Sweet 'n cheap follow focus?

$99,- for a good follow focus?

Vitaliy Kiselev, the man responsibe for hacking the Panasonic GH1 and GH2, runs a forum called Personal View. He has some nice deal going on once in a while, whereby he appraoches dealers to give a special deal for his members. For the dealers it's nice because they get publicity and sell a bunch of units at once.
Now there's an interesting little FF being offered as a special deal. I think Vitaliy generally knows what he's talking about and he says this unit is better than another respectable budget follow focus, the DFocus. (I own one but it has some annoying play and it doesn not mount as easily as this one) This unit that's being offered could have 'minimal play': I'm curious to find out how that translates into real life... You have to be a member of Personal View to be able to get in on the deal. US $99,- seems to be a pretty sweet price.

Nice feature: on and off without waiting in line!

FF on the cheap!

I had a few small ones- these are great to get smooth focus on a prime
lens. Driving out of Athens,Georgia, I saw a Bed&Bath and grabbed my
chance - and a large 'opener' for my bigger lenses. $2,99 for a follow
focus!
Now I'm all focussed on my way to the Smoky Mountains and Tennessee!

Gear rings on the cheap (relatively speaking)

I never understood why a focus ring has to cost ridiculous amounts of money. Even the rings from the manufacturer of my budget follow focus, DFocus, makes focus rings that cost 30,- albeit that one size supposedly fits all (lenses). But ideally you don't want to mess with taking them off and readjusting them to a new lens every time you go out for a shoot.
So you basically want effective and affordable gear rings. Enter Half Inch Rails with their zip-tie solution. 40,- for a set of 4 gear rings. Just placed an order.


HIR Zip Tie Focus Gear from Sam Morgan Moore on Vimeo.

Mailbox: unboxing the DFocus V3

Just received my DFocus V3. First impressions: light, plasticky but solid, nice rotation with dampened friction. The big question with this product is, as far as I'm concerned, how it will stand the test of time. I'd be interested to hear from others how this thing holds after thorough use. I'll be posting a review after I've used it a few times.

Unboxing the DFocus V3 from Filmersblog on Vimeo.