Digital Video - October 2007 - (Page 22)

IN REVIEW FOLLOW FOCUS SHOOTOUT YOU’VE ADDED A 35MM LENS TO YOUR DV RIG. HERE’S HOW TO CONTROL IT. BY MATTHEW JEPPSEN AND KENDAL MILLER T oday’s 35mm lens adapters promise a filmic look by making traditional cinema and still-photography lenses compatible with DV and HD cameras. The results can be mind-blowing, provided one is able to properly control these manual optics and compensate for potentially incorrect distance markings. Enter follow focus units. In essence, a follow focus is a mechanical dial that’s geared to match the gearing on a lens barrel, or the addition of a lens gear to an un-geared still-photo lens. The goal is to allow the focus puller to smoothly and easily adjust the focus of the lens from a comfortable position at the side of the camera. It will also allow you to set marks (usually on a marking disc), helping to ensure that for each point in a scene you can quickly and easily recall focus positions in a complex composition. Operators of smaller-format cameras may find themselves in situations where shooting requires the addition of an AC (assistant cameraman) to pull focus. This process will be greatly improved by the use of a follow focus unit. It’s never fun to reshoot takes because the crew is missing focus marks while the on-camera talent is giving 110 percent. One issue to keep in mind with smaller cameras is that their focus rings often rotate infinitely. This makes it next to impossible to ever set marks and have repeatable focus from one shot to the next. The addition of a gear ring with hard stops, such as the Zacuto Z-RPHVX, makes it easy to achieve repeatable focus points by adding hard stops to the lens gear. There are several factors to take into consideration when selecting a follow dv october 2007 focus: the overall build quality and feature set, price point, and the amount of unwanted “give” or “play” inherent in the gearbox of the unit. We extensively tested five popular follow focus units, taking into consideration each unit’s features, build quality, and even measuring the play in each gearbox. We used a millimeter scale and calipers to note the amount of give in each system. Three measurements were then averaged to determine gearbox play. We tested all five units on a Panasonic AG-HVX200 with a Cinevate Brevis 35mm adapter system, mounted on Zacuto 15mm rods and equipped with a Zeiss PL-mount 85mm T 1.3 lens, courtesy of Fletcher Chicago (www.fletch.com). With the exception of one unit, all arrived equipped with a standard cine 0.8/32 pitch gear, which interfaced directly with the Zeiss PL lens. CHROSZIEL DV DV EXCELLENCE T he Chrosziel DV Follow Focus attaches to standard 15mm rods and locks tightly in place with one knob, which also locks the horizontal slide adjustment, making setup a breeze. The horizontal slide action is smoothly dampened, which is helpful as you mesh the unit’s gear with the lens. Metal edges are smoothly machined and the entire unit is built with tight tolerances. The gearbox is dampened as well, facilitating a smooth, noiseless focus pull. Testing the Chrosziel with a millimeter marking scale, we found virtually no slop in the gears, measuring less than 1mm of play. The 0.8/32 pitch focus gear AWARD OF SCORE CHROSZIEL GmbH PROS: High-quality construction, quick setup. Swappable lens gear can be used on either side of the gearbox. Tight tolerances with virtually no gear play, and nice touches like a dampened horizontal adjustment. CONS: Cost. BOTTOM LINE: A well-engineered and reliable follow focus that includes all the features you’ll use on a daily basis. While it is one of the pricier units we tested, its fit and finish are impeccable—this unit truly is built to last. MSRP: $1,690 CONTACT: www.chrosziel.com www.dv.com 22 http://www.fletch.com http://www.chrosziel.com http://www.dv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - October 2007

Cover Contents Letters DV Update R&D Fest Circuit Light Brigade Follow Focus Shootout Image Conscious Instant Expert Close-Ups Eastern Europe Exploit Call of the Wild Four Principles of Storage Storage Media Production Diary

Digital Video - October 2007

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