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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 :)

DJI Wireless Follow Focus - 1st Impression

Nick Gardner said:
I guess it depends on what you can get away with. An x-y plate on a steadicam has to be vibration free with a 30lb camera, have limited backlash etc. On a gimbal where you are only dealing with a lightweight camera in the first place you could probably get away with a lot more. I totally fail to see the point of gimbals in the first place, so I am probably the wrong guy to comment on them ;-)

Nick
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The screws would only need to work as guides then the buckles they got now would lock things down / make it vibration free. As it is now it´s kind of slipping around all over the place when the buckles are released which makes it an unprecise operation to get the balance right. So the screws does not need to be vibration free that the buckles would sort the screws would only work to keep the correct X,Y,Z distance and let you change it in known / small increments. Have not tested it but Tilta got the screw setup on their gimbal and it only cost a little bit more. So if they can do it I´m sure DJI can do it for a fraction of the price. Considering how many units they sold there would be quite a bit of users that would jump to get a better solution to nail the balance. Just as they sorted the battery/power thing I think they could easily sort this with less than a few hundred USD in costs per unit.

If you count the number of people that want a steady shot and that does not have the funds to buy the super expansive and difficult to learn steady cams. I think it´s easy to see the point of gimbals. Then also, putting a steady cam on a jib/crane is difficult. Shooting from a small boat, car or motorcycle with a steady cam can also be quite difficult, so is wire cams and over table stuff... Then again a half decent steady cam cost like 3 gimbals so to me it´ quite easy to see the scope where gimbals could be used. And further more, I worked with some of the absolute best steady cam operators on this planet and I´m sorry to say today I would take our Ronin and Armor man and a good operator 9 times out of 10 before any steady operator.

The thing I think most people are missing now is good hand wheels. I think when those are common place together with gimbals then DoP´s will pick ronin style gimbals before steady cams more often as that gives them good control of pan tilt which the today common remote controls simply don't do. And steady operators never did.
 
Dan Kanes said:
http://www.allstarcine.com/#!product/prd1/4503876441/focus-handle
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Obviously, the All Star Cine handle is probably better, but this DIY budget solution is surprisingly very solid and costed me like $10 vs $200. No movement on any parts. Just two L-Brackets, two thumb screws and an old handle that I had from somewhere.

Also, big surprise from my cheapo Nyrius wireless transmitter. This thing sucks on my FS7 (lots of connection issues) but works really well on the Scarlet-W for some reason, and it's tiny (the transmitter, not the receiver).

djirig2.jpg
 
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Those single handle options aren't really comfortable for long periods of time..especially when using 7" monitors. Unless it's specifically doc run-n-gun work, I always have my SmallHD 702 on a lightweight stand for my AC with the wireless receiver and that way the WFF can be around the neck. I've tried lots of different options and really, this is the best one. Much easier for AC's to only be holding the WFF..not having to worry about the full weight of the rig..since it's gets heavy quickly.
 
Chris McKechnie said:
Those single handle options aren't really comfortable for long periods of time..especially when using 7" monitors. Unless it's specifically doc run-n-gun work, I always have my SmallHD 702 on a lightweight stand for my AC with the wireless receiver and that way the WFF can be around the neck. I've tried lots of different options and really, this is the best one. Much easier for AC's to only be holding the WFF..not having to worry about the full weight of the rig..since it's gets heavy quickly.
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Hi Chris,

I also made a light stand version that's compact and supports two small monitors, one for the focus puller and the other for the director.

This little deal is for out in terrain. A month ago, we were shooting on a forested hillside in Griffith Park and my light stand support was a bit of a pain so this handheld version would have been great for that. When you hold the handle and the other hand on the DJI WFF, it's actually quite nice to hold. Rest it on your beer gut for extra stable focus pulling.

Obviously, the All Star handle or something by Wooden Camera would be better, but they cost at least 20 to 30 times as much $$$$$ and I'm kind of broke right now.
 
I attached a pic. Yeah, it's homemade looking but it's super solid and can hold a SmallHD and a 7Q - 1 for focus puller and one for director, supports a V-Mount to power both monitors and the DJI WFF. I don't think there's anything you can buy that can hold two small monitors either. Slides on / off quickly with the Manfrotto plate if you want it to just sit table top. Costed me $10 ($40 for Manfrotto plate but I already had it) vs $300 for Wooden Cameras version which only holds one monitor.

Maybe a manufacturer can build something similar at a pro level. It's nice to be able to support two monitors, especially one you can pull focus with.

rigmount2.jpg
 
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Steadicam is a mature technology pretty much at the end of it's development cycle. Gimbals are still evolving and their potential hasn't been fully explored yet. If you look at the creative Movi shots Shane Hurlbut and others are dreaming up you can see what I'm referring to. They can't begin to be done with a steadicam. The new Freefly Akira firmware is another example. Plus drones are pretty much useless without a good gimbal as everyone now knows.
 
