follow focus at DVinfo.net

Andrew Todd · March 15th, 2006, 07:39 AM

is anyone making any units for sale? Dan's only offering the ones he has to his mpic customers. I know some people were trying some DIY. I'd really like to buy one for a good price.

andrew

David Delaney · March 15th, 2006, 08:05 AM

Working on one. Doing the research into the parts, trying to get the price down. Found another place yesterday to make the gearbox yesterday, going to see how it turns out. I will let you know.

Andrew Todd · March 15th, 2006, 08:18 AM

awesome.. looking forward to it..

Eniola Akintoye · March 16th, 2006, 04:49 PM

Would definitely be interested ... hey, keep the price down please :)

David Delaney · March 16th, 2006, 05:23 PM

Yeah, during the prototype stage and pre-production - the price is sky high because I am sourcing out material, building and rebuilding. Hopefully when all is said and done, it will be easy because everything will have been sourced and planned out. I am trying to keep this under $100 if I can, but I can't say for sure. Right now it has cost me about $150.00 for tests, tools, materials etc and that doesn't include my time!

Brian J. Harris · March 16th, 2006, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Todd

is anyone making any units for sale? Dan's only offering the ones he has to his mpic customers. I know some people were trying some DIY. I'd really like to buy one for a good price.

andrew

Hello Andrew,

Have you seen the one on this website?
www.indifocus.com

Its design is a bit different, but the price is lower than some of the "name" ones.

Matthew Nayman · March 16th, 2006, 09:54 PM

Redrock is wokring on an SLR follow focus, fairly cheap. Check it out.

www.redrockmicro.com

Andrew Todd · March 17th, 2006, 08:25 AM

for under $500 the micro looks really nice. I'll definately have to look at getting one once they're for sale.

Jelle Poupaert · March 19th, 2006, 03:52 PM

Hi

I made my own follow focus for about 50$.

http://filebahn.com/host/files/630/rod1.jpg
http://filebahn.com/host/files/630/rod4.jpg

The most expensive part was the gear box. I first tried it with plastic bevel gears but they couldn't hold the torque. The one on the picture has metal gears.

The big plastic gear next to the lens might look stupid but that was necessary to keep around a 1:1 ratio. And I'm convinced it works as wel as a 500$ ff.

cheers

Andrew Todd · March 19th, 2006, 05:44 PM

want to make me one?? im looking for one that i dont have to pay $400-$1000 for. It would be much appreciated.. if you have the time of course

David Delaney · March 19th, 2006, 07:00 PM

Hey Jelle,

Nice job. I was thinking about buying that gearbox, but it was alot more expensive on my end to get it - the gearbox alone was worth more than $50.00 when I researched prices. I noticed that you used the long rod for the actual turning part, pretty cool. I am making my own gearbox (no easy feat), so I am going to make the size alot smaller.

Oh yeah, can I see some stills of how you got the LCD on the shoe? Is that homemade or a purchased grip for the LCD?

David Delaney · March 20th, 2006, 06:05 PM

Just finished my second generation prototype gearbox. Darn hard road. About a week, 6 hour days worth of work, and preproduction planning not included. Might end up being better just buying the darn thing, but haven't given up yet. A reliable source for aluminum boxes is had, just need a reliable source for bearings (certain type with housing) and I just might be on my way. If I can get all the parts and get this thing right, I can do it under $100 bucks.

Andrew Todd · March 20th, 2006, 10:49 PM

sounds like your getting closer.. keep p the good work .. so i can get one cheap!!

Moises Crespo · March 20th, 2006, 11:33 PM

I'm also needing a FF.We encourage to keep up the good work your doing.

Jelle Poupaert · March 21st, 2006, 05:58 AM

Quote:

want to make me one

Well the only hard thing to make would be the gearbox but you can just order that for 30 euros (shipping not included), so I don't know what else I should make for you :-) All parts can be ordered and can be very easily assembled. You need a rod support ofcourse. The most difficult part could be the gear which clamps over the lens itself. I found a gear with the right diameter in an old printer, cut out the inner plastic and voila. There no backlash when turning it because it's quite tight and the small teeth of the lens keep it into place.

