Remote follow focus for £150/$300

Ho-fo

Ho-fo

Peter, I'm shocked at the posts about HO-FO. Now perhaps you can see why I would not share my Time Code Slate with DVX. Seems to me unless you give the thing away FREE,
you will never satisfy some on DVX.
I really think you should restrict your sales to Europe, because of the hard time you are having. If it was my product, I would refuse to supply some of the people here.
I really am sorry it has turned out like this. I know how much work you have put in.
Again if I were you, I would close this thread and develop the HO-FO further, then I would offer it to Europe possibly under another name.
 
Hey wait a second, bimdas...

Some of us stateside folks have been very supportive and patient about the whole thing. I even helped Peter edit the manual : )

I'm not worried though. I can tell he's a solid guy, and has been taking the flack from the usual suspects here pretty well. Internet forums are invariably populated by small groups of people who will never be pleased unless folks like Peter sell their stuff for cost +1%...
 
Rodney V. Smith said:
Have you actually been following the discussion? Any price upgrades came not from greed but from the reality of the build and full expenses that were incurred. Read the thread and know what you're talking about.

And if you're using an adapter you need a follow focus. period. cant get one without the other.
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If you are using an adapter, you need a follow focus. I agree with that. One doesn't really need a wireless one. The film industry has gone without using wireless FF for decades.

Regardless of what reasons for the price increase, the buyer's market was sub $500. Backlash was unavoidable. Most who were putting off getting a FF in favor of this one will still get a FF. Just not this one.
 
I just can't understand why people are so surprised at the price increase. All the way Peter has kept us informed of how the HO-FO has developed. You would have to be pretty stupid not to realise that the end result would be too expensive for you, given the detail he gave.
The thing to have done is to have said this will be too expensive for me. Then stop following the rest of the development, NOT follow it and then moan that you thought it was going to be $300. Any one who is upset at the final price (what ever it is) has only their own stupidy to blame. You must be pretty dumb to have held off buying another FF because you thought this was going to be cheap.
If you can't afford to purchase the equipment you need to do your job, then in my mind you are trying to do the wrong job. If like me you do this as a hobby, then you have to accept that some things price wise are out of reach.
For goodness sake you should be praising Peter, not giving him this hassle.
Hassle that he doesn't deserve. He must be a very tolerent guy, because if it was me in his shoes, I would have closed the thread, and sold in Europe.
 
syncman said:
I just can't understand why people are so surprised at the price increase. All the way Peter has kept us informed of how the HO-FO has developed. You would have to be pretty stupid not to realise that the end result would be too expensive for you, given the detail he gave.
The thing to have done is to have said this will be too expensive for me. Then stop following the rest of the development, NOT follow it and then moan that you thought it was going to be $300. Any one who is upset at the final price (what ever it is) has only their own stupidy to blame. You must be pretty dumb to have held off buying another FF because you thought this was going to be cheap.
If you can't afford to purchase the equipment you need to do your job, then in my mind you are trying to do the wrong job. If like me you do this as a hobby, then you have to accept that some things price wise are out of reach.
For goodness sake you should be praising Peter, not giving him this hassle.
Hassle that he doesn't deserve. He must be a very tolerent guy, because if it was me in his shoes, I would have closed the thread, and sold in Europe.
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You sound like one of those guys who never buy, but has lots of comments.
Once more: The RFF Hofo is a very good product, but not in the price range of most of us. For those who can affort it, buy it and you won't be disappointed.
 
Kenny_G said:
You sound like one of those guys who never buy, but has lots of comments.
Once more: The RFF Hofo is a very good product, but not in the price range of most of us. For those who can affort it, buy it and you won't be disappointed.
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On the contrary Kenny G, I am one of those people who buys precisely what I want.
I am in the fortunate position where money is not a problem. I made a succes of my career, and now I am reaping the rewards of that hard work. Equipment is not out of my reach, I was refering to apparently people like you. You know nothing about me so speculating on what I do or not do is no concern of yours. All I have done is to tell it as it is. It is no good getting angry at me, as I said, the final unit was NEVER going to be cheap and Peter warned of this.
 
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I don't think anyone here is as angry as you syncman. Saying people have nothing but their "stupidity" to blame for their shock at the price? We always knew it was going to cost more than $300. Peter has updated us on everything but the final price. It's only when we were hit with a $2600 price tag is when people got a little disappointed. $1400 is much more reasonable but you can't please everyone.
 
