Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • 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 :)

Hocus Focus Affordable Wireless Remote Follow Focus

This makes me sceptical: "The Hocus Focus is intended for broadcast and SLR/DSLR lenses only. It is not intended for large cinema lenses."
 
Who knows maybe is good for that price?

hf_8.jpg

Hocus Focus on RED1 and MK-V AR Steadicam rig with Red Rock lens gear and Zeiss ZF still lens.
 
I would just point out that this unit is only about $500 bucks cheaper than a BarTech/M-One combo. The m-one will turn the meanest ugliest lens you ever saw, in the rain, while on fire, on mercury - OK maybe not, but it won't be stopped by any lens you will find on earth.

Nick
 
From stuff he's written, it was used on the sidelines of the World Cup?

I've chatted with him a few times, and the Hofo, is for the 5D/7D, still lenses people, and the broadcast world, its not for the big game cinema lenses.

And they have shipped a lot of them already, so they have product, no Prototypes/Mockups
 
Nick Gardner said:
I would just point out that this unit is only about $500 bucks cheaper than a BarTech/M-One combo. The m-one will turn the meanest ugliest lens you ever saw, in the rain, while on fire, on mercury - OK maybe not, but it won't be stopped by any lens you will find on earth.

Nick
Click to expand...

According to Abelcine's website a Bartech is $2,100,- and a M-one $2.500,- which would make it more than twice the price of a Hocus Focus.
 
Sanjin Jukic said:
Who knows maybe is good for that price?

hf_8.jpg

Hocus Focus on RED1 and MK-V AR Steadicam rig with Red Rock lens gear and Zeiss ZF still lens.
Click to expand...

Hey.

Lol thats my camera Sanjin :D (shooting on a secret project hush hush till mid February)

Peter Hoare is the maker / creator, hes on here so i'm sure he'll chime in here at somepoint soon - say this off the bat, i've known Peter and this product for a year now so i've seen this product develop. Ive had my production version for over a month now, but have used pre-production versions of it for the past 7 months or more on various things - if you have stills lenses, broadcast lenses or dslr rigs then its brill. (Ive gone with Nikkors and Zeiss for my Red and it turns those brilliantly)

Have some more pics of it in action on the red somewhere on my computer which i can post in the morning.

Andi.
 
My bad, exchange rates have changed since last time I checked. Why do I always have to buy shit from Europe when the dollar is in the toilet?

Nick
 
Hi Everyone,

Its Pete - the Hocus Focus guy.

Just thought I would say something about the HoFo and the RED.


As previously mentioned, the Hocus Focus is an affordable, yet reliable and well made remote focusing solution for 35mm adapter and DSLR users. The motor is not made to turn big heavy cinema lenses. Many 35mm adapter and DSLR users out there are using Steadicam Flyers and other stabiliser rigs and have no way of focusing the camera, which is exactly what the HoFo is made for. If you are lucky enough to have a set of Ultra Primes, then the HoFo is not for you.

The weaker motor is much cheaper to produce and is ideal for many people out there, so I opted to make an affordable product which appeals to a certain type of film maker. This thread reminds me of the DFocus thread from a few weeks ago, the Dfocus is not made to turn Ultraprimes, neither is the HoFo.

The system is however well made and designed, and a great deal of thought has gone into the production. Those of you that use you RED with SLR primes may well find the Hocus Focus an ideal solution. It is machined by the same company that make most of the complex parts for nearly all the major F1 teams, all five axis CNC cut and wire cut from solid aluminium. It is regularly used by Steadicam operators on premiereship football games, and it is used by many many independent film makers all over the world.

The cost is £1250, which is $2000 at todays exchange rate, this includes the transmitter, reciever, motor, cable, drive gear and all in a Pelican Storm case with custom cut foam.

The HoFo is a professional product, designed for a specific type of camera, and lense.

Here are some pics:

18643_107479099265751_100000109850762_170996_4541309_n.jpg


18161_1333689426518_1359527630_946266_5722803_n.jpg


16549_1181592226073_1416210860_30500943_6369680_n.jpg


14761_105291446151183_100000109850762_118916_7011701_n.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q6S-ONq53M
 
Hi Pete - thanks for the info, it's always great to be able to get the info directly from the manufacturer. It looks like a great product, for the applications you've described. Do you have any update on the US FCC issue? Is that even a real issue? - sometimes it's hard to sift through what is web chatter and what is an actual concern.
 
Hi Meryem,

Yes the FCC thing is a real issue. It seems that the frequency we use is open and legal everywhere accept in the US. The FCC said that the frequency may be owned by another company, which could be why it is unacceptable. We can very easily manufacture a 900mhz version which is FCC compliant for US use, however getting the unit certified is expensive and difficult to do in the UK.

It is next on our list of things to do, so I anticipate a US HoFo to be just around the corner.

I should be at NAB, and may well have some new products to show. I don't have a stand, but I will bring a HoFo with me for you to look at.

I have a stand at Broadcast Video Expo in London, 16-28th Feb. Come and see me there if you are local. We have a RED on the stand (with Nikon lens!) and should have a Gearnex gear head.

Thanks,


Pete.
 
Hi folks.

Just thought I would chip in my opinion.

I have had the HoFo up on my Floatcam FC14 rig recently, shooting on a Panasonic HPX500 with fujinon XA17 zoom lens. This is very regular shooting set up for me, and I have been on the lookout for an LCS system that works, is a sensible price and actually exists (unlike some of the systems that seem to be stuck in development hell!)

The HoFo does exactly what it sets out to do, and whilst it may well struggle with Ultra Primes etc, in 4 years of doing Steadicam I have only ever shot twice with cine prime lenses. Most of my work is HD music promos, corporates, shorts, virals etc, shot on the HPX500 or 900R, or something similar, with video lenses. The DoF isnt as shallow as 35mm or RED, but you still need a remote follow focus that works. I had a bartech and m-one combo out on a 16mm job a few months back and we ended up not using it as it was far too torquey (?) for the lenses, and kept jumping off the gears. I would have much preferred something simpler like the HoFo on that job as it would have saved a lot of headaches.

I have a RED shoot next week, and they are using the RED 18-50 zoom, so I might see if I can borrow a unit off pete and try it out with that lens to see how it fares.

In an ideal world I would be flying a GPI pro, with a klassen harness, and a preston or c-motion LCS set up. But that is a little OTT for my current line of work, so the FC14 and HoFo seem like a very good match.

I was very impressed with the HoFo, and as soon as I have freed up some cash, I will be adding one to my kit.... If Pete gives me a good price... :-)

Cheers

Adam
 
selling my old Hocus Focus

selling my old Hocus Focus

just wanted to mention that i am selling mine.
PM me.

thx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top