Slim follow focus gears...

L

leeburnett

Active member
I received my gini rig in the post yesterday and love it so far. It came super quick and it seems great quality. The only issue I'm having is the follow focus. I ordered one gear that came with it, and it only fits on my Tamron 24-70, but it works great.

For my other lenses however, it won't work. The metal screws that hold it to the lens stick out too far to work with my olympus om lenses, where the focus ring is usually slightly underneath the inbuilt flash (550d/t2i), which means I need quite a slim focus ring for it to work.

What focus gears should I get. I assume mine is a 0.8 mod?

Are these sorts of gears ok? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lanparte-..._Movie_Camera_Accessories&hash=item232497d06c

I don't even know if that would fit under the flash, but it would be better because it's only one bit that sticks up.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
 
Not sure what you mean by the problem you're having or by 'slim' but if you work out where the two focussing extremes are and position the gear accordingly I would have thought you'd be okay. But then I can't really picture what your problem is from your description. I can confirm that the ebay gears work just fine. The screw down model you've linked is better than the design with the one piece toothed catch (they get loose and then they're useless). You might need to trim some of the excess tail to avoid it catching on other components.

I haven't used them but the best looking gears I've seen are sold by someone on this site. Can't remember what the brand name is but they are red, extra wide, low profile and close fitting with cable ties. I'm sure someone here knows what I'm talking about. I think it's something like "zip-gears". Planning on getting some when I start using my FF again. At the moment my full rig's too heavy for my tripod so it's a pound less weight.
 
By slim I mean not having components that stick out from the lens once it's attached. When I use olympus om lenses on my 550d, the focus ring sits right underneath the flash, so the gini focus gears are just way too big... it's an odd design, but it works on my other lenses, just not with the om lenses.

That jag35 gear looks perfect... do you know how it attaches to the lens? What keeps it from slipping. Also, can I take it off and use it on another lens, or should I just buy a gear for each lens?

Thanks for the help.
 
Best to buy one for each. They come as a strap that you cut to size and tension with tiny cable ties (might be called zip ties in the US). I'm not sure if these are the exact ones I was looking at a year ago, they look like them. I hope I'm recommending the originals here! Like I say, I haven't used them myself yet but they were highly recommended at the time and the extra width and low profile surely has to be better. That said, I've had no issues with any of the screw done ebay ones like the one you linked, as long as you position the screw away from the FF and trim the tail. Even the ones that cost less than $8 delivered work fine.

This is the design to avoid:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2PS-DSLR..._Photographic_Accessories&hash=item3f1e72e43b

They work great until the rubber relaxes a few weeks later and then you can't can't get tension on one tooth or enough stretch to reach the next tooth. They are also cut a bit skinnier than the other ones. The wider the rubber gear the easier it is to fit perfectly parallel to the lens face.

If not those jag35 gears I'm also considering the ABS plastic ones that give all the lenses the same diameter as far as the FF is concerned:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Set-6-Le...737?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f20e6af61

I mainly use AI Nikon lenses with a lens adapter and the GG unit can get in the way of the FF on the shorter barrel lengths. These would move the FF further out to solve the problem, although would be a pain to pack up a full set of primes for travel unless I get a case with custom foam insert.
 
The zip tie fastened gears are basically the same as each other.

Ill try and explain (I am the inventor/maker)

In the UK/EU we sell under the halfinchrails brand http://halfinchrails.com/rigs-and-kits/zip-tie-focus-gears
available through robert white and others. http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/shop-by-brand/half-inch-rails.html

We rebranded the product for the USA, Wide Open Camera http://wideopencamera.com/cheap-lens-gears/

Those 'WOC' gears are avalable from 'WOC', JAG, B+H and others.
All the same quality, made in the UK.

Any chinese or suchlike would be a copy but im not aware of that.

To be clear and avoid specific 'promotion' Im talking about zip tie/cable tie lens gears.

Other solutions (using costly machined clasps) that are close to the lens are available
-shoot35, zacuto and others
The large diameter versions are available from Redrock and others. http://store.redrockmicro.com/Catalog/DSLR-microFollowFocus/microLensGearSizeA

S
 
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That's great I think I'll get some from the robertwhite website. What do the sizes relate to specifically - the largest lens circumference it can work with?

What sort of range in size does each zip allow? I have some smaller olympus lenses with a circumference of roughly 190mm, give or take. What size would you recommend? I assume it would be 185mm and the zip ties give it some extra length?

Thanks
 
You can get different length of screws.

leeburnett said:
I received my gini rig in the post yesterday and love it so far. It came super quick and it seems great quality. The only issue I'm having is the follow focus. I ordered one gear that came with it, and it only fits on my Tamron 24-70, but it works great.

For my other lenses however, it won't work. The metal screws that hold it to the lens stick out too far to work with my olympus om lenses, where the focus ring is usually slightly underneath the inbuilt flash (550d/t2i), which means I need quite a slim focus ring for it to work.

What focus gears should I get. I assume mine is a 0.8 mod?

Are these sorts of gears ok? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lanparte-..._Movie_Camera_Accessories&hash=item232497d06c

I don't even know if that would fit under the flash, but it would be better because it's only one bit that sticks up.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
Click to expand...
 
Hi,

I'd recommend that you take a look at www.fastforwardtime.co.uk. Check out their follow focus gear - personally I'd check out the Lanparte Deluxe Follow Focus because it comes with 2 hard-stops for a 15mm rail system rig. They have a range of gear rings and other follow focus accessories too.

leeburnett said:
I received my gini rig in the post yesterday and love it so far. It came super quick and it seems great quality. The only issue I'm having is the follow focus. I ordered one gear that came with it, and it only fits on my Tamron 24-70, but it works great.

For my other lenses however, it won't work. The metal screws that hold it to the lens stick out too far to work with my olympus om lenses, where the focus ring is usually slightly underneath the inbuilt flash (550d/t2i), which means I need quite a slim focus ring for it to work.

What focus gears should I get. I assume mine is a 0.8 mod?

Are these sorts of gears ok? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lanparte-..._Movie_Camera_Accessories&hash=item232497d06c

I don't even know if that would fit under the flash, but it would be better because it's only one bit that sticks up.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks.
Click to expand...
 
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