Trusmt Follow focus - Thumbs up or down? Owners weigh in, please!

+1 on the trusmt FF - I've been using mine for a few months now - lpowel's breakdown is perfect - no backlash, great hard stops, but the lever arm slips. I used his trick and put the locking washers on, and it helps...if trusmt could design the lever differently, it would be a grand slam
Been using it for a few months? Can you do us a favor and show us a picture of your locking washer solution, please? Also a few links to some work would be nice.
 
6. The weakest point of the design is the single thumbscrew that clamps down the double-jointed lever arm the knob is mounted on. While it's precisely machined, there's inevitably a slight difference in the pressure the thumbscrew applies to the two joints. As a result, the knob can be pulled away from the lens no matter how hard you tighten the thumbscrew. To ameliorate this problem, I put thin lock washers in the joints of the lever arm - there was just enough room to make them fit. This improves the reliability of the unit, though it's still not possible to fully tighten the knob mount with your fingers alone.
After fixing the lever arm problem, I find the TrusMT works well in practice. The adjustable focus-stop screws are an invaluable feature that makes it well worth the reasonable price.
I had to google "lock washers!" Shows you how much I know.
Not having the product in my hand, I only have a slight grasp of what you're describing.
If it's not too much to ask, would you mind posting a picture, please? I'd like to at least buy
the same "lock washer" and remove the guesswork when my unit arrives. Cheers!
 
Maybe its just me. if you have to modify a product to work correctly as designed thats not a good thing. Its still $400. Just saying.
 
Maybe its just me. if you have to modify a product to work correctly as designed thats not s good thing. Its still $400. Just saying.
You do have a point, Erik, from what I heard the issues described haunt the NF2 version and were rectified in the NF4. I'll find out soon enough. I'm weighing that, a painless
little mod and save $400? We all do some mods even to cameras!
 
Can you guys show a video tour?
Camcam this is DTZ. What's your20? Any affiliation with a Chinese company? Over.
Couldn't resist that. I've just got sneaky suspicions that Trusmt has plants on this site
posing as users. Similar crap at this other thread with 1 post members spewing glowing panegyrics
and waxing lyrical about Trusmt. 1 post! To be fair some had 10+ posts but their vigor seemed to
exceed a fanboy/girl's. Just saying. If Trusmt wants in on this forum, be honest and join as a sponsor
like other companies. I'm not out to bash Redrock or Trusmt. I think I speak for a few people when I
say we simply want good prices, great products and honesty.
 
I own this follow focus, and will post a short video review later this evening. It's got some flaws, but generally very solid and worth the money IMO. I can say one thing- once you go with hard stops, you can't go back. This feature saved my butt, and can turn any grip standing by into a focus puller.
 
I own this follow focus, and will post a short video review later this evening. It's got some flaws, but generally very solid and worth the money IMO. I can say one thing- once you go with hard stops, you can't go back. This feature saved my butt, and can turn any grip standing by into a focus puller.
Cheers! Would love to see that, Ed!
 
I own this follow focus, and will post a short video review later this evening. It's got some flaws, but generally very solid and worth the money IMO. I can say one thing- once you go with hard stops, you can't go back. This feature saved my butt, and can turn any grip standing by into a focus puller.
What version do you have NF2 or NF4 and did you have to pay custom duties the shipping company?
 
I own this follow focus, and will post a short video review later this evening. It's got some flaws, but generally very solid and worth the money IMO. I can say one thing- once you go with hard stops, you can't go back. This feature saved my butt, and can turn any grip standing by into a focus puller.

How do the grips cope with the focus in between the "hardstops"?

:undecided
 
they don't- I'm speaking of a simple A to B rack focus. All they have to do is turn the whip, and let the hard stops do the rest. I could do it myself but I'm busy panning- and I've never been a chewing gum and walking at the same time kind of guy. The blocking has to be well planned out of course, but as long as the talent hits their marks, any grip can do this. They don't even have to look at the lcd. The rack focus from 1:10 to 1:12 in the video below was done by a grip with the Trusmt FF:


Pulling focus on the fly, now this is when I need someone who knows what they are doing.
 
Now you have to teach him about timing!

They are quite hard to train I find.

Just joshing with ya Ed. :laugh:
 
I had to google "lock washers!"
If it's not too much to ask, would you mind posting a picture, please?
You can spot the tips of the star-shaped lock washers poking out from inside the lever arm joint in this photo.

TrusMT Lock Washers.jpg
 
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I just unpacked my Indisystem Ultra Compact rig - very pleased with it. Solid. I also unpacked my Trusmt - not so pleased. No instructions on how to mount
the two-sided gear. Just a clutch of screws. Guessing game about what works where.
The product feels super solid but...I'll post after I solve this conundrum. How does one mount the second gear?
 
Cant you tell from the photo up a couple of posts?
It seems obvious, doesn't it? I think I've got a different version. I don't have any screws that reach.
The philips screw that I have doesn't fit. The allen key screws won't fit either. There's a recessed hole on the
reverse of the gear that I'm assuming should fit onto the hub but it doesn't and I dont want to force it.
 
The good news is that I can report that I won't be needing any washers. No slippage, no backlash. The arm stays in place even when I put weight on it.
It took getting used to, but I eventually figured it out. This is the NF4 version. Now if only they'd include a manual or a pdf. No manual, just a catalogue
of their other products.

At least provide the proper screws. I've got 9 screws, none fit. I've got a groove hole at the back of the wheel but it won't fit over the gold hole.
Second wheel.jpg
 
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I have one of these too. I think its a remarkably well made and well engineered unit for the money. All metal construction, beautiful finish, glassy smooth action, no issues at all with the locking arm mechanism. I would buy more TRUSMT stuff based on their FF, I would really like to try their swing-away MB.
 
I have one of these too. I think its a remarkably well made and well engineered unit for the money. All metal construction, beautiful finish, glassy smooth action, no issues at all with the locking arm mechanism. I would buy more TRUSMT stuff based on their FF, I would really like to try their swing-away MB.
How do you cope with the locking? Which version do you have?
 
How do you cope with the locking? Which version do you have?

I do have several Chinese-English dictionaries but I haven't used them in awhile so I have a hard time telling the difference between the models in the very slick TRUSMT catalog, I bought this one second hand but it looked like it was never used. The position-arm assembly locks perfectly on mine, no issues there. The focus action on the TRUSMT is way smoother than any ARRI ff I ever used and I've used a few. I see in their catalog they are listing what looks to be a complete knock-off of the dual sided ARRI ff but I've never seen one of those for sale.

I guess my philosophy on this stuff is that things like matte-boxes and follow-focus's are really basic technologies, the hammer and nails of film making, you could argue that the concepts and tools were perfected before WWII which is a hell of a long time ago. I'm a little offended by $3000 matte boxes and while I'm all in favor of buying American I don't think that camera gear is going to solve this country's economic problems. That and I suspect about 2/3 of the boutique camera gear on the market by American labels is already Chinese origin with a significant mark-up.

Not to hijack the thread but has anyone tried the Wei-Feng tripods/heads?
 
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