A few hands have received the Budget Follow focus and it looks awesome! You can find one review here: http://cheesycam.com/budget-follow-focus-reviewed-again/
DSLR Follow Focus with Lens Gear
Remember that you'll still require a set of 15mm rods to mount, so take advantage of those Gini auctions. I'm guessing with the popularity of this new FF, even those prices might change a bit. (Luckily I ordered three kits earlier this month).
jp
Finally received it yesterday..I also had the shoot35 and the d-focus v3 but sold them (and rent zacuto, red rock).
First impressions:
It's cheap and it feels cheap, it's like a toy. The black aluminum is nicely finished but the rest is a joke.
After 5 minutes of playing with it something "clicked" internally and everything got screwed. I had to open the gearbox and re-assemble the whole thing, on the other side it was kinda fun 🙂
There's no "dampening", there is some resistance because of the grease but that's that, practically none.
Easy to switch the gear from side to side.
Kinda bulky, but pretty light(350gr)
After 2-3 hours the main gear was detached from it's shaft, I glued it, pretty simple, but still, ridiculous.
It was an adventure and felt like it. For the price I guess it's ok, but most of the people are expecting the product they're buying to be working. I spent 3-4 hours in order to actually make it work.
I'll try getting some thicker grease and test it a bit more.
The Shoot35 is a proper ff, no comparison there(it also costs 5 times more), but it was too heavy for hand held work, at least for me.
The D-focus is the only ff with no backlash at all, but the open gearbox and the lack of feel are major issues. On the other side it's the lightest one, so if you're doing lots of hand held work this might be the choice for you.
The gears are also a joke, i glued some rubber bands on the inside, they kinda work now, but I'll probably stick with the shoot35 ones.
If I had to value this ff, I would probably say 100-120$ max.
If I had to choose between the dfocus and this one, and only IF their price was the same I would probably get the Dfocus, just to be sure. (I ended up paying 220$ for the DFv3 plus 2 shitty gears, from express35.com, which is expensive for the overall quality, 130-150$ would be more acceptable).
So, in conclusion, if I could return it at a local store and get a refund I would, but the fuss sending it back to China made me keep it. It is what it is..a backup 🙂
p.s. acceptable backlash, which I pretty much expected.
Pete Stone
I ordered one….got it yesterday…..and it has waaaay too much slop in the gearing internally. The travel in terms of the outside of the witness ring is over 1/2″ slop. This is completely unacceptable! There seems to be no way to adjust this. Mine is going back.
Pete
Dlevine
Foolishly i deleted the review and broke the links here. so here it is again..
https://vimeo.com/25598178
Alksion
I ordered mine, I guess I'll just have to wait patiently now.
How long do you think they'll be backordered for?
What I don't get is that it says they have more available but they can't ship them?
minguy
i'm not worried about the sellers themselves per say - i'm confident i'll receive the item. what concerns me is the quality of the product. it's logical to me that they are all coming from the same factory but who knows (only jinfinance is indicating a delay in shipping). also noteworthy is that there is no feedback in these other sellers profiles specifically about the follow focus. but if i get the product sooner (and with an extra gear as a bonus) then i might take the risk...
anyway, this is a fantastic site, thanks for all the info. and your hard work.
Emm
Post author@minguy - The ones with the most 'feedback' from eBay are the good ones. They aren't dumb enough to risk a well maintained account to sell something that cheap. They've been sellers for a while and experienced with products. I don't think they are knock-offs. I would stay clear from the ones who just 'recently' setup eBay accounts or have low feedback.
minguy
so far, i count 3 other sellers on ebay (excluding the fishy $35 seller) listing what looks like the same exact product as the RJ follow focus at the same price point:
selina1900 https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290577642938#ht_5804wt_907
aminimart https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170655586765#ht_2173wt_967
up2uhk https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280700422154#ht_1295wt_967
these sellers are including more gear belts in their auctions, to compete with jinfinance. was jinfinance the original maker of this follow focus? if so, are these other ones inferior knock-offs?
Emm
Post author@Alksion - I saw the one selling for $35, and I can tell you it costs more than that to produce just 1. You have a brand new seller (just registered) claiming to have several of these in stock. Looks like a scam and I'd stay clear from that.
