Remote follow focus for £150/$300

All good:beer:

Looking forward photos of the new prototype and maybe a new "in action" vid...
Keep up the good work!
 
Hello again,

need to ask a quick question.

Im not happy with the size of the new receiver case. its HUGE. the main problem is the batteries (four AA size). Im wondering, I can dump the AA battery drawer on the case, and instead supply the HoFo with an external plug-in battery pack. This will keep the receiver size nice and small, and MUCH lighter. If your using acessory power then you use it with acessory power, but if you dont have a vlok or similar power system, you can just plug the external battery pack in.

Sound good?

The alternative is some huge receiver case....
 
Hm, I would rather have the battery options because if I'm out in the field for a long time without recharging option then it would be nice to just be able to bring along batteries to replace.
 
Yeah you can still use AA batteries as before, but im talking about having the batteries in an external battery box, not built into the receiver. If I have the batteries built into the RX box then it will be HUGEEEeee, too big to use practically, and bigger than the camera if your using an HV20
/adatper rig.....
 
How long is battery life for the HoFo and 4 AAs? What about using only 2? Changing batteries ain´t a big deal as long as there´s an indicator for "low batt"...
 
I'd be fine with external power only for the RX. Most of the time I'll be using it with Red, where AKS power won't be a problem. For the other rigs, I'd be fine with hanging an extra battery box somewhere. It would also allow extra flexibility for redistributing weight on the notoriously front heavy 35mm adapter rigs.
 
Well the primary power input for the hofo should always be 4pin XLR, which delivers more current so allows for faster pulling. The AA battery is purely a backup power supply or for those that dont have a 4pin XLR power supply.

Obviously the battery life for the AAs varies depending upon how much you use the unit, but id say normal film set use would see a set of AAs last about 5-6 hours. There is a low battery indicator anyway, but as ive said, the AAs are intended as a backup power supply. A Vlock battery will power it for days on end.


Does anyone have a major problem with an external battery pack because it seems to be the cure to the problem...
 
I hadnt read this thread for a long time. You really did knock this one for six mate. Well done.
 
hoarp001 said:
Does anyone have a major problem with an external battery pack because it seems to be the cure to the problem...
Click to expand...

I don't know.. Do you feel luck with external battery pack fixed with velcro on your SGpro adapter? I am not! But, on the other way I would be happy if the same battery pack would have strong enought magnets for attaching it to SGpro.

I think external battery pack with magnets and metal rod mount would be a solution..

:beer:
 
ya i'm not too thrilled about the way the SGpro uses their external battery pack but i suppose i should look into getting an external battery solution for a monitor etc... in the future anyways so i'm fine with it if it reduces to size substantially.
 
Hi,

The problem with the SGpro and its external battery, is the SGpro unit was covered in lens mounts and flip units and handles and stuff. The HoFo receiver has nothing over its two biggest sides, its totaly flat, so the battery pack can easily be attached to one of the flat sides to keep it out of the way.

Magnets are a great idea, but they would interfere with the electronics so cannot be used.

I honestly think a substantial elastic band would be the best solution here....


Its not totaly out of the question to still use the larger case with the internal batteries, but if your the kind of person who has 4pin XLR power anyway, the size will get on your nerves.

Il take a side by side photo of the two size options and see what you think....
 
Oh also, having an external battery pack like this is also good because it means I can later develop a plug-in rechargeable battery pack with no modifications to the hocus focus needed.
 
Here is a photo comparing the two options side by size. As you can see, the receiver with the internal batteries is substantially bigger than the receiver with external batteries.

The external battery pack sits neatly on the back of the receiver and is about 15mm thick. It plugs into the receiver and its included in the price.

As I have said, the batteries are a backup power source, it is not intended to be the only power soruce (although this will work fine). Anyone using the hofo receiver should use a 4pin XLR power supply like a vlock plate or a battery belt or steadicam sled etc. Because of this, I feel it is abit pointless having a huge receiver at the expense of batteries which shouldn't really be used very often.

Also the lanyard loop is in this photo, bottom of the transmitter.
hofobattery.jpg
 
I like the smaller one as well. Currently, on my Flyer LE I can only pull power for my camera through the 4-pin XLR, so having the external battery pack will be necessary, but as I upgrade and expand, it will be nice to have the option to power the receiver through my sled (one that has a j-box and such). I also like the smaller form factor. It seems like you could just gaff tape the sucker on there and it'd be fine. 4 AA batteries aren't that heavy.
The lanyard loop looks good too!
 
Hi Ogopogogoogosdo

You can get a splitter to power the receiver too.

Il make one and stick it in the optinal upgrades thing on the website. Theres no point using AAs if youve got accessory power available...
 
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