Any one know of a CHEAP follow focus for the stock hd100 lens? at DVinfo.net

Giuseppe Pugliese · December 15th, 2005, 06:26 PM

I know of the follow focus that is $900 from Cavision (about the cheapest thing i can find right now) but i would love to know if there is anything out there in the $500 range...

Barry Green · December 15th, 2005, 09:51 PM

http://www.expeditionfilmpartners.com/store/splash.html

There you'll see mention of the IndiFocus, for $299.

Giuseppe Pugliese · December 16th, 2005, 06:50 AM

WOW that is very interesting... I have actually thought about designing such a thing... I guess I should have gotten a patent haha... Anyway I think that I would be very interested in buying that... problem is... will it put pressure on the lens? And will it slip during use? All questions I guess will have to be answered by people who own it already :-(

To keep this thread going, is there any with an actual gear connection in that price range.. I would LOVE that… but if not this is pretty much as good as it gets for that price range… (I might just buy one anyone because its so cheap!)

Great and thanks so much Barry, you might have just made a lot of filmmakers days hahaha I know you made mine!

Tim Ovel · December 18th, 2005, 02:49 PM

Yes, it puts pressure on the lens, but how much or little is dependent on how tightly the wheel is placed into contact with the lens. There is total flexibility in y-axis, a-axis, and z-axis placement.
The gearbox is one to one, so with the knob being the same diameter as the wheel, how much you turn the knob is how much the lens turns.

Finally, am working on a geared version. The problem is not with the stock lenses of the dvx100a, canon xl1-xl2 gl1-gl2, sony pd's, or any of the JVC or Fujinon lenses, they are supple and finely machined to be very light.

It's when people start using 35mm slr lenses on DOF adaptors. After spending $3k+ on a camera, around $1k or more on the adaptor, they then "splurge" $50 on ebay for some 35mm slr lenses. These usually are very tight, old, etc., so they need some "extra" torque, hence the geared approach.

This will make that version of the indiFOCUS more than $299 just because the extra cost of goods needed is higher. (Gear and gear ring.)

However, as any business finds out, they seldom make just ONE product and only ONE product. As needs of the consumers change, so should their products.

I imagine that I will have a standard version, $299, then an indiFOCUSgear for roughly $389. What is also a positive, is that the system is totally modular. You can purchase the standard indiFOCUS, and if you go with a DOF adaptor, purchase just the gear module and gear ring seperately later.

Sorry about the long post...just want to get some facts out straight!

Chris Hurd · December 18th, 2005, 04:43 PM

Thanks for your input, Tim... is there anything your FF won't work with? Very cool product!

Giuseppe Pugliese · December 18th, 2005, 06:31 PM

it sounds all great to me, i have been waiting a while for someone to actually make these for a decent price! Thanks so much, i have one more question for Tim.... I am going to be useing the Cavision matte box system and it looks like the 15mm rods are quite far away from the lens on the hd100u... i was wondering if you knew if the follow focus would reach the lens? ... ill put the link to it here... http://www.cavision.com/pictures/JVC.../JVCHD100U.htm its the first system on the page... the 4x5.65 hard shade matte box i wonder if it will reach... as you can see in the photos when you click on them, the rods are a few in. away from the lens.

Tim Ovel · December 19th, 2005, 09:02 AM

Chris, have had it on a Varicam with fujinon lens, DVX-100, 100a, Sony PD-100, PD-150, PD-170, Canon Xl1s, Xl2, GL1, GL2, and with the M2 adaptor, and Norm Li in BC used ith with the pre-production G35. So far the only issue is tight 35mm SLR lenses...hence the reason I'm developing a gear module.

Tim Ovel · December 19th, 2005, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giuseppe Pugliese

it sounds all great to me, i have been waiting a while for someone to actually make these for a decent price! Thanks so much, i have one more question for Tim.... I am going to be useing the Cavision matte box system and it looks like the 15mm rods are quite far away from the lens on the hd100u... i was wondering if you knew if the follow focus would reach the lens? ... ill put the link to it here... http://www.cavision.com/pictures/JVC.../JVCHD100U.htm its the first system on the page... the 4x5.65 hard shade matte box i wonder if it will reach... as you can see in the photos when you click on them, the rods are a few in. away from the lens.

