Remote follow focus for £150/$300

Rodney V. Smith said:
Now THAT is a concise post and not just bashing for the sake of it. It's actually quite a nice outline for a marketing strategy that I've seen many times over. Many new businesses start at a loss because of the need to get the product out there and into the hands of the consumers. In essence they CREATE the need. And they are able to make up for that loss through the sales of increased prices... but gradually, not all at one. We all like to feel like we're getting a deal after all...

You were absolutely correct about the pricing structure and people's reactions to it. Thank you for clarifying your statement.
Click to expand...

Do any of you know how redbull got huge?? They had HUGE financial backing with a business plan that involved losing a lot of money for a couple of years. Then they went to retailers and bars and offered to sell them their product for next to nothing (reports I've heard are like .25 per can), provided they give it premium exposure and sell it for huge money at prices redbull set (In Canada it was like $5 per can at the beginning). They also gave them all kinds of point of purchase material, coolers etc. They lost TONS of money for the first couple of years, while the retailers were raking in massive profits. Retailers pushed the product because they were making such high margin. Later, Redbull upped their dealer cost to a more industry standard formula. The product was firmly established at a premium price so Redbull started making piles of money. They had all the retailers, and most of the bars, and the public had become adicted and convinced that Redbull was the best. They're nw the coke of energy drinks. This is not a new strategy, but you have to have money to make it work.

There are tons of others, including direct to market strategies, and many, MANY that do not require much money at all up front. As always, having a good idea, or even a good product, is the least critical part of the process.
 
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I'm not sure if anyone has seen this but I think it's pretty interesting. I wish there is a review on this thing. How practical is it to use on an EX1 e.g..
 
That system is very cool, but requires preston motors (although will probably run with Haden motors too)

One motor will cost you more than the whole HoFo, and thats before you buy the little box to control them, and thats assuming you already have an iPhone.
 
$1389 is a bit pricey for me at this time but yes, it's an interesting idea though. I already own an iPhone...not sure if I want to use my iphone for controlling my focus though. So, is the price of your HoFo still around $300? Any launch date being scheduled yet?
 
Wow, things change....I remember reading about this when you first suggested it. What a price jump though. I would've been happy with the wired version myself.
 
You must be proud that your system is doing so well. Your system is even cheaper though than a Varizoom wireless focus control kit.

I just wish Canadian dollars were equal to pounds, lol....
 
Hi Shawn.

Thanks a lot, I am happy with the products progression.

We have a new system announced now anyway. A lot of you will have noticed that the original HoFo is made for DSLR lenses, and it has a few drawbacks. The current motor works perfectly with the DSLR type lenses, but lacks the throw to control proper cine lenses.

The new Hocus Focus Professional uses an entirely new motor, designed by myself from the ground up. The motor took me about a year to finish, and it uses one single drive gear component inside, resulting in a drive motor with only two moving parts. As a result, it is very quiet. It is also incredibly fast and responsive and is Preston compatible It has unlimited rotation as well. Our new RX unit is very small and compact, and it supports auto end stop calibration. The released version of the RX (different to the one pictured) also includes things like local control options (steadicam gimbal, pan handle roller wheel etc) and also supports run/stop for the 5/7D via an IR light gooseneck.

The updated TX features remote run, so you can start and stop your cameras remotely, and the knob is of a new design, and we now have side pointers and conical marking rings for more ergonomic focus pulling.

More details available here,

http://www.hocusproducts.com/hofopro.php

The price will be around $5000 and of course, will be fully FCC certified for use in the US.

There are some videos floating about somewhere from IBC, but here is one I shot myself at the show.

http://vimeo.com/14867542

Erik Brul (who I think is on this forum somewhere) shot a particularly good video of the system in action at the show. I am sure once he has hosted it somewhere, he will post a link here.


As you may have noticed in the video, mounting hardware and some other accessories are made by Zacuto.

Any questions, send me an email at pete@hocusproducts.com

Thanks a lot,

Pete.
 
Hey Pete,

Nice seeing new system being released finally!

