Follow Focus Choice

[Arnold F.]

I'm tired of buying something inexpensive to save money, only to sell it later because I cheaped-out. Unfortunately, however, I can't buy the $3K follow focus many of the more advanced users here would justifiably recommend so I'm hoping that the follow focus I'm about to buy will be my penultimate follow focus purchase. I'm looking at three:

Redrock Micro Blue: Phil Holland's informal endorsement goes a long way here. It's supposed to be way better than the old ones and it has the warranty (for whatever that is worth). Apart from Phil's mention, I've been unable to find any reviews for it online.

Genus Bravo: I looked at all the demo FF's at Abel and the Genus was the one with the least play. Maybe the demos aren't kept "tuned" (if that's possible) but it did seem like a well made unit.

Lanparte: The cheapest of the three yet with many good reviews.

Hard stops is desirable but no play and adjustability/adaptability are my most important criteria because I'll be using it with a variety of lenses including Canon, Leica R, Rokinon Cine, Tokina and, if possible, some other nutty glass (Takumar, Helios, Meyer Optik, Industar). I'll also be using the O'Connor O-Box.

If you have experience with some or all of these I'd love to hear about it. I would also love to hear thoughts on lens gears.

I cannot consider an Arri follow focus at this time.

 

[Bob Gundu]

I have the Arri Mff1 which I use on the Lecia R's. The arri has cine gear ratio which is nice on the Leica's, not great on the modern AF lenses though. I also have the crazy cheap Fotga FF. It actually has less backlash than my Arri.

 

[stu aull]

Edelkrone Focus One is worth a look, even if you intend to upgrade later as you indicate.
-beautiful build
-under $300 last time I checked
-set up for DSLR glass

really enjoying mine

Stu Aull
SX 199
Alaska

 

[Loren Simons]

Hey Arnold,

For what it's worth, I vote for the microFollowFocus | blue :biggrin5:

The adjustable gear box will always give you a no-play pull, and the ability to add a double sided studio extension at any time makes the unit future proof.

Feel free to PM or email me if you've got any specific questions I could help you out with.

 

[Phil Holland]

Heh. I'm still using the microFollowFocus|blue. I really desired hard stops and the ability to control/adjust backlash. Like you said Arnold, it's about 100% improvement over the V2. I would say the Redrock FF represents a good value for the dollar. I haven't checked out the extension yet, but that would be really handy for studio and field work.

It really came down to that and the OConnor O-Focus Dual Mini. Which I also like a lot. I even brought some of my glass into AbelCine and my camera to test that guy out.

I've spent a good bit of time using other follow focus units this year too. The higher end units are just great for larger production gigs. That's pretty much a given.

Build quality is going to be the key thing here. Once you shoot with a follow focus for 1-3 months you'll know if it's going to survive in your world. Gears bending, gear box becoming unseated, broken hard stops, etc.... Those are just some of the things that can happen when you toss your unit into a case or bag on a daily basis. So take care of whatever unit you purchase to ensure it's going to last as long as possible.


@Loren, you guys should make a hard case with padding for the microFollowFocus|blue + extension and 19mm adapter. I know "some" people who would want that

 

[Loren Simons]

Phil,

I'll pass that along, always appreciate your feedback!

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Btw talking about follow focus and still lenses : what gear rings are you guys using?
Phil, I think I've seen the shoot35 flexi gear on your lenses. If so how do these hold up? Seems as if these change the diameter and this should improve the focus throw? Or is that wishful thinking?

 

[Loren Simons]

The larger lens gears like the microLensGears do technically increase the circumference of the lens, and therefore gives you a bit more room to play. However, if you really want a nice long throw on your short throw lenses, the microRemote will take whatever two points you calibrate (be it the ends of the lens or even 3ft to infinity) and expands it to the full 270 degrees of the fingerwheel or wireless handheld controllers. I've forgotten about the short throw of my L-Series lenses a long time back hahaha

Arnold, at just over $1,600, if you are looking at a follow focus to pull your own focus primarily, the microRemote Fingerwheel bundle may be up your alley, with the ability to always add a wireless transmitter down the line.

 

[Phil Holland]

Btw talking about follow focus and still lenses : what gear rings are you guys using?
Phil, I think I've seen the shoot35 flexi gear on your lenses. If so how do these hold up? Seems as if these change the diameter and this should improve the focus throw? Or is that wishful thinking?

I use both the shoot35 Flexi Gear and Redrock Micro gears. Loren is correct that the Redrock Micro gears provide a longer focus throw, which is extremely helpful. I equipped all my lenses with the shoot35 Flexi Gears because I can keep them on the lens and they don't add much width. Which is perfect for slipping them in the camera bag. I do take the Redrock Micro gears off the lens. For a few of my lenses I only use the longer throw of the Redrock Micro gears. The Tokina 11-16mm is a good example of a lens that benefits from that. It's just a preference and size thing that depends on each lens.

