Things You Should Know About Wireless Follow Focus System

In this professional world of photography, it is important for you to have to have a system that can work wonders for you. Having a camera is quite good, but make sure you have something extra that can help you at every turn. And, this is where wireless follow focus system comes into play. Talking about the meaning, it can be defined as the set of parts that work together and allow you focus in an accurate manner while you are doing videography.  

Important Parts of Wireless Follow Focus System  

Following are the parts of a wireless follow focus system.  

1. Rail Clamp: It is the first part which is connected to the two rods that help a lot in forming the base of any camera. That's the reason, you have to have a base and most importantly, rods for the system configuration. Coming to the most cost-effective options, they come only in one standard, i.e. 15mm/60mm spacing.  

2. Arm: It is attached to the rod clamp. Hence, make sure you aim for the best arm that will help you work with a multitude of systems and lenses. You could get an arm that can help you push the system inside or outside.  

3. Gear: It helps to connect to the focus knob. There is no denying the fact that it is one of the most important parts of a wireless follow focus system. There are chances that you might want a larger throw which means you want a larger turn of the focus ring on the lens for a smaller focus knob turn. 

4. Focus Knob: It is more like a focus ring that helps you to turn the focus. However, you can do that by turning the focus ring on a lens by putting your arm on the camera. 

Why You Should Use a Wireless Follow Focus System  

Reasons to Consider a wireless follow focus system.  

1. The depth of Field: One of the biggest advantages of a wireless FF system is that it helps you get a shallower depth of field. Those days are gone when people used to do shooting with a 5.6. As far as a wireless FF system, you can use your 2.0 and 2.8 with gimbal work.  

2. Wider Focal Length: There is no arguing with the fact that the wider focal lengths offer comfortable focus work. When you introduce wireless focusing systems into your workflow, you can finally begin to reintroduce 50mm and even 85mm lenses back into your gimbal work. This would ultimately help you improve the production value of your work. 

3. A range of FF Systems: Getting into wireless follow focus systems can be cumbersome at times. But, now you will get top wireless FF systems online that can caters to all your shooting needs perfectly.

How to Become a Good Follow Focus Puller

Are you facing difficulties using follow focus? Well, you're not alone. There are lots of people facing troubles as the act is easy but the mental pressure is quite huge. if you're a novice or an experienced, becoming a skilled expert requires much labor.

There is no denying the fact that a follow focus system is important because DSLR cameras don't have auto-focus capabilities. Now, the question arises, why do you need a follow focus system. Here's the complete guide.  

Why Do you Need a Follow Focus for your DSLR   

In simpler terms, the aspects of focus are quite complex and delicate. While filming, using your hands to make adjustments can be a perilous task to do and it can even lead to decrease the video production value of your video. And the reason behind is that because these cameras are lightweight and they wouldn't manage your subtle movements. This would ultimately result in the jumpy footage. 

These complications may be avoided when you are filming for a little audience as they are more of forgiving such technical errors. Talking about the scenario, if you are making videos of longer length, commercials or any other films, it is important for you to use a  follow focus DSLR to make sure that each shot should be crisp as possible. Attaining a follow focus puller helps you to achieve the best possible results you've always wished for.  

Steps to Become a Good Follow Focus Puller  

Following are the steps you can follow to become a good follow focus puller.  

1. Predict Distances

 

One of the easiest ways to become a better focus puller is to become accurate at guessing distances. Or in other words, you can say that you should become a human measuring tape. Make sure you start doing it by going into a room with a measuring device and sit in the corner. Take an object and note down the best guess for its distance and then write an estimation from where you were sitting. 
Once you've become good at this, you can choose an object and move on with the process of guessing and checking with an in-depth calculator. 

2. Start Paying Attention to the Public 

Make sure you go out to a public place like a park, a mall, and start paying attention to how people act around certain spaces. In addition, it is important for You to visit a variety of atmospheres where people will act differently. Talking about the settings, there are a plethora of settings like restaurants.  

3. Pretend the Motions 

To do this, just sit in a room and act like you are holding a follow focus DSLR. After that, look at the doorway and assume a character is walking in and sitting down in the room. Make sure you adjust follow focus if necessary. Furthermore, it emphasizes the motion of focus pulling and will get your mind to the direction in which you must pull to go a certain way.

5 Reasons Why Turning Off your Autofocus is the Right Thing to Do

When I began using a camera autofocus was something that seemed beyond science fiction. In the sense, it would never work in real life. Besides anything and everything else, how would it know what you really wanted to focus on?

Now in this day age and age fiction has come fact and quite well that every camera has AF as standard. It just works and works extremely well. If you’re living with a perception that it will always work in a perfect way, you are mistaken. This is because it can pick up the unwanted thing which may not work in its favor. It may even fail to find what it should actually be focusing on, which can cause the lens to hunt back and forth. At times it won’t even let you throw the shutter.