HI
I should buy follow focus this week, I am looking for PD1ikan pd movie or DJI focus

did you tested both of this follow focus? what's the best choice? PRO and CON
Are the DJI strong enough? because I am still scared with product pretty new on the market

thanks a lot ;)
 
Between the PD movie and the DJI there's no comparison. I have seen the PD at NAB and it was sub par. I have 2 DJI's and they work great.
 
HI
sorry my english is not very good, what do you hear about sub par ? can't translate it
so DJI works great even if after several month of use? I plan to use them most on scarlet w and contax zeiss
thanks a lot
 
The PD movie just sucks. It's crap, no good. it lags, doesn't retain calibration on power off. That's as far as I can remember.
Look, like I said, I have 2 DJI's. Worked them on many sets and they have always worked great. Great battery life. Good amount of available accessories. Believe me, the DJI is many levels above the PD...
 
Lots to like about DJI, especially value... how to deal with lack of run/ stop, especially on a crane or with vehicle work?
 
I second what Daniel has said. DO NOT BUY THE PD MOVIE. I had a unit to test and had to return it. It was horrible. Motor burnt out, always lost connection, really bad lag, just not there yet. Pick up a DJI - much better all the way around!
 
I ordered it today I have paid it 2040€ with shipment.i hoppe I will love it
 
So, I finally bought it.

For now one of the worst decisions of 2016.

With fw 1.4 (the one it was shipped with) it was A JOKE.

Completely unusable, marks were off and no precise AT ALL (especially end stops).

I don't know how you guys can be happy with your units as far as precision go, you probably had very low expectations from this unit!

Also the hand controller is heavy as hell and I think its weight has been increased "artificially" to help it to be perceived as more expensive.

It makes no sense, it makes it quite uncomfortable to hold all day and quite unbalanced VS other units on the market.

But the worst thing is that to correct the problems with the end stops and marks (lack of) precision,
I then tried to update the firmware to 1.5 (you have to update 4 yes FOUR components in this system, absurd).

In this process the motor radio update failed (which is common apparently since in the manual describe the force upgrade procedure) and now it's not detected anymore.

Guess what...the force upgrade works only IF the component is detected, but it's not in my case so now I have a WIRED only FF since I can't upgrade the motor radio module.

I did the force upgrade on the motor fw itself to the 1.5 again but no luck, the motor radio is not detected by the update utility anymore, even after minutes of waiting.

Last thing...probably will not surprise some of you...DJI support is the shittiest I have ever dealt with, in my whole life, they simply cut&paste the manual without really helping at all.

I tried chat, email (EU), email (US), chat again with multiple different choices/areas with different operators, all the same.

So, for now, it definitely is NOT recommended.

Just save some $$$ and buy RTMotion (my primary system) or an Axis1. You'll never look back.

Anyone knows how to proceed or some direct contact to the support stuff??

Or maybe I'll just take it back to the reseller?
 
I have to say that it looks to me that you got a defective unit from the get go.
My unit is nothing like that. Very precise, repeatable and has never gone down.
I did a firmware update and it went smoothly.
That the DJI service is terrible, that is true. I gave up on my Ronin a long time ago.
I have very high expectations when it comes to WFF units. I have owned most of the units in the market, and the 2 units I have perform up to par with the best.
I'm sorry you went through this issue. Maybe you can get a replacement?
 
Thanks Dan!

I sure can but the problem is that the unit is not defective at all...

When I bought it (in store with the stock 1.4) we tried 2 other units they have in stock at the reseller and it wasn't precise like my RTM or a Digital Bartech with an Heden.

Like nowhere near that!

And we tried every possible combination of torque and settings (btw 1.5 improves precision a little but remove a lot of the settings...mmm)

The reseller thought I was crazy but then he checked it himself and he asked me to try to take it home and update it to 1.5, he was positive this version was better.

So I can bring the unit back for sure but I wanted this to work.

1.4 was off 1 to 3mm every single time I did a calibration, either manual or auto.

And also with autocal there was a gap of 1 to 2mm from both end stops, on UP, CP2s, Sony CA, all the lenses with hard stops.

This combined with lenses with hard stop @ infinity make an instant studio-only lens.

Now this seems not a huge deal but for me it is and with a wide lens and especially up close you bet your focus will be off at your desired mark.

Maybe I'm asking a little too much from it but since it lacks more advanced features and it's manufactured in China VS UK or US...
and it even costs 2K...I hoped at least the basic functions performed flawlessy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
finger wheels

finger wheels

Daniel Stilling said:
I've had 2 for a while now, and although they don't get used for every single job I do, they get used a bit and have never failed. As much as I hate endorsing DJI for the horrible mess that the Ronin is, credit where credit is due...
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Daniel,

Have you tried the Redrock Micro WFF ????

I'm looking for a good solution but I really want some sort of finger wheel mounted on my Gimble ( DJI MX - Scarlet-X )
for those times ( often) when I have to pull my own focus.
RedRock makes this deal,
http://store.redrockmicro.com/Catalog/Gimbal-Gear-Accessories/microRemote-Universal-Fingerwheel-Controller-with-Collins-Clamp.html

( shame there's no rec start/stop )

It would be nice if the DJI WFF had the same option.

Cheers,

Curtis
 
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