One honest and direct question to you :) the price of a new hofo is almost identical to bartech with m-one motor, tell me why i should go with Hofo instead of Bartech?
 
Hi Tomas,

The Bartech is a great system, but has not been updated for a while. The HoFoPro does the same job, but it has a few extra features.

For a start, if you price up the cost of the standard Bartech and M-one against our system, the price is similar. If you price up the cost of the Bartech and their new digital receiver, the cost is around $5600, about 800 more than our system (bearing in mind our system is digital as standard). The M-One is a fast, accurate motor but it can be quite noisy, which should be taken into account.

Our new system has auto end stop calibration, remote run/stop (including support for newer cameras such as the 5D that take runstop via an IR diode etc) It also has a digital port for an external controller such as a Steadicam gimbal mounted roller, a pan handle roller or a traditional follow focus knob that can clamp to your rods (So you can operate like a normal follow focus through the motor etc, for quick changes between tripod and steadcam use etc etc)

We also have a data input port which can be used for firmware updates, but can also be used for upcoming accessories that can be used with the system.

Our system also uses a different type of data transmission and we can have many more units running side by side without interference.

We also have 3D and multiple motor control planned into our new system as well.

The motor that we have for our new follow focus is fast, accurate and almost silent. It is also incredibly powerful and responsive, and is Preston compatible. The motor has only two moving parts, so there is barely anything to go wrong inside.


We also have a few little features like the user definable limits that can be set from the transmitter, and our RX is much smaller and lighter than the analogue Bartech receiver.

We have also implemented a clever torque limiting system that automatically detects how much force the lens needs to move it, and then limits itself to that level. If a cable or something gets jammed in the gears, the motor realises and stops to prevent damage (or pain!) Similarly, when the motor auto calibrates, it touches the lenses end stops gently, rather than slamming them too hard, and if someone changes the lens without re calibrating and the motor hits the end of the lens, it will detect this and stop, so the lens will not be damaged.

The HoFoPro is a completely new system, and I am very happy with the overall design and performance. We plan to have pre production prototypes done by Christmas and we will begin taking orders and shipping soon after.

Thanks a lot,

Pete.
 
Thanks, sounds great, some more questions..

Will you have cables for powering ff fro different camera? What about iris control? I would need iris control sometime soon along with focus.

Which price is exact? Website says 5300$, you're quoting 4800$, that's including case, cables everything? When realistically do you think you will be able to ship system? January?
 
I am still interested in the Gen1 system. I don't need the extras and don't have the budget.

Question: When you say the Gen1 system is not designed for cinema lenses do I take that to mean it only turns so many degrees? If that is the case, how many degrees? Would it work with an older still lens that has a 280 degree focus rotation?


Thanks
 
I think the issue is not degree of rotation, but power of the motor, that cinema lenses can become very stiff , especially in colder weather, so you need extremely powerful motor... though i may not be right about the limitations, but most likely it's power, not degree of turn..
 
Hi Tomas,

We will have a range of cables available for powering the RX off various different cameras, steadicam sleds or other power supplies.

The HoFoPro is a single channel system, we have plans to update the system later to control other motors. We also have a FIZ system planned but that won't be around for a bit.

1Dog,

The original motor is limited to 180 degrees rotation, which is why it has such a large diameter drive gear on it. It is fine with lenses like ZF and L series primes etc etc, but does struggle with longer throw lenses. The lens you describe would be a bit of an issue. The best thing you can do is use a lens gear like the Zacuto Zip gear. These gears hug the lens barrel tightly, and effectively reduce the number of teeth there are on the gear. This changes the gear ratio between the lens and the motor and allows more throw.

Also take into account the fact taht you will not always need to use all of the lenses range of focus, so even though the motor may not move it all the way, this is not necessarily a killer problem in all situations. The motor is plenty strong enough for most lenses, we have tested it on Ultraprimes and it will turn them fine.

Thanks a lot,

Pete.
 
the new product sounds good but to be taken seriously, you really need to start a new thread. People still open this thread expecting a $300 remote follow focus.
 
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