Quote:

Oh yeah, can I see some stills of how you got the LCD on the shoe? Is that homemade or a purchased grip for the LCD?

I'll post some pics tonight when I'm home.
Good luck with your gearbox!

March 15th, 2006, 07:39 AM	#1
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	follow focus is anyone making any units for sale? Dan's only offering the ones he has to his mpic customers. I know some people were trying some DIY. I'd really like to buy one for a good price. andrew __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

March 15th, 2006, 08:18 AM	#3
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	awesome.. looking forward to it.. __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

March 17th, 2006, 08:25 AM	#8
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	for under $500 the micro looks really nice. I'll definately have to look at getting one once they're for sale. __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

March 19th, 2006, 05:44 PM	#10
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	want to make me one?? im looking for one that i dont have to pay $400-$1000 for. It would be much appreciated.. if you have the time of course __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

March 20th, 2006, 10:49 PM	#13
Andrew Todd Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Saint John, CANADA Posts: 633	sounds like your getting closer.. keep p the good work .. so i can get one cheap!! __________________ video : xl2 / letus35xl / bogen 503 photo- canon 1dmkII - bronica etrsi

March 15th, 2006, 08:05 AM	#2
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Working on one. Doing the research into the parts, trying to get the price down. Found another place yesterday to make the gearbox yesterday, going to see how it turns out. I will let you know.

March 16th, 2006, 04:49 PM	#4
Eniola Akintoye Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Duluth GA Posts: 238	Would definitely be interested ... hey, keep the price down please :)

March 16th, 2006, 05:23 PM	#5
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Yeah, during the prototype stage and pre-production - the price is sky high because I am sourcing out material, building and rebuilding. Hopefully when all is said and done, it will be easy because everything will have been sourced and planned out. I am trying to keep this under $100 if I can, but I can't say for sure. Right now it has cost me about $150.00 for tests, tools, materials etc and that doesn't include my time!

March 16th, 2006, 09:54 PM	#7
Matthew Nayman Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Toronto Posts: 917	Redrock is wokring on an SLR follow focus, fairly cheap. Check it out. www.redrockmicro.com

March 19th, 2006, 03:52 PM	#9
Jelle Poupaert New Boot Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 13	Hi I made my own follow focus for about 50$. http://filebahn.com/host/files/630/rod1.jpg http://filebahn.com/host/files/630/rod4.jpg The most expensive part was the gear box. I first tried it with plastic bevel gears but they couldn't hold the torque. The one on the picture has metal gears. The big plastic gear next to the lens might look stupid but that was necessary to keep around a 1:1 ratio. And I'm convinced it works as wel as a 500$ ff. cheers

March 19th, 2006, 07:00 PM	#11
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Hey Jelle, Nice job. I was thinking about buying that gearbox, but it was alot more expensive on my end to get it - the gearbox alone was worth more than $50.00 when I researched prices. I noticed that you used the long rod for the actual turning part, pretty cool. I am making my own gearbox (no easy feat), so I am going to make the size alot smaller. Oh yeah, can I see some stills of how you got the LCD on the shoe? Is that homemade or a purchased grip for the LCD?

March 20th, 2006, 06:05 PM	#12
David Delaney Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Niagara Ontario Canada Posts: 1,121	Just finished my second generation prototype gearbox. Darn hard road. About a week, 6 hour days worth of work, and preproduction planning not included. Might end up being better just buying the darn thing, but haven't given up yet. A reliable source for aluminum boxes is had, just need a reliable source for bearings (certain type with housing) and I just might be on my way. If I can get all the parts and get this thing right, I can do it under $100 bucks.

March 20th, 2006, 11:33 PM	#14
Moises Crespo Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Boynton Beach,FL Posts: 94	I'm also needing a FF.We encourage to keep up the good work your doing.