times... I think that $12.99 shipped is very reasonable for this great looking focus solution.
 
Yeah, saw those on ebay too. I was just a little concerned about the fit if you are using a bit of a thicker lens... do you use them are wide angles, etc. that have a thicker diameter?
 
Dangerpays said:
Yeah, saw those on ebay too. I was just a little concerned about the fit if you are using a bit of a thicker lens... do you use them are wide angles, etc. that have a thicker diameter?
Click to expand...

I only use vintage Pentax Primes. They are all small. I was actually worried about them being to big for the small lenses. The largest I have is the kit lens that came with my T2i. On vacation now and my camera gear is in the same room as my sleeping baby. I'll test tomorrow and report.

So far though I like it. It is not a real proper follow focus, but for $3 I like the increased functionality over just the standard focusing with the lens.
 
Absolutely! What I like about this system is that it really cuts down on the size and weight of your rig. I have a relatively light bracket and rails system and a nice follow focus, but that certainly increases the bulk of my T2i, especially when I'm going run & gun...
 
Seems like the largest lens I own is my EF 75-300. It fits well enough but the focus on that lens makes using the a lever tricky. Seems like it would work for lenses that are slightly bigger as well.
 
I have a Panasonic 14-140mm MFT lens that I use on my GH2 with the official Panasonic DMW-ZL1 Zoom Lever. I have to admit that it works really well but it's a bit galling to have to pay $40+ for a 50c plastic widget that Panasonic should have included in the box with an $800 lens.
 
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