Follow Focus
- Thread starter ksteiger
- Start date
Stephen Mick
Totally Usable
Check out the Edelkrone, Tilta III, and Lanparte follow focuses.
I bought the Gini iFocus (make sure it's the latest model) and it is excellent. There is very, very little backlash. Like all Gini products, it's really well made (all metal) and think it's about $200 to $250 off Ebay. By far the best follow focus for the price.
Here's a cheesycam review
http://cheesycam.com/latest-gini-follow-focus-ifocus-review/
My friend got the TrusMT follow focus and he seems to like it as well, but it's not as simple as the Gini. I like how the Gini is set up on 1 rod as it makes it really quick to set up,
Here's a cheesycam review
http://cheesycam.com/latest-gini-follow-focus-ifocus-review/
My friend got the TrusMT follow focus and he seems to like it as well, but it's not as simple as the Gini. I like how the Gini is set up on 1 rod as it makes it really quick to set up,
legrevedotcom
Veteran
I bought the Tilta DSLR Offset kit.... you get quite a lot of gear for very little money, and one of the parts is the very nice Tilta Follow Focus 3. Seriously, for that price, that is one nice piece of FF.
Add to that you get 2 whips, a crank, 3 cogs in different speeds and 3 zip gears (the tilta zip gears are the best I've tried so far, they are tool less, but sit tight)
http://www.cinegearpro.com/tilta-ff...et-shoulder-rig-w-2kg-counter-weight-148.html
And hey.... you can rebuild that offset kit to work with the FS camera.
Add to that you get 2 whips, a crank, 3 cogs in different speeds and 3 zip gears (the tilta zip gears are the best I've tried so far, they are tool less, but sit tight)
http://www.cinegearpro.com/tilta-ff...et-shoulder-rig-w-2kg-counter-weight-148.html
And hey.... you can rebuild that offset kit to work with the FS camera.
Michael Erlewine
Well-known member
I have the Edelkrone Follow Focus, plus their slider and Modula 5. This is the BEST quality equipment, as good as RRS, or better. Their FF is ingenious and smooth...and faces the operator. No need for a focus operator.
Their slider is the most compact and, again, brilliantly ingenious.
Their slider is the most compact and, again, brilliantly ingenious.
paulcurtis
Veteran
I have the edelkrone and a lanparte. I don't like the edelkrone, it attaches via a single clamp to the rail and it's quite easy to move it in use. It's not damped either. The lanparte is a better FF but it's really heavy (IMHO). I'm looking to perhaps get a better, more light weight one so i'm interested in other opinions.
I think one aspect that is often overlooked is that what you're gearing the FF into is very important - i'm guessing that what a lot of people call backlash is actually the teeth not meshing correctly allowing some wobble and leeway. Those plastic gears you wrap around flex open as they are wrapped, which opens up the teeth and therefore don't always mesh 100% with the gear. The harder big plastic ones that you clamp around seem to fare a bit better but they're pretty unwieldy. To be honest i've not found an ideal solution for me and i think it's the single biggest point of failure. If you cannot 'feel' the focus then you may as well pull off the barrel of the lens (as i've ended up doing), especially with non cine lenses. That's the irony, we're trying to find a cost effective solution to a problem that's harder to solve than those $4k follow focus units are designed for.
Also you have to be careful on the 100/700 because pushing the gear into the teeth to mesh properly can quite visibly move the lens mount, hence lens support is important for FF units. There's a lot of overhead to getting a FF working and mounted correctly - again, compared to just pulling off a barrel direct?
I've tried all sorts of alternatives, handles that clamp around and god knows what. I'm tempted to try and design something and see if i can make it but, well, time and all that.
I do sometimes wonder whether a FF is just a 'stamp of making a camera look the nuts' i know in some cases with an AC it's vital, but if it's just you then doing it the old way is pretty reliable...
