Fotga Dp500 II Follow Focus

Recently I have gone to a new hobby in addition to my photography. Although it uses almost the same similar equipment, some new equipment still need to be bought for this new hobby of mine. I've gone to dslr video. I have done videos before, when I was in college. I used a minidv camcorder and edited videos on my pentium 4 single processor laptop. Now that dslrs have the ability to do video, I have decided to give it a try and resurrect my long lost hobby. Editing nowadays have become easier, thanks to multi core processors and faster software and plugins, the look of video has become more defined as ever.

I have recently acquired new equipment. From lights to rigs to heavier duty fluid heads.  I have assembled a rig and recently got a follow focus system for it. Follow focus systems attach to your existing video rig to allow you to focus into your subjects faster, more accurate and makes it twice easier than focusing in using the focus ring of your lens.

The Fotga Dp500 II follow focus system

Follow focus systems run from around $99 and could go up to around $2000...motorized ones even go up to around $13000. Sometimes I don't really understand why they can charge around $1500 for something simple that attaches to your rig, that's like the price of my dslr right there. So I searched the web for the best deal around for the best quality follow focus systems there is.

I ended up getting a Fotga Dp500 II  Follow Focus system. From the reviews I've seen it seems like the best bang for my buck. From what I've read that it's mostly made out of aluminum...better than the plastic ones that cost the same. That was the thing that made me get it. For something that will attach to my aluminum rig, I'd rather have something made out of a tougher material than plastic.

It's a very good substitute to more expensive follow focus systems

Fotga Dp500 II Follow Focus is an improvement from the recently released Fotga Dp500 which from the reviews I've seen all said that the mechanism isn't as durable as the newer version. I've seen owners of the first version complain about the internal gears being stripped which basically makes the follow focus unusable. The Fotga Dp500 II Follow Focus' improved design was to make it more durable.

The Fotga Dp500 II Follow Focus features a detachable gear that you can attach to either the front or the back of the follow focus to make it suitable for either left handed or right handed operation, that's a plus for me because I am left handed and the first time I tried on a right handed follow focus, I had difficulty using it.

Very nicely constructed. Almost all metal.

It also features focus stops that serve as markers that you can use for focusing at a certain distance. You can also use it to limit the movement when the focus on your lens has reached infinity or the end. The previous version of the follow focus from Fotga didn't have that.

It attaches to 15mm rods which makes it more of a universal follow focus system, with professional looking twist locks that make it look like a more expensive follow focus system. And what the reviews were saying is true...it is indeed mostly made out of aluminum.

The feel of the wheel is really nicely dampened. Not too tight but not too loose either. The follow focus system comes neatly packaged in a box with the follow focus and a lens gear belt that fits most lenses.

For around $150 you simply cannot go wrong with this item. With almost an all metal construction and a professional feel to it, I highly recommend the Fotga Dp500 II Follow Focus.