Alksion
Has anyone notice the one selling for $35 and 22 of them sold?
Usually something is too good to be true, so I stayed clear of that.
I am a little bummed that i didn't order it when I saw it for $120, but I wanted to be sure it was worth it, this video confirmed it for me. Even though I have to pay the extra $36, it is worth the peace of mind for me.
Thanks for the post, can't wait till it comes in!
Jim C
Just got mine and it had a little bit of slippage, I removed the 4 hex bolts that hold the gearbox onto the sliding rail, and tightened down 2 set screws that hold the gear to the shaft, and now it works fine.
Works well with the Rokinon manual lenses.
Jim C
Matt
mine hasn't come yet, still waiting, but can I just say...
i frick'n love this website... Emm is a Bad A$$ mofo
and
happy friday.
peace and love
Tyler
Paul H...do NOT buy the Ikan FG Follow Focus Cine Kit. It has a very nice build quality (all metal...feels good in your hand) but the play or backlash is HORRIBLE. When I opened the box and did the two-handed test I was astounded and would've laughed if I hadn't have dumped 399.99 into it. I recorded about a 1/2 inch of play. Achieving critical focus was impossible.
I contacted Ikan and they said that there is no way to adjust the play but they would replace it for me. I tried to inquire about how much play is customary but I got no response. Needless-to-say...I didn't want to chance it and sent it back for a full refund. From what I've seen in Darren Levine's review...the limited amount of play in the RJ follow focus BLOWS Ikan out of the water.
slicKrox
I was searching for follow focus for about 8 months and finally I found it. Looks very nice even for 160$ (+shipping cost). Thanks CheesyCam for news about it.
Paul
Mine came this morning! (ordered 6/13, arrived 6/22, paid mid price of $130). I agree with everything the video reviewer said- wow nice build quality ! Small and large lenses work with no problem. And in regard to the question of does it fit on a Gini rig- my rig is mostly Gini and it fits without a hitch. I know the price is going up but it is STILL a deal at $140 because the size and build quality is fantastic.
Emm
Post author@JF - Check Express35.com or the Gini Rigs on auction.
JF
Great stuff!!
So what rail system would you recommend to go with it?
Matt
OK! its official... i just got one on ebay... ill let you all know my take on it when it arrives. I really can't wait to use this.
peace and love
Matt
Emm ... yr the man. thanks dude.
Emm
Post author@Matt - The Gini is industry standard (spacing) as well. I mix and match my Gini parts with Cinevate, Express35, Ikan, Hangrip, and more.. It's all good in the hood...
Matt
Thanks much Emm,
I guess I'm not so much worried about the 15mm rails as I am the distance between them on the gini Rig.
Emm
Post author@Matt - Yes this will fit standard 15mm rails, including the Gini.
Jarrod
Looks like someone beat me to the review:) Mine has shipped, I will still post a review when it arrives.
Sucks the price is climbing now for future buyers thought. I got mine at $120.00
Matt
hello everyone!!!
does anyone know if this will mount on a standard Gini Rig kit? The follow focus has a 60cm core to core distance between the rails. I'm wondering if a Gini Rig has the same specs.
thanks everyone!!
peace and love
Paul H
How does this compare quality-wise to the ikan follow focus kit?
DavidG
damm...
i just bought one...
MihaK
@alex
Yes, this wouldn't work, because the plate is aluminim 🙂
Magnets sticks only to steel.
alex
Looks great. i'll order one this week. But maybe I'll wait for them to come out with rails for it before doing so. If the back side of the knob is metal, I think an easy way to create hard stops (which i like for one man band operation) would be just to put long magnets on the back that would be stopped by the needle on top. Anyone see a reason why that wouldn't work? Other ideas?
Yin
This totally will jack up the price for the third time.
Josh
You sold me on it. It looks great, looks a little more professional in a way than some of the other ones.
GaryC
What rails would you recommend to go with this?
Luke Kwan
what happens if I have a grip for my 7d? I've seen where other follow focus has some method of adjusting the gear so that it would meet the gear, but this system doesn't seem like it offers that.
Once I get my smallhd dp4 in july, my next purchase will probably be a rig and a follow focus.