If you've seen some of my work this year the zoom pulls were accomplished by using the Redrock Micro gears on the zoom and focus to allow for that. Tricky to do because still lenses don't have a terribly smooth zoom pull. Especially the 24-70mm f/2.8L.

the microRemote will take whatever two points you calibrate (be it the ends of the lens or even 3ft to infinity) and expands it to the full 270 degrees of the fingerwheel or wireless handheld controllers. I've forgotten about the short throw of my L-Series lenses a long time back

I haven't checked out the microRemote yet Loren. It looks like the design is allowing a single motor for focus. Has anybody tried setting up the Fingerwheel for zoom and either having the |blue or the microRemote handle focus with an additional unit? Can the Torgue motors handle moving a zoom ring? Some are pretty sticky.

I could see this being useful for ENG/shoulder setups.

 

[William Dempsey]

Hey Phil,

What was the deciding factor in getting the Redrock over the OConner?

Bill

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Thank you Phil - another great extensive review !
I'll check them out ...

Thank you too Loren!

 

[Jake Wilganowski]

Oconner ofocus DM is so solid on still or cine lenses. Not a toy.

 

[Loren Simons]

I haven't checked out the microRemote yet Loren. It looks like the design is allowing a single motor for focus. Has anybody tried setting up the Fingerwheel for zoom and either having the |blue or the microRemote handle focus with an additional unit? Can the Torgue motors handle moving a zoom ring? Some are pretty sticky.

I could see this being useful for ENG/shoulder setups.

The microRemote system is a single channel system, but I've ran two fingerwheel systems at the same time, one for focus, and the other for zoom. I've ran the 24-105's zoom on our motor without any problems. That being said, I've ran the focus on the Canon Cinema Zooms with the torque motors, and those are pretty thick. The motors definitely pack a punch! I'll see if I can grab some footage of running the zoom off the motor.

Also Arnold, we're currently running some end of the year specials, and the "Get Focused" bundle has some nice savings on a microFollowFocus | blue bundle.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Oh, I noticed that shoot35 added the "extenders" for smaller diameter lenses. so it seems these weren't always available. basically does the same thing as the redrock gears only that it's optional and comes with each gear you buy.

 

[Casper Warnich]

I have the Lanparte. I had to get the Lanparte Arm-01 in order to reach my Leica lenses which are very short.
It feels really nice - huge knob (that's what she said), very smooth and it has hard stops.
It's a bit heavy though.
It also seems very well thought of and machined, though some parts are a bit sloppy. Like the sliding mechanism screw (it damages the slide if you don't use a file to make it flat)

The arm will also loosen ever so slightly during use, so you will get a little play in the knob (that's wh...hmm)

Other than that it feels very sturdy, and my guess is it will last a long time.

 

[Zhibo Lai]

I also have the Lanparte. I was a little skeptical at first because of the low price, but reading several good reviews on reduser made me take the chance and I'm glad I did.
The thing is rock solid, no play at all. I've used it extensively for the past few months, and even dropped it once on wooden floors and it's still good as new.
Definitely well thought out design. At first I didn't think the clip-on option mattered to me, then after using it with various matte boxes, this feature became a life saver. When you don't have room to slide the FF off the rails, the clip-on feature saves the day.

It's also very fast to switch sides on the camera, and very easy to swap the gears from left to right. Some have complained that it doesn't reach their small DSLR lenses. I raised the height of it by getting a small LW 15mm rail adaptor, also very cheap on their site. I've used it on small still lenses and cinema lenses, works great.

The only down side I have is with use on larger cinema lenses with long throw. You'll have to spin the wheel several times around to go from near to infinity. They do sell a larger gear ratio, but that helps out a little. It does have hard stop screws for the short throw still lenses. You can adjust where your hardstops are. And for long throw cine lens, you simply remove the screws and you can spin all you want.

 

[steven moreno]

I also have the Lanparte with the arm-01. I love it. It is rock solid. At first it wouldn't reach my Zeiss ZF's with a mattebox on, but after I added the arm, it reaches nicely. My only issue with it is that it requires some effort to pull on and off of the rails, but I plan to slightly grind the "teeth" that catch the rails so it slips on and off better.

I really like the way that the ofocus feels, but I haven't used it on a show. When I check it out with my Scarlet built, it wouldn't reach my lenses with the mattebox on.

 

[Neil Cronin]

Does the microFollowFocus | blue reach an EF 24L or 50L on a Scarlet? I have a bunch of 15mm stuff for my DSLR, and pretty much none of it works with the Scarlet without bending over backwards. Would the microOmniMount or the lowBase make these thing fit better?

tia,
-n

 

[Dustin Dooley]

For gears you might look into the Indi System snap gears. They are two pieces that snap around the focus ring using some pretty powerful magnets. I've been using them for about a year now and they are really convenient due to just snapping them off and on. I haven't had any problems other than some lenses being a bit off with the fit but they give you some extra rubber shims with adhesive to counteract that.

 

[Loren Simons]

Hi Neil,

Yes if you use a lowBase with a microFollowFocus | blue it will reach your lenses just fine. The omniMount is used for something entirely different (adapting between 19mm, 15mm Studio, and 15mm L/W)

You'll have a problem if you're trying to use any baseplate designed specifically for a DSLR just because the Scarlet's lens mount is so tall. For any proper 15mm rail system on a Scarlet, the rails need to be raised up the body of the Scarlet, like the lowBase does.

Depending on what you're doing I would be careful with the magnetic style lens gears. If you're using a wireless follow focus, the strength of the motor can make the gear dislodge and mess up your calibration.