24Feb Speed Crank on Gini iFocus Follow Focus
The cheap Speed Crank came in the other day. It’s a perfect fit on the Gini iFocus Follow Focus which is pretty standard 12×12, so it would work well on other FFs too. It does have a retro ‘1980’s PacMan Arcade Joystick Red’ color, but can easily be coated. The Red knob actually screws off if you wanted to mount something else, like say Dice or a Skull. LOL. The rest of the unit is all black anodized aluminum, not cheap plastic. For the price, i’m not complaining, quite happy actually. You can push or pull the FF with a single finger, and feels like there’s a bit more control. I guess it’s just more leverage with a longer lever.
12×12 Follow Focus Speed Crank Lever
Gini Rigs Follow Focus Shoulder Rigs DSLR Cages
If you need to have your hands further from a Follow Focus, there are a number of whips available now too. These whips vary in lengths from short to very long, and are slightly flexible so that you can turn the follow focus from different positions around the camera. Helpful for someone who’s managing a shoulder rig alone, or if you have someone pulling focus for you.
Flexible Follow Focus Whip
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February 24th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
LOL mine arrived exactly today too. I’m in Portugal.
It was a tight fit, i thought maybe it would not fit, but it does.
Works like a charm!
February 24th, 2012 at 1:52 pm
Lots of bad feedback on ebay about Gini over quality and such. You like the FF?
February 24th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
@gogo – LOL. Bad feedback about Gini? I don’t think so. Yes the iFocus FF (different than HUCO gearbox) is a great FF.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
18 negatives in the last 12 months on the seller. That is why I ask. Nothing to LOL about negative is negative. Follow the the ebay link and click seller.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
@gogo – So you’re talking more about the seller, and not the quality of products. Let’s see 18 negative from 1211 sales. Most of those negatives are ’seller doesn’t answer questions, no communication’. Follow any forum they’ll all tell you the same thing. Gini isn’t a talker or communicator. His skills in english are limited. You order on eBay and you get that item. Don’t ask for extra parts, or any questions about what it will work with.
I’m not the only one buying Gini stuff, there’s tons of people who own the gear and all have excellent things to say (about the gear). Again, it’s a great FF, i’ve been buying Gini parts for years now, all good on my end. Oh and I always suggest you buy from eBay only, because at least you have protection through eBay + Paypal for any issues. There’s also plenty of others trying to RESELL Gini stuff as their own through websites and claim to be official Gini distributors. Stick to eBay.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
I have the Gini FF, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it sold for $1k+ by some other company.
I know Film Camera men. The way to use a speed crank for a shot, is to get you ending focus mark and set the arm straight up. (I guess release the gear contact to the lens and reposition). Then make your marks. Many industry people can follow distance to subject by eye.
So the point being you know that when your subject hits the final mark, the speed crank is pointing up.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
got mine today as well. $16 worth of awesomeness for my shoot35 FF. yay! now i’m waiting on my $50 FF from kickstarter. a good month for video gadgets.
February 24th, 2012 at 4:52 pm
He must mail out in giant batches because I just got mine today and it fits great. Simple but works. All the Gini stuff I’ve purchased has been flawless. If anything, the stuff is overbuilt which is a nice change from so much of the other under built Chinese made stuff.
February 24th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
gini’s quality is amazing, but i got one of his older follow focuses with a HUCO gear box and the thing snapped after two weeks.
Trying to get an exchange or refund was a nightmare, he wanted to charge me more for shipping it back to him than the entire original price + shipping. There is no reasoning with him.
Gini is certainly a port in a storm for budget filmmakers, but be careful, everything is final sale & he’s kind of a jerk in correspondence.
February 24th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
I’m pretty happy with Gini’s stuff, even though, as you know, because he’s a small shop, he doesn’t offer as big of a variety as other shops. But his stuff have excellent quality. I have a rig with the new follow focus, but one thing I’m missing is the hard stops. At least I think I am because I haven’t used one. But I’m guessing the hard stops would help do complicated focus pull under pressure. Do you have an opinion on the other Asian follow focus units on the market with hard stops, like Trusmt or LanParte or anothe one?
February 24th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
@gogo, You’ve gotta be kidding!
I got a rig delivered in less than 3 days from the other side of the world. Needless to say, the quality is second to none. I got the delivery in the early evening. That morning, I received an email from Gini telling me that they video each shipment being packaged and one part was wrong. Apparently the pieces included a wrong part… a PN Clamp. I didn’t notice because the clamp they included was practically identical. So someone obviously reviews the shipments within a couple of days of sending…
The replacement part arrived today, a few days later with a little gift of some extra parts to help me complete the rig build.. Sweet…
I can only say my experience of purchasing from Gini was excellent that’s including communication…
February 24th, 2012 at 6:31 pm
@David OShea – I’ve never had to contact Gini for any issues, but that’s a good reminder that he usually puts ‘free gift’ clamps or rods in all the packages i’ve ever received. I’ve purchased several full rigs myself, and know of very close friends who have purchased as well.
The one problem is that you can’t really buy little bits and pieces separately if you wanted to add on. I’ve had to purchase other ’sets’, and then sell off pieces I didn’t need. In the end it was still cheaper than buying other high end stuff.
February 24th, 2012 at 7:06 pm
My third purchase with Gini arrived today and as always it is phenomenal quality. My eyes about fell out of my head when I saw how big the ifocus is. Goodness, but it is very solid and smooth. My only question was regarding this topic here, my D|crank fits it, but it’s very loose. I’m a little scared now to order a whip for gear of the same problem.
But overall Gini is some of the best quality stuff around, and it’s pricing is mind blowing. I’d suggest ithem, him to anyone.
February 24th, 2012 at 8:24 pm
BTW I tried to type that last comment on an ipod while eating sushi…it didn’t work out too well I now see.