Let’s examine five situations that will let you know when turning off your autofocus is really worth: 

1. When there is not sufficient light

Contrast is low when there is low light, and AF extensively counts on light as well as contrast to hook onto things. Your camera may have an AF assist lamp built in. Even if you leave it switched on, it will not work in certain situations.

2. When there is not sufficient contrast

In case your AF metering spot is on something like a plain colored wall it will become tough for the camera to focus, even if the light is bright. You can go on re-framing your shot in a temporary way so the spot falls on something with detail. 

Just have the shutter pressed half down for the AF activation followed by keeping the shutter button half-pressed to lock the focus. Time to go back to your actual composition.

3. Shooting wildlife

No doubt most wild animals have a great hearing power. No matter how excellent your autofocus is, it is bound to make a noise. So, you must switch the autofocus off to capture those amazing wildlife shots.

4. Landscapes

When it comes to shooting landscapes you generally want those things in focus from the beginning to distant mountains. This indicates that closing the aperture down to enhance the depth field and focusing a third way into the scene. Have the AF switched off. Leaving it on will refocus when the shutter is pressed.

5. Shooting through glass

Many people prefer taking a photograph through glass which does not seem to be a good idea. It’s best to avoid as much as you can. But at times it is inevitable, for instance, if you’re in a plane, or taking a photo of fish in an aquarium. AF may leave marks on the glass, so it’s better to switch it off.

Looking for the Best Follow Focus for Your DSLR?

Many filmmakers have greatly been expressing their concern for buying the best follow focus system for their DSLR camera.

Why should you choose a follow focus system?

There’s no doubt about the fact that a follow focus system plays a vital role because auto focus capabilities cannot be found in DSLR cameras. Even if a DSLR camera had these capabilities pertaining to auto focus, they would not do any good to a videographer because auto focus is seldom used in the world where professional film-making is involved.

What is a follow focus?

A follow focus is a focus control device that’s stringently used in film-making using film cameras and in the production of television with professional video cameras. This mechanism is designed to reduce discomfort, but it may not be necessary all the time. It’s a set of parts that work together so it can allow one to focus more accurately and conveniently for video work. It’s main function is to allow focus so it can pursue the action.

If we were to talk about the “follow focus” system in other sense, it would not contribute to the basic performance of a camera. Instead, it will help the operator become more focused and competent.

The technique of pursuing the action using the best follow focus is called “racking focus.” It is also known as pulling focus, and the person who’s skilled at pulling focus is called the focus puller. Know that this person plays an important role in the camera department, and is generally the First Assistant Cameraman.

The fact remains true that the functional design as well as mathematics of focus are complicated and delicate. When a person uses his hands for making adjustments on the camera body while filming, they should know that this habit can be detrimental to follow. 

No doubt it will lead to the cutback of the perceived production value of your video. This is due to the fact that the camera is extremely lightweight that they are not able to soak the shock of delicate movements. And the result you get is shaky footage, soft focus and harsh focus transitions. You never know when you might get a combination of all three.

In the same way, because you cannot use the focus assist feature on your DSLR camera while filming, your competence to “eye” the focus of each shot will probably be somewhat off. Well, this may work to your advantage if you happen to shoot a documentary film. 

Why? This is because audiences generally ignore such technical faults. However, for those filmmakers with a keen interest in short films, music videos, feature length films as well as commercials it’s necessary for you to measure out each scene. Using a focus puller to make sure that each scene is fresh and in focus is what you should consider.

All You Need to Know About the Follow Focus System

One of the biggest challenges for product makers is to invent the best follow focus. While autofocus technology is improving day by day at all times, it still has to be executed in such a fashion that it works to your advantage. It works best with a single entity, but if one has got many people moving all around the frame it can lead to a tricky situation, even with an AF lock button.

What is a follow focus system?

A set of parts working together which help you focus more accurately for video work is what a follow focus system all about. The major function of this system is to allow focus so that the action can be followed. The method of following this action with the help of a follow focus system is known as pulling focus. This person plays a crucial role in the camera department and is also the First Assistant Cameraman.

What are the parts of a follow focus system?

The most known part of the follow focus system is the white disc and knob that the individuals turn. But there’s a lot more to it. And the only way you can get to know about the advantages and disadvantages is by showing a keen observation in the parts of a follow focus system.

Here are some of the typical parts of the best follow focus system:

• Rail clamp or bracket
• Gear
• Arm
• Focus knob
• White disc
• Lens gear ring

How would you determine if you need a follow focus system?

Well, below are some questions you need to ask yourself.

• Are you shooting 4K and above?
• Are you using low-quality semi-plastic lenses with badly constructed focusing rings?
• Is there a lot of movement by the camera?
• Is your production missing an external monitor with fine resolution?

These questions will let you decide if you really are in need of a follow focus system.

Marking on the follow focus has proven beneficial in every sense of the word. It allows better visibility of marks and it gives the ability to use more colors. And it’s also simple and produces less chaos.