Angry

Angry

bimdas said:
I don't think anyone here is as angry as you syncman. Saying people have nothing but their "stupidity" to blame for their shock at the price? We always knew it was going to cost more than $300. Peter has updated us on everything but the final price. It's only when we were hit with a $2600 price tag is when people got a little disappointed. $1400 is much more reasonable but you can't please everyone.
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I am not angry, just sad at the way Peter is being treated.

I think enough has been said on the subject, further comments will only lead to raised tempers and that is not what DVX is about.
 
Heezzi said:
Regardless of what reasons for the price increase, the buyer's market was sub $500. Backlash was unavoidable. Most who were putting off getting a FF in favor of this one will still get a FF. Just not this one.
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That's probably better for those who still really want it and can afford to get it. That way, Peter won't be flooded with orders, and the real customers won't be waiting as long to get theirs.
 
hoarp001 said:
Depending on exchange rate, the final HoFo will be closer to $1400.
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That sounds fine. Even $2K would've been a great price for the quality and features that you're offering.

Thanks for finally providing a price quote. :beer:

I can't imagine how much this project of yours is costing you in time and money (especially when time = money), but I hope that you get rich from it! You're a genius, a visionary like Jannard himself!
 
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Hello

Sorry it took so long, here is a quick overview on how we found the Hocus Focus when we used it for a music video shoot a few weeks back!


Well here it is:


“Serious Feather were very intrigued and excited to test drive the independently manufactured ‘Hocus Focus’ wireless follow focus unit on our most recent music video production, Penny Nicholls’ ‘By The River’. The video was shot on a Canon 5d MKII with a RedRock DSLR Cinema bundle and took place over two days and in two locations: an exterior field in the (UK) Peak District and an interior bedroom in Cheshire.

Although the unit’s motor is compact in size it is also impressively machined and manufactured and, as a result, its lightweight and durable design gives a generous amount of torque and smooth operation. This said, as well as the odd issue with the signal and motor hunting, our camera operator found the DSLR lens gear to be a little large and, in turn, the motor frequently produced too much extraneous sound while filming. Consequently, while fine for shooting music videos, serious issues could arise when filming, for example, a drama or documentary with sound.

With regards to the performance of the unit’s transmitter we were very pleased however. The size of the main dial is very easy to handle due to its nice grip, informative drag, clear pointer and near-perfect marking rings and magnetic connectors. Moreover, while there are smart finishing touches like the belt clip and lanyard clip, a 9v battery was enough to see us through the entire two days of the shoot.

Finally the unit’s receiver, although a little large and running on XLR power, is very well machined. Its membrane switch and LED light are both spot-on, its aerial is a good length and it was nice to find a screw-thread on the bottom.

Overall, despite certain drawbacks, the ‘Hocus Focus’ unit is a very useful piece of kit for any ambitious independent filmmaker. Its retail price of £1788.25 (price quoted from UK distributor) could prove to be a major stumbling-block however, especially since the View Factor unit comes in at around £1900, and this certainly needs to be addressed if the unit is to enjoy the popularity it deserves.”

I Have added some photos of the shoot so you can see it in action!

:)

Cheers,

Nic Jackson

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I would like to point out that the price that Nic quotes is wrong. It was this price when Nic inquired, but as mentioned many times in this thread, there was an error and we will be selling direct, so the price will be much lower. I dont want to say the exact price, but expect around £1100-£1300
 
hoarp001 said:
I would like to point out that the price that Nic quotes is wrong. It was this price when Nic inquired, but as mentioned many times in this thread, there was an error and we will be selling direct, so the price will be much lower. I dont want to say the exact price, but expect around £1100-£1300
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So it will be around 2000us$.
Is that VAT included?
 
We work Ex vat, Im not sure how the vat thing works when we export it.

I am sure someone can clarify what happens with that.
 
Hey this is a response i gave for the same question on the 5D forum about the motor:

"Well i would say it happened about 3 or 4 times and looking back now i think it could well have been the signal. The motor would be set and then it would move, we are talking a very small amount but just enough to change the focal point. I wouldn't say it was in anyway damaging to the shoot, just another thing to check thats all. I am sure its a signal thing."

Great news with regards to to the price Pete.

:)
 
This can happen with dirt on the frequency. Infact, the power to the motor is cut one second after the last change to the control knob, so this wont happen unless you move the knob (unless it happens within the one second after the last knob move. It is just as likely that you knocked the knob to be honest.

In any case, changing frequency could solve this, I find that pink (barbie pink) is the cleanest frequency.


Pete.
 
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