February 24th, 2012 at 9:56 pm
received mine today also in NYC. fits perfect on my Jag35 FF.
February 25th, 2012 at 11:50 am
I have a Gini PUING Rig with the new iFocus and I love it along with my rig. I just wanted to mention a couple things. When I ordered my rig it didn’t include a top handle and I wanted one so I contacted him and asked how much would it cost me to order a top handle and clamp. I know he mentions parts are not sold here on his ebay post but I tried anyway. So I did get an answer from him saying “He will list and I will buy”. It was obvious to me that english was not his strength. But the next morning a got another message stating the price for both parts and the shipping very clearly. So he is working with someone with good english skills.
Also when I received my rig my iFocus was missing the focus marker and I let them know, It was a little complicated to make him understand what was missing but when I sent him a picture he understood and shipped the focus marker and a gift to me very quickly. I know some other people have had different customer service experiences with Gini but I for one am very satisfied and will buy from him again. The follow focus alone is really worth more than I paid for the entire rig. And this is not my first follow focus, I’m impressed with it.
February 25th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
got the crank. awesome. light weight. does the job. and CHEAP.
also..red knob doesnt bother me.
February 25th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Any recommendations for a FF whip?
February 25th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
I have to say communication is Gini’s weakness. He is not very fluent in English and he does not communicate well. But, according to all accounts, that’s because he’s a small shop and he doesn’t have the time or manpower to do it. If he did, it would have bee reflected in his prices. But “gift horse in the mouth” situation people. His stuff is exceptionally well built and his prices on Ebay in auctions are terrific. Yes, if you do “Buy It Now” the prices are a multiple of what you’d get it in an auction, but then again, nobody does. And his spare parts individually are very expensive, but then again, most people do what Emm suggested, get an extra rig, use some of the parts, sell some on Ebay and you still come out ahead with a rig of terrific quality for an unbeatable price.
February 25th, 2012 at 10:11 pm
@Emm – Agree with you and the others on the quality of the IFocus FF – Got mine end of last week – Absolutely flawless in it’s design and quality – zero backlash and play – none… nada! – absolutely solid! – So Chuffed
– I also got one of these cranks after your previous heads up – Big up for that. Fits snug – no play again – so a quality little set up – Low cost and excellent quality.
Cheers
Funny – I too was thinking of a skull/stormtrooper head or something “different” to replace the red ball knob thing – Anyway – just wanted to say thanks and appreciate all you do. As for the haters on the Gini guy – that’s so lame – I’ve had great communication with him – English ain’t super but then it’s way better than my Korean! All the best to him
February 26th, 2012 at 2:07 am
@Eyan “English ain’t super but then it’s way better than my Korean! All the best to him
Cheers”
SO TRUE!!!
February 26th, 2012 at 12:46 pm
I got my Gini “Thanks SJ” rig last week, and I’m absolutely in love with it. Build quality is seriously flawless. From what I can tell, there is ZERO backlash from the iFocus. But, I have read review about how some people have just a tiny bit of play in theirs. Maybe I just got lucky, who knows.
Anyways, while waiting for my order to be shipped, I sent Gini a message asking if there was anyway he could ship the rig out to me sooner because I had a trip to go on, and I wanted to be able to use it. He responded with “Sure I’ll try my best” and sure enough, it was marked as shipped that night. Two days after that, it was at my doorstep.
All in all, I had an great experience with Gini, and will definitely be buying from him again.
Great quality. Great communication. Great price.
February 26th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
Can anyone suggest where to find inexpensive gear rings for the gini ff?
February 27th, 2012 at 2:16 am
I’ve recently read on forums that Gini has gone “proprietary screw” on their rigs (i.e. now they use something that is not 1/4″, even on mounting holes in cages)
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?275996-Gini-Rigs-Go-Proprietary
can somebody confirm that?
it would be an instant dealbreaker
February 27th, 2012 at 2:50 am
@Emm: What is the screw size of the thread in the ball? I might go with your idea of mounting something besides the red ball on the crank. Thanks!
February 27th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
I just got this and it wobbles around in my Gini i-focus no matter what position.
February 27th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
@Matthew – I think there’s a screw behind the little ball. Try adjusting it.
February 27th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
@Andy – I’ll try to check when i’m back in the studio. I’ll be a bit busy this week.
February 27th, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Does anyone else know the answer to this? The sale ends soon so I want to get an answer before it does. I’m guessing it’s just a standard 1/4-20 screw. Anyone? Thanks!
February 27th, 2012 at 11:19 pm
@Emm – Yeah, I adjusted that to make the fit as tight as possible which solves the wobble in the direction of the screw. It still wobbles the other way. I’m in touch with the seller about it. I Will post the resolution.
February 28th, 2012 at 2:11 am
@Andy I don’t know about the threads on the cage but I can tell you this. The top of the shoulder pad on my PUING rig has a threaded block on it and they are smaller than 1/4-20 holes which surprised me.
February 28th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
the thread over at dvxuser is heating up…
pictures of the new cage, with no 1/4-20 threads, only the smaller 10-24 ones (the old cage was half and half)
http://cheesycam.com/speed-crank-on-gini-ifocus-follow-focus/
February 28th, 2012 at 11:17 pm
I ended up wrapping the connection point in a bit of cloth to make the fit more snug. The seller offered a refund and a place to return ship in the US and actually wrote good English.
March 1st, 2012 at 9:32 am
Will be picking one of these up in the near future, just won my self a Thank you SJ rig with FF for $270! Now I don’t think the package comes with any lens gears so I was looking at this one
http://www.amazon.com/EzFoto-Flexible-Gearbelt-Follow-diameters/dp/B005UUJZ2E
to use and see if I could manage with this for now. Or is there any other cheap gears I should look at?