iDC Follow Focus
 

The iDC viewfinder vs. Zacuto viewfinder has been discussed a lot, but I came across this great looking piece of FF:

iDC Photo Store - Specialty gear for the photographer

I like the size. Usually the FF´s for DSLR´s look like a bit clumsy to be operated by the person operating the camera, but this seems to be nice exception. Has anyone tried this? The lens options seem somewhat limited, but I guess that might be solved in the future because the FF is really simple in it´s design.

There are two things that I don't like with this follow focus -- it can't be used with a battery grip, and the focus pull is backwards to any other follow focus on the market.

-- peer

And it looks like a skateboard wheel ;-)

Interesting. I hope someone can review it soon.

I actually have one on order. However by the time I get it, I will be in Colorado for a week and won't have a chance to play with it.

I like it
 

Considering the alternatives the price looks very good. I would like an independent review as well.

I believe it IS a skateboard wheel.

-- peer

I don't get it... there are a lot of "indie" dolly systems that utilize common resilient
polyurethane wheels, but the implication here is that somehow it's not appropriate
to use as a follow focus? So what, as long as it works well?

I for one think it's super cool. If it wasn't for the two issues mentioned earlier (backwards focus pull and won't work on my camera due to the battery grip) I would've tried one. It's compact, easy to set up & operate, and it's cool looking.

-- peer

Seeing as we drive on the wrong side of the road in the UK I suspect that a 'backwards' focus pull could be designed with this market in mind ;-)
I may be a customer for this piece of kit. Would like to know more, particularly about lens compatibility.

Not only that -- they could market it as an exclusive follow focus for Nikon lenses (since those are also backwards ;^)

-- peer

From the website:

Compatible Lenses

Based upon the simple principles of rubber-on-rubber friction drive, the iDC Follow-Focus is compact, easy to adjust, and – best of all - encourages instant lens changes when the mode strikes. The iDC Follow-Focus will ONLY WORK with the following Canon Lenses on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II:

* 24mm f1.4 L
* 35mm f1.4 L
* 50mm f1.2 L
* 85mm f1.2 L
* 100mm f2.8 Macro
* 135mm f2 L
* 200mm f2.8 L
* 16-35mm f2.8 L
* 24-70mm f.28 IS L
* 24-105mm f4 IS L

The iDC Follow-Focus XL and the Canon EOS 5D Mark II will accommodate these Canon lenses:

* EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
* EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
* EF 135mm f/2L USM
* EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
* EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Many thanks Brant
I have the Canon 24-105 but most of my lenses are old manual Nikon primes.
I'm wondering if it will work with these and other non-Canon lenses.

Hard to say Richard. My guess is that the system is setup to work based on the size of the lenses listed above because of the swing of the follow focus wheel. If the Nikon lenses are of similar size (thickness) as the Canon lenses, it's quite possible they will work.

Here is my POV on it...
First, I don't like the idea of any kind of possible slipping from my FF on a pay gig so that would rule this out. There was a company a hand full of years back that made a follow focus that had a rubber wheel that was the friction type like this and people always complained about how it slipped. How much pressure does the iDC put on the lens mount? For me, it's worth the extra cost to get lens gears and a follow focus that works with the other equipment I use. Also having the ability to use a whip is a must for smooth pulls or else use risk movement from your hand on the wheel.

I would say there are some things you need to think about before you buy a follow focus...

Is the construction/robustness important to you?
Do you plan on upgrading to a mattebox or other equipment that rides on 15mm or 19mm rails?
Do you need to make accurate focus pulls repeatedly?
How compatible do you want the FF to be with lenses?
What is your budget?
Do you get paid for gigs or do you just shoot as a hobby?

I use the redrock micro follow focus and it performs spot on every time for years now. I like how it is modular and you can upgrade it and it can work with many different pieces of equipment that ride on 15mm or 19mm rails. The price is right too! The cost is worth the piece of mind knowing your gear will not fail on a job too.

After a brief look on their site - I got the idea that they're for the 'run&gun' style shooter who doesn't want a heap of extra gear hanging off the camera.
I like the idea - and am in the market - but an independent review would be good.
cheers

I was in Colorado, and did not have a lot of time to test it out. Here are my initial observations:

Positives
Viewfinder - Very clear and adjustable to your tastes. Can be placed against your eye/glasses which allows for a little more stability for hand holding.

