HELP! I need to rent a follow focus unit and have it shipped to Tucson

emccainaz

emccainaz

Member
I called Rush at EVS in LA today and was shocked to learn that they don't rent to anyone outside of LA. I was counting on renting a follow focus unit and matte box for a film and I'm shooting a week from tomorrow, so I gotta move fast. Are there any good rental places in LA or elsewhere that will ship to an out-of-towner??? This is my first film and I want to do it right, but I can't afford $2500 just for the follow focus unit. (by the way, will it fit the new Panasonic HD camera?)

Thanks,

Edward McCain
Tucson, AZ
 
pookie, any idea why follow focus units are so expensive? aren't they just a knob, a rod, and a sproket looking thing?

c.r.
 
Same reason matte boxes are... R&D costs. You spend $50,000 to develop something and then $100 per unit to manufacture, you have to look at how many you are going to sell. If you are going to sell 5000 units then you are looking at $110 a unit to break even, so even then you're looking at a product that will sell for 4x...

Hope this makes sense, its micro economics.
 
"aren't they just a knob, a rod, and a sproket looking thing"

Pretty much...

Theye were never intended for the "prosumer" market, they were for studio's use.
When consumer video became advanced enough and semi affordable, everyone wants one.
They cost so much, because thats what the market is willing to pay.

Simple.
 
RMI Studios said:
aren't they just a knob, a rod, and a sproket looking thing?
Click to expand...
In a word, yes. But, building a gear box with minimal backlash is terribly expensive. There are a half dozen or so companies that make sub-$1k FF and every one of them has unacceptable backlash. I mean, what's the point of having one if it isn't even accurate enough to perform the task it was created for?

Another reason some FF units are over $3k and up is because they have a high degree of adjustability to suit different styles of focus pulling. Chrosziel does make a very basic FF for around $1500, but it's only a single speed unit. The more expensive models have two different speeds and I think some are infitinely adjustable.

Bottom line is a good follow focus feels more fluid than *most* so-called "fluid" heads!

I have the basic Chrosziel and it's fantastic, even though it's only single speed. I can verify it is smoother than ANY Bogen head I've ever used and *almost* as smooth as my Cartoni head. There is no perceivable backlash. It was worth every penny, if you ask me. I'm not made of money, but this is one purchase I'm very happy with. You get what you pay for. Gearboxes with this level of precision are expensive.
 
Sorry Ed, wish we could've taken care of that for you, but for more reasons than I can list, we had to put a stop to shipping rentals. It was bankrupting us, because people would damage DVX's then refuse to pay for them, and without a signed check sheet, we had no leg to stand on with the credit card companies. You can also try Abel Cine, see if they will ship. Jerrod from Abel is a member here.
 
Rush said:
Sorry Ed, wish we could've taken care of that for you, but for more reasons than I can list, we had to put a stop to shipping rentals. It was bankrupting us, because people would damage DVX's then refuse to pay for them, and without a signed check sheet, we had no leg to stand on with the credit card companies. You can also try Abel Cine, see if they will ship. Jerrod from Abel is a member here.
Click to expand...

No problem Rush, you have been so helpful in the past, and I understand you can't affort to rent to bad apples. Too bad they spoil it for the rest of us. I will also try Abel Cine and see what they say. If not, I may be crawling back to you <grin>.

I still need to get a few things from you. Can I get the DVXUser Discount if I use the web to buy stuff?

Edward
 
No sir you have to call in to my guys or me. I'll be at the DVexpo show all next week (W, Th, F) with tada! an HVX200 at my booth! So just ask for Tommy, Randy, or Ramzi and they will get you taken care of. :)
 
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