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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Cinevate reveals new Follow Focus Gears!

Dennis Wood

Dennis Wood

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Forgive the non-RED camera shown here...Jim still hasn't sent us a RED camera to show these off on :-)

Cinevate's new focus gears will be debuting this week. The original design has been completely re-worked after 3 years of field feedback and use of our focus gears with ENG lenses, still lenses etc.

The cost per gear will be in the $30 US range, or approx £15 for comparison. Like Cinevate's Durus Follow Focus, the gears carry a lifetime warranty. Being that our designs have been "borrowed" in the past, we're not letting this one out until our patent-pending status is in place.

Changes from our older design other than the drastic reduction in cost (we've made a very large quantity), are as follows.

1. They offer over twice the lens travel distance of the current design. Btw, typical zip gears would be useless (or require very frequent repositioning) with any SLR lens with a lot of focus ring physical "breathing".
2. The gears are fiber-reinforced composite and use brass thread inserts.
3. Our "spokes" (stainless steel) now feature custom integrated nylon tips.
4. Enlarged inner diameter for easier use with ENG lenses, larger cine lenses and video camera stock lenses. They now fit the Fujinon lenses used with the HPX500, LOMO cine lenses and anything else we could dig up to test them on. They're shown here on the 24-70 Canon f2.8D lens.
5. About 50% lighter with a 40% reduction in profile.
6. Because they are matched (we're talking gear thrust surfaces) precisely with our FF drive gears, they have what I'd call perfect engagement that is silent, with lash near zero measurable. What this means is super smooth, self-lubricating and silent performance that we would be completely comfortable holding up against systems four times the cost.
7. Installation is now much, much quicker. About 2 minutes per lens.
8. We don't and never will use zip gears. Flexible gears cannot guarantee consistent tooth profiles (tooth distance at tip varies as you flex them), nor can they ever handle full 360 degree rotation. They're cheap and can be made in one mold (very cheap to make) however we pretty much rejected the concept from day one.

Finally, they're just a lot sexier :-) We're expecting to be shipping them this week. It sounds strange to be excited about something little like this but this addition raises the performance of our Durus Follow Focus to a new level of excellence in terms of its function and design. Those who know what we do here will agree that we're always pushing incredibly hard to improve our gear...and I don't get excited too often.

Cheers,
Dennis.
 
They look nice Dennis, any chance of a swap out for the old ones for customers that have only had the old versions two months and have never been used...yet?
 
These look great Dennis. Do they come with various screw sizes?
Also, any way we can get some larger, higher res pictures and also see them on a few other lenses?
 
Brigham..call us. We'll figure something out for you.

Jason, sure...we've got our SI-2K rig pics coming tomorrow (or Monday) with a completely different rig setup. The ordering page for the gear is missing some code (up tomorrow) which will allow you to specify the size of your lens focus ring's outside diameter which will allow our guys to custom configure your order with the "spokes" that will best suit your application. The parts we use for the "spokes" can be found in larger hardware/fastener stores in North America...although certainly not in nylon-tipped stainless. In order to make these spokes cost-effective, we're machining our own custom-made nylon tipped versions in very large quantities. Between the composite/brass, stainless steel and nylon, these components are completely happy in salt water environments. This is the spec we've been working towards for all of our parts.
 
Sounds good, looking forward to trying a few out. Great job on taking the feedback and making the effort to change the design. Properly gearing SLR glass has become such a chore over the years.

Any plans to have versions released where the overall diameter is smaller for the small 50mm prime types out there?
I've found the large lenses work well with the "set screw" designs because they sit somewhat flush with the barrel. However, small diameter lenses tend to have the rings loosened over short durations because the distance between the gear ring and the lens barrel is so much greater that the gear gets bumped easier and receives more leverage for twisting. I'm sure the nylon tips help a little in that scenario because they can likely get tightened a little more, but the sleek, snug look of a flush gear is always appealing.
 
Now is there a database of lenses that this will fit for?

Or is it a universal size?
 
Hi Dennis

That look much better and neat !

One suggestion, is it possible for you to create a nut on top of each screws to avoid screwdriver usage ? This way, we can do lock and unlock with bare hand in much faster way in case we need to. I know it will make the design less interesting..
 
Dennis, when I use a lens with the older lens gear, it interferes with my FF in studio mode. Will the new gears have a smaller OD?
 
Larry, the OD is slightly reduced..but just by 1 mm or so. The reason we use one diameter is so that lens changes don't require any rig changes. It's similar to the setup on cine lenses which all use the same diameter gears in a matched set.

Michael, the database would be a monstrous project so what we're doing is implementing a fitment chart that has you measure the circumference, or diameter of your lenses stock focus ring in order to select the right parts from our end. Circumference is easiest as you can just wrap a string around your focus ring and then measure that flat.

Riv, we include an allen key to install the gears and suggest that you use something like Loctite blue (thread locker) for an installation you won't have to touch again. The nylon tips do serve as a form of lock as they resist loosening once snuggged up.

I should have mentioned too that I've found the gears great for stills shooting. Your hand immediately finds the focus gear differentiated from the zoom ring on lenses like the one pictured, making manual focus easier.
 
Dennis, out of curiosity, could you describe the conditions of your lifetime warranty for Durus and the gears?
 
Excluding abuse (like dropping it 20 ft), if something breaks, we'll fix or replace it as appropriate. In terms of wear, the transmission is lubricated and sealed, and includes actual bearings (no bushings) internally. Other than the removable (magnetic) focus ring and external .8 pitch gear, there is zero plastic used. We've built the Durus FF for a lifetime of use.
 
Thanks for the reply, Dennis. Lomos, huh? I may have to put set back to work.
 
The LOMO's have an unheard of gear pitch..so being able to install a .8 ring is pretty cool. Our LOMO 28, 50 and 85 have the organic feel of our Zeiss ZF lenses, but without the physical breathing during focus pulls. If I could find more, I'd buy them in a heartbeat.
 
Matt, right now, there is one size of focus gear, and we provide various lengths of threaded "spoke" to accommodate all of your lenses. Once you gear a set, the focus gear outside diameter is thus the same, just as you'd have with a matched set of cinema lenses. We're changing the way you order the gears (you'll see it Monday) so you will be ordering the "spoke" set ($6) that best matches your lenses. This is less a functional thing and more an aesthetic one. In other words we could just have one set of long spokes but they'd stick out with larger lenses and look, well, ugly. When they're matched correctly you get a nice clean look as you see in the pics.

You'll need to know one thing..the circumference of your stock focus ring(s) to be fitted. A piece of string, ruler and 5 seconds of your time are all that you need to measure this. The catalog will be updated Monday with these options. The first customers for these gears are getting a good deal as we're sending the various lengths at no cost. We just sold out our first production delivery, but no worries..the next one will be here in 5 days :-)

Cheers,
Dennis.
 
Hi Dennis,

I emailed you bout trading in the old FF gears for the new and didn't get a reply. Can it be done?

yean
 
Yean, no but we can provide a discount for you. Just call between 9/5 or email sales@cinevate.com

Btw, we're kicking off a larger version of this gear to allow use with focus rings up to 4.5 inches in diameter. This will cover off all the large telephoto lenses such as the Nikon f4 600mm, as well as cameras like the EX1.

Cheers,
Dennis.
 
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