Weight -total weight is minimal when attaching everything. However I was only using the Regular version and not the XL one (used for larger lenses).

Follow Focus Wheel - Neat idea. For hand holding/tripod holding, the wheel is in a much more natural state than trying to use the focus on the lens.

Usage - Seems to make hand held shooting with the 16-35 II and the 24-70 2.8 much more natural/easier than without. I don't have the 24-105 IS, but I bet that would be a dream lens for hand held shooting.

Fitment - Everything fits together perfectly and tightly. No fear of parts falling off unless you don't tighten the screws.

Negatives
Installation - Not something that you would thrown together for a spontaneous video clip. The use of hex style screws means you have to carry around the hex head tool. The back portion which holds the hood on has a thumb tightening system which could have been implemented in the entire setup to make installation a lot faster.

Wheel - Yes I put this in the positive, but there is a negative. Because it works on friction, if at any time the wheel is not in complete contact with the lens focus ring, it will not turn. If the focus wheel had grooves in it to match up with the lens ring, it might make for better/smoother focusing.

Battery Grip - Most already pointed this out, but there isn't a way to use the battery grip with this follow focus setup. Considering the battery lasts a pretty good time, I don't think it's a major negative.

General Negative - I'll be picky and just state the obvious that for a photographer (myself) this is just another thing I need to stuff into my already full bag. haha.




Overall conclusions for the IDC Follow Focus. It's a very good system, which will make hand held and tripod shooting much easier. However the few drawbacks I mentioned seem like they could be remedied pretty easily. I won't comment on price. I'll leave that up to the reader to determine that.

Hi, thanks for the review.

Does anyone know if it works with Rebel 2Ti EF-S?

I attended the WPPI conference in Las Vegas last week, and attended Bruce Dorn's DSLR video class, sat front row, and got to check out a lot of his gear that he brought with him.

He had a very unique DIY dolly/track contraption that he said would be sold soon on the IDC web site, which was made up from skateboard wheels, so I'm sure the follow focus part you all discussed is a skateboard wheel as well. His DIY dolly/track was pretty sweet, and if sold cheap enough, would be a great little rig to own to get some great panning type shots. Once you see it though, you will probably say to yourself that you can build it, and he explained how he built it with great ease, using conduit which he buys for $10 at Ace Hardware. The skateboard wheels, and some plastic stuff. I didn't get a photo of it, but lots of people were taking them, so I'm sure one will surface somewhere.

He also explained why his follow focus works the way it does, and his point was that when subjects move away from you, so does his follow focus, and when they are moving towards you so does the follow focus.

I like how it doesn't have expensive gears too, but having never used a follow focus of any type, I don't have much to reference when discussing these. So maybe the gear'd FF work better, I don't know?

As I mentioned earlier, this is the complaint I have -- not only is it completely opposite to any other follow focus, but the way I think of pulling focus it is that if you focus in on something, you'll crank it towards the object.

To me the IDC follow focus would be like driving a left hand stick shift.

-- peer

I toyed around with it at WPPI... that's what it felt like, a toy. I've owned quite a few follow focus' to date and to me what IDC shouldn't even be considered a follow focus. It slips, you can't mark it, your hand is basically on the lens anyway... so it really doesn't make much sense. It's usefulness does NOT justify any price tag in my opinion.

Did you get to hold/play with the rig that JVS had? I emailed JVS and he showed me his rig, its the IDC Run N' Gun with a magic wand handle.

http://www.idcphotography.com/kart/i...0_blkwheel.jpg

Pretty sweet setup.

I know you mentioned this earlier, thats why I brought up what he explained as to why he designed his FF the way he did. So you'd understand his thinking and logic, even if you don't agree with it or are used to it. It makes sense to me, and I don't see me having any issue with it.

I did... didn't like it. To me it's a waist.... the way the 'skateboard wheel' is angled makes it almost worthless to me. Not to mention that it slips and wont work with ALL lenses. Also, it was awkward to hold and I feel I could get a better, steadier hold on it if I just held the lens instead of trying to grip a skateboard wheel for support... it's a novelty to me. The only thing I did like what they way they attach the hoodman viewfinder. That was the only solid thing about their product, but that's not enough for me.... I've since switched to the Zacuto Z-Finder..... WAY better... I'm talking night and day difference.

Perhaps you'll having issues with it when you discover that the entire film industry has it "backwards" compared to the IDC follow focus ;^)

-- peer