FresHDV Test Bench
Redrock Micro Follow Focus
By Kendal Miller
July 5, 2006

$645
Redrock Micro
www.redrockmicro.com

Well hello everyone, I just received my follow focus from Redrock Micro to use with my HVX200. My initial response was that the unit was very well made, and a solid piece of engineering. The unit retails at about $645 for the FF and 3 gears for lenses. In my shopping the only comparable units I found ran $900-$1,500.

There is a slight degree of play only a few millimeters in the gear box, but for most applications it shouldn’t hinder the use of the unit. The gears are plastic and seem sturdy but that will require much more extensive use before I could determine realistically the life-span and durability of the gears. The design of these item makes it semi difficult to use with the HVX…on other camera models it might not be a problem. For 1 the lens gears are kind of thick and the HVX lens sits so close to the body that there is a tendency for the gear to want to rub the side of the camera body..NOT GOOD! Also due to the way the unit is designed its hard to get the follow focus out of the way of the iris control. It isn’t too bad but I found those things kind of disappointing. In addition the unit ships with size A,B, and C lens gears, none of which are quite big enough to fit the FAT 82mm lens of the HVX. The C ring will work with a little bit of rigging but not simply. Redrock has a D gear available on their site designed to fit the HVX however at the time of this article their lead time was 2-3 weeks.

All in all for the price point the Redrock FF offers a nice set of feature for the indie filmmaker and while not a perfect design in my opinion it will be more than adequate for most applications. My only major complaint in dealing with Redrock is their lead time. However their products are worth the wait in most cases, just be aware that you may want to plan your purchase in advance with plenty of time to spare. My particular order took over 4 weeks from the time the order was placed until it arrived at my door. Now go shoot something!!!!

UPDATE: Redrock has updated the microFollow Focus and addressed issues noted in this review.