What the hell do you call these!!!

N

N3D

Active member
Looking at his video they're not hardstops, just markers. Even in his promotional video the focus he acheives is so-so. Masking tape and a pen? But I'm thinking three adjustable lens gears, one modified with a needle and two with hard stops (or just use the screw down adjustment clamps) would be a similar idea sub-$30 repeatable focus solution, if a little fiddly.
 
Egg Born Son said:
Looking at his video they're not hardstops, just markers. Even in his promotional video the focus he acheives is so-so.
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At the start of the video he demonstrates the Hardstops then later in the video he shows us how we can use markers.

And HIS focus pulling was terrible, us filmmakers would probably do a better job! ;)

Richard Crowley said:
They look suspiciously like hair clips.
View attachment 45122
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YES! Exactly! It's a great invention.
 
N3D said:
At the start of the video he demonstrates the Hardstops then later in the video he shows us how we can use markers.
Click to expand...

He used them as hardstops but they weren't particularly hard. Any force at all and they move. Just saying with a bit of thought your DIY will be far superior.
 
Search engines are your friend. eBay/Google "jar opener", "oil filter remover". Or do proper DIY and make your own. A piece of high gauge wire bent around a pipe of slightly smaller diameter than your smallest lens and copy his design (slightly more than a full circle, an extension at both ends to grip, making it easy to open). Imagination is at the heart of DIY. If you can't see it you might as well buy it. Good luck and show us how it turns out.
 
Try this on for size. Bought one of these at Bed Bath and Beyond (Like 4 bucks I think) and it works great.

 
Heck, there are a million different things you can use to turn the focus smoothly. Question is, redundancy, easy of set/use, and finally... how does it look when your hired professionally.
Considering you can buy a professional quality follow focus unit for under $100... Its a question of how much use will you get outta spending +$25-$60 on a DIY solution.
I do anything and everything I can, to go the DIY route. But at the end of the day... you have to think about what to skimp on and how thats gonna be worth an investment.
 
Zyliss Strong Boy, Baby!

This one looks a little better and I've had one in my cine kit for a dozen years now:

http://www.amazon.com/Zyliss-20780-Strong-Handheld-Opener/dp/B002O3Y7I2

But to tell the truth, the idea of using it is better than the implementation. Tape and pen marks works just fine most of the time and to be honest, in the dozen years I had one, I've pulled it out of my kit to open jars more often than to get a focus pull... It does work really good at that too.
 
Hahaha you guys and your jar openers! Well i have recently spent so much money on the SG Blade, Rail system, 3 Lenses, Monitor & Batteries. So i decided to make a shoulder rig out of pvc pipe which went pretty well...only issue im having is that i bought Pushfit joints. I need to find a way to better secure them. So i thought why not try and build my own Follow Focus system i have a couple of gears laying around but it seems like a long shot. I like the idea of having Hardstops...or even Softstops :P
 
daihard said:
Considering you can buy a professional quality follow focus unit for under $100...
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Where have you found those? The cheapest I've seen is about $150 for a dubious one and with hard stops they start around $250-350 at the low end. I'm prepared to risk $100 on a crap one.

N3D said:
So i decided to make a shoulder rig out of pvc pipe which went pretty well...only issue im having is that i bought Pushfit joints. I need to find a way to better secure them.
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PVC glue, it's blue (i'm a poet and I...never mind). It chemically bonds the PVC so make sure you're measurements are right because it won't come apart again. Available in the same place you got the PVC.

Hardstops really speed things up when you don't have a dedicated focus puller, especially with a 35mm adapter. I'm looking at getting that functionality next so I have repeatable focus and don't keep ruining my good takes with sloppy camera work. It sucks when you spend half an hour setting up a shot, the unpaid friend 'actor' finally pulls off a good looking take and then you watch it back and they're slightly out of focus. If I sacrifice my DOF to compensate then there really is no point of having the adapter with all the hassles it introduces.
 
@Egg Born Son
I did a quick search, but from memory... when I was checking prices on Black Friday. They where all down to around $99-120
indiFOCUSwee - indiSYSTEM
Amazon.com: Opteka FF180 Reversible Follow Focus for Digital SLR and Video Cameras: Camera & Photo
Amazon.com: Fancierstudio Follow Focus For DSLR RIG Support Steady RIG 15MM Mount By Fancierstudio Fan FL02F: Camera & Photo
Amazon.com: ePhoto DSLR On Camera Reversible Follow Focus w/ RS-Mount NO 15mm Rod needed by ePhotoInc FOLLOW2: Electronics
Amazon.com: D|focus: Camera & Photo


And Lastly... this very cool looking follow focus, i could imagine DIY this though.
Amazon.com: The Arch Standard: Camera & Photo

There are hard stop versions, but they are around $150+
Most of these will GO ON SALE during shopping seasons.
 
> And Lastly... this very cool looking follow focus, i could imagine DIY this though.
> Amazon.com: The Arch Standard: Camera & Photo

That's the rare new approach. It's interesting and might actually work better for some lenses, although It looks like it could easily get in the way of other accessories: matte box, cables, battery... I'd want to put on a QR plate but that might throw off the centering. Interesting idea though. Should be $49.
 
Thanks for that daihard. Here was me thinking amazon sold books! I'm thinking I might keep saving up for one with 2 adjustable hardstops (or DIY one, I've just received my rollerblade wheel to try out the friction version from this forum). Without a camera assistant, repeatable focussing gets a bit unwieldy with the 35mm adaptor. But I see I definitely need to learn more about american holidays because that seems to be when the sales happen. Never heard about 'Black Friday' until this week and all I know about it is everyone seems to be on sale! What/when is the next holiday sale event I should look out for?
 
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