Redrockiphonefollowfocus-224x126I've been keen on Redrock Micro's microRemote powered follow focus system since it was first announced at least year's NAB. Redrock makes all manner of DSLR accessories, but their suite of follow focus products could be a breakthrough both feature- and price-wise when they make it to the market later this summer. When I visited the Redrock booth the futuristic iPhone controller was on its way down, but it wasn't the fancy remote I was interested in: it was the $95 wired finger control that I wanted to get my hands on. Here's a look at the complete device in action from HDSLR Shooter:


Mremote_base_iso-224x203In my own experience, the auto-calibrate feature worked flawlessly (the controller automatically finds the hard stops of your lens), and the finger control was pretty responsive -- there is a tiny bit of lag, but it basically allows you to ride your focus while keeping both hands on your rig's support handles. For run-and-gun shooting without a camera assistant, I think this will be an essential ergonomic upgrade. I should note that the motor on the unit I was using was a $1,700 motor that is not manufactured by Redrock (Hayden? Haiden?). Redrock's own motor will supposedly offer the same level of performance, but there are other considerations than motor power -- for example, some of the other motorized follow focus units roaming the NAB floor made quite the racket while operating, to the point where even off-camera microphones would easily pick up their whine. We'll see how Redrock's own motor performs (and how these futuristic rangefinder and iPhone controllers perform once in the field) when the follow focuses (focusi?) finally start shipping June 15th. Models should come in around $1600 for the wired version and $2200 for the wireless version.

Link: Redrock microRemote