Giuseppe, actually, with the adjustment of the bracket and rod mount, the depth into the lens is no problem, however, it seems that the lens is quite high up from the rod mount. This has come up before, the Canon XL2 has a 20x lens that is quite large in diameter, so I have developed an extension bracket. When you order, just email me a note that you need the extension bracket, and I'll assemble it with the longer bracket.

Giuseppe Pugliese · December 19th, 2005, 09:22 AM

thanks a bunch!

December 15th, 2005, 06:26 PM	#1
Giuseppe Pugliese Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 392	Any one know of a CHEAP follow focus for the stock hd100 lens? I know of the follow focus that is $900 from Cavision (about the cheapest thing i can find right now) but i would love to know if there is anything out there in the $500 range...

December 18th, 2005, 02:49 PM	#4
Tim Ovel indiFOCUS Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 4	indiFOCUS Yes, it puts pressure on the lens, but how much or little is dependent on how tightly the wheel is placed into contact with the lens. There is total flexibility in y-axis, a-axis, and z-axis placement. The gearbox is one to one, so with the knob being the same diameter as the wheel, how much you turn the knob is how much the lens turns. Finally, am working on a geared version. The problem is not with the stock lenses of the dvx100a, canon xl1-xl2 gl1-gl2, sony pd's, or any of the JVC or Fujinon lenses, they are supple and finely machined to be very light. It's when people start using 35mm slr lenses on DOF adaptors. After spending $3k+ on a camera, around $1k or more on the adaptor, they then "splurge" $50 on ebay for some 35mm slr lenses. These usually are very tight, old, etc., so they need some "extra" torque, hence the geared approach. This will make that version of the indiFOCUS more than $299 just because the extra cost of goods needed is higher. (Gear and gear ring.) However, as any business finds out, they seldom make just ONE product and only ONE product. As needs of the consumers change, so should their products. I imagine that I will have a standard version, $299, then an indiFOCUSgear for roughly $389. What is also a positive, is that the system is totally modular. You can purchase the standard indiFOCUS, and if you go with a DOF adaptor, purchase just the gear module and gear ring seperately later. Sorry about the long post...just want to get some facts out straight!

December 18th, 2005, 04:43 PM	#5
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Thanks for your input, Tim... is there anything your FF won't work with? Very cool product! __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

December 19th, 2005, 09:02 AM	#7
Tim Ovel indiFOCUS Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 4	Indifocus Chris, have had it on a Varicam with fujinon lens, DVX-100, 100a, Sony PD-100, PD-150, PD-170, Canon Xl1s, Xl2, GL1, GL2, and with the M2 adaptor, and Norm Li in BC used ith with the pre-production G35. So far the only issue is tight 35mm SLR lenses...hence the reason I'm developing a gear module.

December 15th, 2005, 09:51 PM	#2
Barry Green Barry Wan Kenobi Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,863	http://www.expeditionfilmpartners.com/store/splash.html There you'll see mention of the IndiFocus, for $299.

December 16th, 2005, 06:50 AM	#3
Giuseppe Pugliese Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 392	WOW that is very interesting... I have actually thought about designing such a thing... I guess I should have gotten a patent haha... Anyway I think that I would be very interested in buying that... problem is... will it put pressure on the lens? And will it slip during use? All questions I guess will have to be answered by people who own it already :-( To keep this thread going, is there any with an actual gear connection in that price range.. I would LOVE that… but if not this is pretty much as good as it gets for that price range… (I might just buy one anyone because its so cheap!) Great and thanks so much Barry, you might have just made a lot of filmmakers days hahaha I know you made mine!

December 18th, 2005, 06:31 PM	#6
Giuseppe Pugliese Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 392	it sounds all great to me, i have been waiting a while for someone to actually make these for a decent price! Thanks so much, i have one more question for Tim.... I am going to be useing the Cavision matte box system and it looks like the 15mm rods are quite far away from the lens on the hd100u... i was wondering if you knew if the follow focus would reach the lens? ... ill put the link to it here... http://www.cavision.com/pictures/JVC.../JVCHD100U.htm its the first system on the page... the 4x5.65 hard shade matte box i wonder if it will reach... as you can see in the photos when you click on them, the rods are a few in. away from the lens.

December 19th, 2005, 09:22 AM	#9
Giuseppe Pugliese Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 392	thanks a bunch!