Now to contradict myself - anyone played with the microfollowfocus blue and compared to the cheap arri or o-conner?
thanks
paul
I think one aspect that is often overlooked is that what you're gearing the FF into is very important - i'm guessing that what a lot of people call backlash is actually the teeth not meshing correctly allowing some wobble and leeway. Those plastic gears you wrap around flex open as they are wrapped, which opens up the teeth and therefore don't always mesh 100% with the gear. The harder big plastic ones that you clamp around seem to fare a bit better but they're pretty unwieldy. To be honest i've not found an ideal solution for me and i think it's the single biggest point of failure. If you cannot 'feel' the focus then you may as well pull off the barrel of the lens (as i've ended up doing), especially with non cine lenses. That's the irony, we're trying to find a cost effective solution to a problem that's harder to solve than those $4k follow focus units are designed for.
Also you have to be careful on the 100/700 because pushing the gear into the teeth to mesh properly can quite visibly move the lens mount, hence lens support is important for FF units. There's a lot of overhead to getting a FF working and mounted correctly - again, compared to just pulling off a barrel direct?
I've tried all sorts of alternatives, handles that clamp around and god knows what. I'm tempted to try and design something and see if i can make it but, well, time and all that.
I do sometimes wonder whether a FF is just a 'stamp of making a camera look the nuts' i know in some cases with an AC it's vital, but if it's just you then doing it the old way is pretty reliable...
Now to contradict myself - anyone played with the microfollowfocus blue and compared to the cheap arri or o-conner?
thanks
paul
ksteiger
Well-known member
My problem is that I do mostly run and gun for live music performance. I never know where a performer is going to move next. (That's a lot of fun with the amount of lag time this camera exhibits in the EVF...) When I was using a Panasonic HPX170 I relied heavily on a cheap but very effective Varizoom controller which gave me excellent control over zoom, exposure and focus in a single small unit. Now that the servo zoom is imminent I am tearing my hair out because there seems to be no way of achieving the same result with the FS 700. And taking one hand off the handles of my rig to focus doesn't do a lot for my shooting style, lol...
But the image is just so far superior that I really want to solve this dilemma. Maybe it calls for a new thread...
But the image is just so far superior that I really want to solve this dilemma. Maybe it calls for a new thread...
paulcurtis
Veteran
When you operate and do your own focus you tend to use the FF as stabilisation as well. So you need to be mindful of the forces you're placing on the FF, Lens and the mount. I'm not sure there are FF designed with this in mind but doing your own focus is much more common at this pricepoint.
I'd guess the HPX has a much greater DOF?
Which EVF are you using and is it HDMI or SDI? I don't want to hijack the thread but i've been considering the cineroid retina one because i think it would make for better handholding that my SmallHD monitor out on an arm (nice though it is)
cheers
paul
I would highly recommend Alphatron EVF over Cinedroid! It's relatively in the same price range but Alphatron is build much much better, usability is better too, same features. I used both(Also Zacuto EVF), so definitely I think Alphatron wins as the best 3rd party EVF out there for right now. Check my Alphatron EVF In Depth Review which I did last week, with some interesting somewhat exclusive information regarding upcoming firmware upgrade with waveform and vectroscope. Here http://www.khachik-mkrtchyan.com/alphatron-evf-035w-in-depth-review/
Silly self promotion
paulcurtis
Veteran
Khachik,
That's very useful and good to know, any idea of dates for the new firmware or how it would work. It's the waveform/vectorscope that interests me the most
thanks
Paul
That's very useful and good to know, any idea of dates for the new firmware or how it would work. It's the waveform/vectorscope that interests me the most
thanks
Paul
It should be released very soon. I'm assuming they are waiting to release closer to NAB time, but they might do it earlier.
To be honest, I have no idea which settings would be the best (you can tweak the colors to match fs700), I just personally never done it because FS700 on board screen colors arent the most precise. I have it in default settings, which I think is quite qood.
Sorry for the off topic btw, this is my last messag.
ksteiger
Well-known member
I have the Alphatron EVF and absolutely love it. I just quickly set it up by eye to match the look of the LCD screen when I first bought it. I haven't noticed any glaring discrepancies between what I see and what I shoot.
But yeah that EVF is beautiful I must say.
Yes HPX is much wider DOF, and lately I have been shooting in instances where I need to zoom in quite a bit, making the field even more narrow.
But yeah that EVF is beautiful I must say.
Yes HPX is much wider DOF, and lately I have been shooting in instances where I need to zoom in quite a bit, making the field even more narrow.