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Arri FF4 or O'Connor CFF-1?

Raul Gonzo

Raul Gonzo

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I thought there was a thread on this- but- couldn't find it.

I trying to decide on one of these. For those who have used both- which do you prefer and why?

(also, if you are selling one of the two, please send me a PM)
 
Great- thank you Eric. Going through thread the only things I saw were that people said the unit is excellent- which is of course is good news - and the CFF-1 is very versatile. I like that you can put it on the top rods.
Is the CFF-1 lighter than the FF4?
Also, are they now shipping out immediately or is there still a back order queue?
 
Raul Gonzo said:
Great- thank you Eric. Going through thread the only things I saw were that people said the unit is excellent- which is of course is good news - and the CFF-1 is very versatile. I like that you can put it on the top rods.
Is the CFF-1 lighter than the FF4?
Also, are they now shipping out immediately or is there still a back order queue?
Click to expand...

Hello Raul,

The CFF-1 has many unique features not found in the FF-4:

-Very low bridge accommodating BIG lenses
-A removable swing arm that can be mounted on either side of the unit
-A single rod bridge fits 15mm studio and 19mm studio
-Eccentric hand wheels can be rotated 360 degrees
-Follow focus main bridge slides independently of the rod bridge
-Package includes 10 marking disks and 4 driver gears .5, .6, .8 35/43 tooth
-Delivered in die cut foam insert fitted to a Pelican Storm 2200 case

I’ll have to get the exact spec on the weight but off the top of my head there is no appreciable difference between the two.

All the back orders are cleared and they are in stock and shipping from Abel Cine Tech.

I hope this helps you to make a decision.

Best,

Eric
 
Eric J. Johnston said:
We decided not to offer that option for various reasons the most important of which is durability. The over molded rubber hand wheel takes a drop a lot better than the hardwoods we tested.
Click to expand...

Hey Eric,

If that's the case I would love to take back the wood one I tested. :thumbsup:
 
And me, I kinda liked the wood. But then again I'm an old Aaton guy and still believe that the walnut handgrip remains the absolute best. But I do understand the logic.

No logic to a Jaguar's dashboard either, but it sure is pretty.
 
Mitch Gross said:
And me, I kinda liked the wood. But then again I'm an old Aaton guy and still believe that the walnut handgrip remains the absolute best. But I do understand the logic.

No logic to a Jaguar's dashboard either, but it sure is pretty.
Click to expand...

Well part of my as an Italian, I love the WOOD Look, especially the dark one, and I also always love that Aaton grip, and love the Denz DVF for this reason too, but must agree that in some design the modern Rubberized Plastics make way more sense.

BTW, thanks again for passing on my request to James at Abel, Mitch, great guy and I also asked him to quote me on one of this beauties. ;)
 
After seeing th CFF-1 at NAB this year I was sold. I went ahead and purchased a unit from Abel Cine. After building it and playing with it for a few weeks I sadly decided to return it and buy an ff4 (which was cheaper btw) here are my reasons why

1: the gearing on the the CFF-1 has some issues there is play between the gear and the knob and on top of that it's loud. Spinning the knob one way or another makes quite a lot of noise. It was so loud on one show the sound guy was able to pick it up on his mix.

2: all the knobs are really small and awkwardly placed making it really hard to
Make adjustments on the fly. The metal Kip handles are small too making it hard to adjust the unit

3: my assistants really hated it. Yeah you can mount it on yor top
Rods rotate the focus knobs ect but honestly my assistants had to work twice as hard to find the right knob that controlled the right part of the follow
Focus.

It's an over completed design that's more
Expensive than a system that already works....perfectly. You can't mess with German engineering. Honestly I'd say buyer beware unless you hae a specific need for this product.
 
I don't necessarily agree with Eric, though he does make some good points...it does take some more work at times, but I believe it's only difficult at first because it takes some time to get accustomed to the CFF (and yes, if you have fat fingers it can be difficult to adjust the tiny knobs). That said, I don't believe the FF4 is perfect in every way and for every task...which ultimately leads me to believe that the CFF's versatility makes it the winner in the long run.

Speaking of the long run, as robust as the CFF feels now, it will be interesting to see if it's ultimately as durable as the FF4 (or FF3 or FF2) through years and years of production. I guess only time will tell...

All that said, I have an FF4 available if you're interested...

Cheers,
Clint
 
Eric Ulbrich said:
After seeing th CFF-1 at NAB this year I was sold. I went ahead and purchased a unit from Abel Cine. After building it and playing with it for a few weeks I sadly decided to return it and buy an ff4 (which was cheaper btw) here are my reasons why

1: the gearing on the the CFF-1 has some issues there is play between the gear and the knob and on top of that it's loud. Spinning the knob one way or another makes quite a lot of noise. It was so loud on one show the sound guy was able to pick it up on his mix.

2: all the knobs are really small and awkwardly placed making it really hard to
Make adjustments on the fly. The metal Kip handles are small too making it hard to adjust the unit

3: my assistants really hated it. Yeah you can mount it on yor top
Rods rotate the focus knobs ect but honestly my assistants had to work twice as hard to find the right knob that controlled the right part of the follow
Focus.

It's an over completed design that's more
Expensive than a system that already works....perfectly. You can't mess with German engineering. Honestly I'd say buyer beware unless you hae a specific need for this product.
Click to expand...

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but we really enjoyed using the CFF-1. We had no play issues with ours, and we definitely didn't have any noise complaints either.

The follow focus is extremely adjustable, which does mean it has a few more knobs then the Arri, but once you get used to it that flexibility it's pretty amazing.


http://www.finnerknowsbest.com/component/jvideo/watch/25
 
The O'Conner is lovely and certainly the best value for money.

However, my choice is the Arri LFF-1. It is just as (or even more) flexible as the O'Connor except it's 1/4 the size and weight. It is tiny. It is also about twice the price ... oh, well, can't have everything :)
 
Arri LFF-1 is great -- best compact FF out there. The pricing on it is just plain stupid though. It costs more than a CFF-1 or FF-4 and there is really no justifiable reason for that.

As for the CFF-1, it's awesome. Some of Eric's comments have me a bit confused. Such as the one about noise... I'm really suspecting that the unit was either a bad one or something was configured incorrectly. I've encountered a few AC's that don't like the CFF-1 at first. Mostly because it's non an Arri and that's all the reason they need to not like it. But it is definitely more versatile than the FF-4 and overall I think it's a nicer and more capable unit. I would gladly take either when shopping for a studio FF.

I personally own an FF-4 and MFF-1. I will be picking up a CFF-1 for my second Epic-X kit when the time comes.
 
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