GalapagosProduction Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Hi everyone. I have a bit of a pipe dream. I'm filming with a DSLR and stedicam rig, and it occurred to me it would be amazing to be able to pull focus by remote while doing so. Does anyone know if there's a cheap way of doing this? It would be amazing if i could hack the autofocus motor of my lens to achieve this. Another addition to my fantasy rig would be a wearable eyepiece for monitoring! Seems far fetched i know but if anyone has any thoughts on this I'd love to hear them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P337 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I don't know about a cheap one but there are a few USB follow focus models for Canon DSLRs that do just that for a couple hundred $. And Garret Brown's original concepts for the Steadicam actually included a wearable eyepiece for monitoring! lol Here is one story I just quickly found on it: http://www.icgmagazine.com/wordpress/2008/07/18/stead-as-she-goes/ “I felt like the Cyborg from a cheesy science fiction film,†he recalls. The director called ‘roll camera’ and ‘action.’ Brown backpedaled frantically, the miniature flickering figure in his right eye looming into a head-and-shoulders shot. He lost his way through the over-bright monocular world in his other eye. GalapagosProduction 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 The model for the remote follow focus for a steadicam would be the intuitfocus: http://vimeo.com/9827192 There had been attempts to DIY sth. like this. I followed this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3-P1rKCEEg (but didn't finish it, I just can confirm the low prices for the parts) Parts are cheap (~20 bucks all together). I like the whole 'rig' design in this video. Perfect for an EOS with Magic Lantern. You must know: These cheap servo testers > allow a rotation angle of 90°. So you can only follow part of your lenses' focal range. I.e. the Nokton 25mm rotates 270° to go from 0,17 m to ∞. But: Only about 60° cover 1m to ∞. > will translate the position of the controller knob exactly to the motor, but there is no ease-in, ease-out, like with the zoom lever on a modern camcorder, so slow focus transitions are not possible. There are digitally controlled servers available, but they are expensive. Ask at your modeling shop. GalapagosProduction 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalapagosProduction Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Amazing! thanks for your responses. PKent, thanks for the article really enjoyed it. I should probably admit that its not a steadicam I'm shooting with but rather a home built flying camera support of the monopod/ball-head/counterweight design. Axel, the DIY looks like the one for me, using the exact same camera and lens too. I think I'll do some research at the modelling shop as you suggest. This would be great for run and gun music sessions for my site http://www.galapagospresents.com/ Now for that eyepiece! maybe it's a use for Google Glass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalapagosProduction Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 Just found this! <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lnxvFYza6Y4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Works great. follow focus is limited to 10 adjustments per second but it seems fairly smooth. Hopefully it will improve when it comes out of beta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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