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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 :)

Wireless Remote Follow Focus?

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Damian Grady

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Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced wireless remote follow focus that uses lens motors compatible with Red Lenses? We haven't the budget for a Preston, Chrosziel etc but we've had a look at the Bartech and that looks pretty good. Just wondered if anyone knew of any alternatives in that kind of price bracket?
 
Damian Grady said:
Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced wireless remote follow focus that uses lens motors compatible with Red Lenses? We haven't the budget for a Preston, Chrosziel etc but we've had a look at the Bartech and that looks pretty good. Just wondered if anyone knew of any alternatives in that kind of price bracket?
Click to expand...

I've been using Bartech for years now - great system!
 
The jury's still out on Viewfactor's Impero/Inclino system, which is the only other one I know of that's close to the Bartech in price. They're backordered pretty substantially, though.

I've only seen a Bartech in action once, but it was great. No issues. And Jim has a reputation for really excellent service.
 
Bing Bailey said:
RedRock Micro are coming out with one soon for $500 , not sure how they are managing to do this but it looks solid
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"... looks solid"

At the risk of being pedantic...

RedRock makes great products for their price point, and I think they are one of the value leaders in indie cinema gear.

Value is not the same however as durability, reliability and precision needed for a piece of gear to be "solid." I find the RedRock gear I own to be delicate, require regular on set checks and minor maintenance, and to be relatively imprecise.

Of course I know these things, and I know how to deal with the issues- so they work- which is the real point.

RedRock Micro has been very smart about how they compromise the engineering to deliver the prices their customers need- but they do have to compromise. So has Cinevate, and everyone else in that market segment.

Now, I think that's enough praise and damnation for a piece of gear no one has used yet.

Now that I've railed against this future gear, I can't wait to see it and hopefully be completely blown away by it. I expect it to be a set of smart compromises to give me something I otherwise simply could not afford to own.

In fact, it will be very nice to own a piece of gear for the same price I've rented gear to do the same job.

We may even see a unit that outperforms the big expensive gear in some particular way. (Like the backlash on Cinevate's follow focus.)

In the meantime I think I may just place an order for my second RedRock Mattebox, which isn't "solid" but works really well for me.
 
axel ebermann said:
I have a viewfactor system which works beautifully. But they are indeed backordered. The Bartech is a great system too. Feels a little more solid but comes a double the price...
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Firstly, the Bartech system is not double the price. If you buy from Abel, it's in the low $4k range. The viewfactor is $2700 for a one motor kit.

Secondly, saying the Bartech is a little more solid is like saying a BMW is a little more solid than a Honda. To continue my car analogy, the Preston is a Rolls, Redrock (from looks of it), a Kia...

For that extra $1500, you get renowned customer service and a bulletproof system. The viewfactor, if you've ever used the system, or have followed the whole debacle, is neither of those.
 
Chrosziel Wireless

Chrosziel Wireless

Damian Grady said:
Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced wireless remote follow focus that uses lens motors compatible with Red Lenses? We haven't the budget for a Preston, Chrosziel etc but we've had a look at the Bartech and that looks pretty good. Just wondered if anyone knew of any alternatives in that kind of price bracket?
Click to expand...

Are you looking for a single, dual, or tri-channel system? Chrosziel offers the DigiFox (Single-Channel) for the budget conscious. If you are needing two channels or more, the Aladin system is a very nice system. Whether you opt. for the DigiFox or Aladin, these are top notch Wireless Systems.
 
Simply can't go wrong with a bartech. Simple, robust, accurate. It does all the things a FF should, and it does them very well.

Nick
 
Thanks for all the replies and advice guys! Much appreciated.

For those using the Bartech, which motor have you gone with? We only need a single channel at this stage and the M-One seems to be a solid option.
 
I have the Heden motor with my Bartech. No complaints. It seems to turn any lens even in the cold.
The M-One is nice and strong too, but anytime I've worked with a Steadicam operator who owns M-Ones, I feel like I've been surprised how much noisier they are when they turn. It seems to me if you are doing a quiet dialogue scene or one where an actor needs to concentrate, and the lens motor is buzzing a bit, you might end up breaking their moment.
Cheers,
Harry
 
Harry Clark said:
I have the Heden motor with my Bartech. No complaints. It seems to turn any lens even in the cold.
The M-One is nice and strong too, but anytime I've worked with a Steadicam operator who owns M-Ones, I feel like I've been surprised how much noisier they are when they turn. It seems to me if you are doing a quiet dialogue scene or one where an actor needs to concentrate, and the lens motor is buzzing a bit, you might end up breaking their moment.
Cheers,
Harry
Click to expand...

Has anyone done a serious comparison with measurements of motor sound?

I'm interested in which motors are quitest, which have the most precise motion, etc etc.
 
but anytime I've worked with a Steadicam operator who owns M-Ones, I feel like I've been surprised how much noisier they are when they turn. It seems to me if you are doing a quiet dialogue scene or one where an actor needs to concentrate, and the lens motor is buzzing a bit, you might end up breaking their moment.
Cheers,
Click to expand...

To be fair, the m-one is only loud when racking fast. If the noise from the motor is blowing the moment, then wouldn't having a steadicam guy running back and forth straight at their face be more of a distraction? Because that's what you would have to be doing to make the motor make a bunch of noise ;-)

The hedens are quieter, and I have a couple of those in my kit, but no one has ever complained about the noise.

Nick
 
I have a Viewfactor system. I'm very happy with it. Enough torque to turn a cold Red Zoom. It's very responsive. After a recent motor upgrade of the transmission it is very quiet. Very acceptable at high speed turning. Not all of the features have been enabled yet. But basically the same features as a Bartech with the promise of a lot more features in the future. I have also had very good customer service from Viewfactor. I think the onlyproblem at this point would be there is a backorder of them.
 
joshua gitersonke said:
I have a Viewfactor system. I'm very happy with it. Enough torque to turn a cold Red Zoom. It's very responsive. After a recent motor upgrade of the transmission it is very quiet. Very acceptable at high speed turning. Not all of the features have been enabled yet. But basically the same features as a Bartech with the promise of a lot more features in the future. I have also had very good customer service from Viewfactor. I think the onlyproblem at this point would be there is a backorder of them.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Joshua. I will be using this with the red primes. I was looking for used Bartech but no one wants to let go of these. Hence I may op out for the view factor.
 
I'm sure that the Viewfactor will rip through the primes with ease.
I have used a Bartech a couple pf times and it is a quality piece of kit. The M one motor is a little loud at full tilt although if you have ever used a follow focus you will know that if your cranking the focus to rack through thirty or so feet of focus your probably not going to be any where close to where the mic is.
If you are ever in LA your more than welcome to take a look at the system.
Cheers

Joshua Gitersonke
 
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