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Wireless Follow Focus Recommendations

Brian Bradley

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I'm looking to invest in a wireless follow focus system. I'm thinking about purchasing the Teradek RT System. Has anyone used this system before or can you recommend something comparable? I'm not interested in the Tilta system and the Arri is out of my price range.
 
perhpas look at cmotion's new cPRO system... I going to look at the Cmotion system, the Arri system with the cforce RF and also the Rtmotion system next week.

I want a LW gimbal friendly rock solid setup with lens mapping etc... your needs may differ.

PS The arri system I think is cheaper now due to the Cforce RF
 
I like the RT motion Latitude especially for gimble work. With a gimbal set up you can use EF lenses and lose the motors and rods etc. keeping the weight down and focus with internal EF lenses. Then use the RT motion with motors for normal Cine lenses. This is my set up anyway.
 
At Cinegear i checked out the RT motion. It is really great. smooth accurate and the reciever unit that connects with DSMC 2 body really great!

I have not used the Cpro unit so i cant speak on that.

But I just switched to the Tilta nucleus-m. And its been really great. the motor is the receiver so that cuts weight on gimbals also it come with a 2nd motor for iris or zoom and you can get even a third for FIZ. All motors daisy chain. Motors are super smooth and have 0 backlash. it also comes with handle for use on movi or ronin which is a huge plus. if you ever in a situation u need to pull yourself. I'd recommended amazon prime the nucleus and try it out for yourself if your don't like it well u have amazon prime.

I have to use my follow focus with many different camera systems so the nucleus became a obvious choice and you cant beat the price.
 
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At Cinegear i checked out the RT motion. It is really great. smooth accurate and the reciever unit that connects with DSMC 2 body really great!

I have not used the Cpro unit so i cant speak on that.

But I just switched to the Tilta nucleus-m. And its been really great. the motor is the receiver so that cuts weight on gimbals also it come with a 2nd motor for iris or zoom and you can get even a third for FIZ. All motors daisy chain. Motors are super smooth and have 0 backlash. it also comes with handle for use on movi or ronin which is a huge plus. if you ever in a situation u need to pull yourself. I'd recommended amazon prime the nucleus and try it out for yourself if your don't like it well u have amazon prime.

I have to use my follow focus with many different camera systems so the nucleus became a obvious choice and you cant beat the price.

I heard too many ppl complain about the Tilta FF and there are a ton of them on eBay. PPL saying they stop responding while they were on a job. I don't want to lose out on work trying to save a buck
 
We started with a used Bartech paired with a Heden motor way back in the day. Worked great for us for about 4 years, but wanted to get something smaller and digital. Moved on the Cinegears Wireless FF set and loved that the receiver was built into the motor - a huge space saver. It wasn't as responsive as the Bartech but for what we were doing it worked well. When we got into aerial work we needed something with better range and went with the RT Motion system. It's on a completely different level than our previous units. I have both the Latitude Sidekick and the Latitude MB, depending on what the situation calls for. I also picked up a couple thumbwheels for focus/iris when we're running handheld or shoulder mount. Absolutely love the system.

It's the most expensive of the units I've owned but it has been worth every penny. If you've got the funds for it, I highly recommend it.
 
I have an unused Teradek RT system for sale in the marketplace that I've assembled for testing only. I went for the MDR-2 controller with battery plate so it could be used on any camera system, not just Red, and so it would be very versatile for placement in terms of gimbal balancing.

It's an amazing and simple setup but I find I'm not doing that sort of work anymore so it has to go.
 
How about the DJI Focus Wireless Follow Focus System? Anyone have experience using that?
 
The DJI is out of production and is great until it stops working or a motor burns out and DJI refuse to service or repair any of it and instead make you buy a whole new motor. I got about 15 months out of mine before it died on me.
 
I’ve had the RT Motion Mk3.1 for about 5 years and it’s been great. One thing to note, for solo movi pro work you’ll need the latitude mdr-mb if you want to use the thumbwheel, so that you can run it off an lp-e6. For some reason the movi dtap power sends out a weird voltage issue that causes the motor to glitch out when being controlled by the thumbwheel.
 
I've had my RT Motion Latitude for a year now. I also own a Preston which was for my steadicam (I'm currently selling my Preston). For DSMC2 cameras, I must say that the RT Motion is perfect for it especially if you are using the Latitude MDR. It fits underneath the sidekick (I've taken off my sidekick and use a plate for more mounting options) and it also has the dual function of extending your wifi reception range of your DSMC2.

Also reduser Nicholas Wise has made a very great add-on to the RT Motion handunit whereby you can mount a monitor, wireless receiver like a Teradek Bolt or Vaxis and it all powers everything of Sony NFP style batteries. I've included some pictures of my set-up and the hand unit.
 

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Old School Bartech with the digital receiver. Bomber.
 
Yeah, I know, this old RED 17-50 is breathing like crazy...and it is 900 Mhz....but....

 
Definitely stay away from DJI. Wireless follow focus is going to be my next big investment and I am holding out to see how the new Cmotion CPro performs. Specs look solid and Cmotion is a well established and specialized company.
 
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