Hey guys, can I just go out to buy a generic 2.5mm male to 2.5mm female wire and be done with it for my Sony FS700 lanc extension for my hand grip?

Zexun

Yes, that worked for me!

There's a 100 foot extension cable available at this site:

LANC Remote Controller and LANC Control Extension Cables. (http://www.21best.com/21_best/electronic/security/video/pan_tilt/LANC-Remote-Controller.html)

Now that did surprise me, although I suspect the signals are not particularly complex, and almost certainly square wave in nature so pretty robust. There are even LANC splitter boxes out there, like the Manfrotto 521SB, so you can use two controllers - via two pan handles - and control zoom with one hand and focus with the other!

Remote Control Splitter Box 521SB - Fig Rig | Manfrotto (http://www.manfrotto.com/remote-control-splitter-box)

http://elmelectronics.com/DSheets/ELM624DS.pdf

I'm using (a single) Manfrotto MVR901EPLA with an XF300, and after some trial and error, it is fully functional on zoom, focus, iris, auto focus, play last clip. Heck, I'd hate to work without it now, but another one would probably be OTT. :-)