Follow Focus recommendations appreciated

[Yaque Silva-Doyle]

I just wanted to say that I shot for a month in the Himalayas in the freezing cold with the Cff-1 and found it to be a marvelous piece of equipment. Smooth, tight, well designed and Very modular. The close quarters of the ratchet knobs may take a sec of getting use to but even in the cold weather with gloves I was able to set up with little delay. The benefits of compact modularity seem to far out way the small learning curve. This was at least my experience.

 

[Jim Elias]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for tuning in!

I have to disagree that the extension is the solution though. First of all it should just work without extension. Second, adding the extension takes time too and the extension has the same levers as the wheel and so some of the same problems. And third, even with the extension the lock lever of the hand wheel still can't turn 360 degrees without hitting the shaft. It is better with the extension but not there yet. I understand that you can lift the levers and put them anywhere you want but it takes more time then just turning something.

As Eric said, thanks for your comments and for going OConnor!

Regarding the extension: we could make it easier to use without, but then we would end up having to build the extension into the body. This is what basically what happens with most other studio FF units. With the CFF-1, you have the possibility to make the "smart" side up to two inches shorter than with other units -- as said in earlier posts, whether you need this or not, only you can decide, but it would be a boring world if new products never took the risk needed to really offer anything new out of fear of having to do the extra work to convince people. (Which is of course why we're here posting so diligently.) The extension is another module allowing you two different choices -- more space if you have it, and smaller build when you need it. We didn't include it in the basic package because reality these days dictates offering the lowest cost of entry... sometimes wish it wasn't so, but it is. If you don't need to get small, just put the extension on at the beginning and leave it there as if it were part of the bridge.

As also said earlier at one point or another, our extensions do not add any slop to the system because our drive couplings have tapered flanks. If you're in one of those situations absolutely demanding extensions -- for example, to get around a 6.6" mattebox -- no problem, you won't feel it. This also means you don't need to buy a separate throated handwheel just to avoid extension slop.

Anyway and as a last note, there seems to be the notion that we don't lock in a quarter-turn, but we actually do. M4x0.70 threads are common for most of these lock levers from all us manufacturers, and for the fits required (basically the same fits as with iris rods), a quarter-turn will clamp -- please see attachment...

Would it be really difficult to make levers with a bit longer shaft so they clear the whole way? I do think it would make a big difference.

We're looking at it and making sure that we don't cause any other problems (have to go through and do builds with our list of extreme lens, camera, and space-limitation combinations). If it passes, we'll be on it.

To all others with questions for us: we are going through the posts here as quick as I can manage, and Eric or I will answer either here or via PM before the weekend is out, please excuse the delay.

Cheers

Jim

 

[sander kamp]

We're looking at it and making sure that we don't cause any other problems (have to go through and do builds with our list of extreme lens, camera, and space-limitation combinations). If it passes, we'll be on it.

Great! Thanks a lot for listening. If this works it seems like a relatively simple fix and it would make an excellent product even better.

 

[Eric J. Johnston]

I just wanted to say that I shot for a month in the Himalayas in the freezing cold with the Cff-1 and found it to be a marvelous piece of equipment. Smooth, tight, well designed and Very modular. The close quarters of the ratchet knobs may take a sec of getting use to but even in the cold weather with gloves I was able to set up with little delay. The benefits of compact modularity seem to far out way the small learning curve. This was at least my experience.

Yaque- That’s one of my all time favorite CFF-1 photos:

 

[Tim Naylor]

One of the biggest keys to a successful shoot is to prep, prep and test your gear in advance. If we had more clients like you Tim we would definitely stock the FF4 but the Chrosziel has proven very durable. I am eager to see how the CFF-1 could fit into our inventory but we would need to test in advance with our clients. Seeing as there is none in China, Arri might be an easier approach.

