Accsoon F-C01 – https://amzn.to/3THRl54
This is the Accsoon F-C01 remote follow focus, it is a basic remote follow focus kit that does what you want. I already have used it on a few projects where I worked as a focus puller and now this set lives in my First AC bag as a good back up, when the rental units of other brands have issues.
I haven’t encountered any major issues with the F-C01, but there are definitely a lot of things it can improve . Especially with my experience as a first AC, I was able to modify the F-C01 to my own liking by adding a few things to improve its use.
First thing you notice is the gaffer tape around the focus wheel, as this follow focus does not have a marker ring, but an easy fix was just to gaff tape the wheel to make my own marker ring.
Also I pasted a triangle on the body to mark where the focus is. Then I added a neck strap to the remote, connecting the neck strap to the supplied quick release, so I can hang the focus remote around my neck, so I have both my hands free to switch lenses or do other chores on set.
I find it quite interesting that the remote is powered with Sony FW50 batteries as I still have few of them from my Sony A7rii. Also via the usb port on the remote you can power the focus motor, so when you are using the remote on your camera, you don’t need an additional power source for the focus motor.
However on more professional setups, with the remote far away from the camera, there are several options to power the focus motor. You can power it via D-TAP, DC plug or USB-C, with voltage range from 5 volt to max 16 volts. However, via USB to a power bank, there isn’t a lot of torque for heavy lenses, while via DC and D-TAP it got better torque and most likely due to the higher voltage.
Buttons on the remote are straight forward, holding the rec button turns it on or off. However it seems they have designed it to trigger recording on camera, however there aren’t any cables available yet for this nor do I know when or for which camera they would make trigger cables for, but honestly it ain’t much of an issue as the camera operator can press the button himself.
There is an AB button, which you can mark start and end of your focus, but personally I don’t like to limit my focus range as often the camera operator doesn’t 100% move the same and if he moved too far and you can’t focus that far, you wasted a take.
I do like that it has a straight forward direction button to set the direction of the focus motor. And then pair buttons on both the remote and motor to pair with each other.
From my experience using the Accsoon F-C01 follow focus, the only few thing I don’t like that much is the choice of the battery, though I do have enough of them, but the reality is that you definitely need use 3 batteries for a full day shoot, while I wouldn’t had mind if they had chosen some newer bigger batteries that could last the whole day.
But also I wouldn’t mind if the focus motor is a bit bigger and able to put in a battery to power the focus motor. Especially on more indie productions, I encounter a lot of small budget camera setups that don’t have any external power source to power the focus motor and I need to bring my own rig with a battery plate to power the focus motor.
Overall the Accsoon F-C01 is a reliable and good quality remote follow focus. The focus wheel size is large enough for accurate focussing. And the most important thing is that it is reliable as I haven’t encountered any issue in the time that I have been using it.
If you are interested in the Accsoon F-C01 there is a link in the description below where you can purchase it. If you have questions please enter it in the comment section. Thanks you for watching and I hope to see you in the next video.