If that's the same Chrosziel you rented to us, I love that thing. Once we figured out how to adjust the backlash, it was a champ. Not sure why that model (dual sided studio) isn't popular in the US. It's no cheaper than the others but it's light, simple, and the adjustable backlash (as gears wear) is indispensable. For our type of shoots, build, operation and simplicity were prime considerations. The FF4 takes about two minutes to become an expert.

 

[Yaque Silva-Doyle]

Haha, Thanks man. I do my best.

I am going to Bhutan in March ill have to get some footage with the CFF-1 up their for you guys, should be pretty Epic.

 

[Tim Naylor]

Yaque,

Glad the CFF1 worked out for you. I can see how the weight, compactness would help in your situation. Are you mostly swapping primes, zooms, pulling your own focus or using an AC to pull?

 

[Yaque Silva-Doyle]

Yaque,

Glad the CFF1 worked out for you. I can see how the weight, compactness would help in your situation. Are you mostly swapping primes, zooms, pulling your own focus or using an AC to pull?

For Doc work like the this http://dosriosfilms.com/our-work/directed-by-dos-rios/item/239-light-in-the-himalayas.html the operator is mostly pulling focus but for music videos, films, TV, etc. we almost always have an AC and use both primes and zoom. I really feel like light weight is the way of things to come especially with Epic on the horizon.

 

[Kar Wai Ng]

If that's the same Chrosziel you rented to us, I love that thing. Once we figured out how to adjust the backlash, it was a champ. Not sure why that model (dual sided studio) isn't popular in the US. It's no cheaper than the others but it's light, simple, and the adjustable backlash (as gears wear) is indispensable. For our type of shoots, build, operation and simplicity were prime considerations. The FF4 takes about two minutes to become an expert.

The biggest design flaw (and I do consider it a flaw) of the two-sided Chrosziel unit is that the swing arm does not swing low enough to engage the lens gears on the underside of most lenses (underslinging it). You pretty much are stuck putting the gear on the side of the lens, which often obscures lens markings. Almost every assistant I know prefers to put the gear underneath the lens, which is not a problem with any of the Arri units.

 

[Jim Elias]

Almost every assistant I know prefers to put the gear underneath the lens, which is not a problem with any of the Arri units.

Underslinging the CFF-1: for example, if you forget to undersling while building the camera, just slide it a bit outboard on the bridge dovetail, put the arm down, and slide it back in. Even with really big lenses, and even if there's an iris motor housing or lens support column or miscellaneous bracket (or all of them) to get around under the lens, you can always find a free spot avoiding collision, since the pivot position of the arm, and thus the final underslung engagement point between driver gear and lens, is not "baked in."

That's the main utility of the OConnor dovetail slide. Way back when I was starting out, the Clairmonts modified many of their FF-2s to include a lateral slide just for this reason... I think they were the first ones to come up with the idea.

 

[Kar Wai Ng]

Underslinging the CFF-1: for example, if you forget
That's the main utility of the OConnor dovetail slide. Way back when I was starting out, the Clairmonts modified many of their FF-2s to include a lateral slide just for this reason... I think they were the first ones to come up with the idea.

I used one of those modified FF-2's for the first time last year, I liked it a lot. Clairmont sent it out with the Angenieux 17-102mm zoom instead of the FF4 I requested because it was the only FF that would clear because of the position of the gearing. I'd like to work with the CFF-1 sometime but haven't encountered it in Toronto yet.

 

[Eric J. Johnston]

I used one of those modified FF-2's for the first time last year, I liked it a lot. Clairmont sent it out with the Angenieux 17-102mm zoom instead of the FF4 I requested because it was the only FF that would clear because of the position of the gearing. I'd like to work with the CFF-1 sometime but haven't encountered it in Toronto yet.

Well next week is your chance! I’ll be at Cinequip Whites February Freeze @ Pinewood Studios Stage 9 February 8th and will be in Toronto through Thursday. Please stop by if you can to check out all the new OConnor Accessories on a fully built RED One and if you can’t make it shoot me an email at the address below and we can arrange for a demo while I’m in town.

 

[Eric J. Johnston]

This really is a five star thread...does anyone want to make it happen?