Autofocus on ANY camera with ANY lens is not a new concept but I
think it's finally reached a stage of maturity.
If everyone is using the same cameras, the same lenses,
the same mist filters and grading with the same luts & film conversions,
I'd say the chances of everything looking the same becomes increasingly higher. I think we've
reached that point in the filmmaking space where we've become so used to a certain look
that it's getting harder to stand out and visuals are getting increasingly numbing.
This is the reason so many creators are now leaning towards budget anamorphics & cinema
lenses. For the first time these lenses are actually affordable to the masses & the
underlying motivation is grounded in the pursuit of standing out! Each lens has their own unique
characteristics, flares and means of colour rendition. It's the reason why DP Greig Fraser
opted for a set of rehoused vintage soviet lenses like the Helios 44-2 and Jupiter series in the
filming of Dune 2, which by the way is hands down the best movie I've watched in the past 10 years.
In their original form these lenses are dirt cheap and easily available but you
can also grab cine-modded ones at a similar price! These budget
lenses are one of the few areas where smaller creators are not excluded or
constrained by money and the only thing standing in their way is nailing focus.
So DJI just anounced a new version of Focus Pro. At first glance I thought, great:
new focus motors, a hand grip and a new wheel FIZ, that's it right? Wrong. This system is so
much more! It's the collision of two worlds, fitting for both high budget productions and
solo creators. It's reliable autofocus on any lens married with traditional focus pulling
and what you get is a winning partnership between man and machine. Now this video is
sponsored by DJI but I can honestly say that it does reflect my own opinion and I would not say
yes if I didn't believe in the product so let's jump in! First up we've got the creator combo.
Here you get LiDAR range finder, a grip that can attach to your rig, a motor and a carrying case.
Until now you needed either a DJI Gimbal or a hub with a Transmission to utilise this
feature but now you can use it as a standalone system. The focus pro grip not only powers the
LiDAR but also powers the focus motors for up to 2 & half hours per charge but you can
also run it through D-Tap from a V-mount battery. The grip looks similar to an RS3
grip but it mounts directly onto your rig via Nato Rails. It gives you full control over the
LiDAR with a touch screen display where you can see what the LiDAR camera sees,
chang focus modes and calibrate lenses. Just like RS3 it has a nifty finger wheel in the
front for manual control and a record button that connects to your camera via bluetooth.
The Rangefinder itself, although it looks similar to the previous generation has been drastically
improved. The new version can focus on subjects at up to 20 meters away with a 77% increase in
ranging points over the previous generation giving you much more accurate results, especially in low
light where some cameras will start to fail. I used the Helios 44-2 extensively in this music
video because I love the flares coming out of it. At one point I almost forgot that I'm shooting
with a manual vintage lens because I could simply focus on the camera movement even at F2.0
On the software side you've got state of the art AI Algorithms that can easily distinguish
between a variety of objects with improved tracking on humans and vehicles. Pulling
focus on fast moving cars can be intense especially if you're driving in the car
but knowing that autofocus will take care of this is a great comfort and something
I'm truly excited about for future shoots! When shooting multiple subjects, you can lock onto a
single subject but also instantly change to second subject by flipping the fingerwheel.
DJI also collaborated with a variety of lens manufacturers by adding pre-loaded lens profiles
the the Ronin App. If your lens is on the list you simply set your lens to infinity and it's
calibrated instantly! I used a variety of lenses ranging from the 21mm DZO Vespid,
58mm Helios 44-2, a 125mm DZO Vespid and also a 35-80mm DZO Catta Ace Zoom and the LiDAR doesn't
disappoint. I was quite surprised to see the 21mm keep focus in this shot even with the
ropes in the foreground. The only thing you need to take into account is the placement
of the rangefinder since the longer lenses can quickly creep up into the LiDAR field of
view which can cause focusing issues but I found putting it on my top handle did
the job but it's important to dial in the right installation distance from the lens.
Now for one of my favorite items. Part of the all-in-one combo you also get the Focus Pro
Hand Unit which gives you the ability to control up to 3 motors with one operator,
a fully fledged FIZ. The F stands for Focus, I for Iris, and Z for Zoom. For complicated
scenes where all three is required you have the option to decide who controls what.
For solo shooters, if you're utilising Autofocus, you can get pretty much anyone to control the Iris
with no focus pulling skills required. If you're using a zoom lens you can also have someone zoom
for you especially if it's slow and controlled, but for faster creative zooms I personally prefer
to do it myself so you can change the finger wheel on the handgrip to zoom instead of focus.
Zooming in and out at the right time can add an incredible dynamic to your shots but the
challenge with modern stills lenses is that they are not parfocal. Parfocal means the lens stays in
focus throughout the entire zoom range. This is one of the features that makes a cinema zoom so
expensive and now you can have autofocus on these manual lenses and still have control over zoom.
My favourite part about the hand unit is the wheel itself. It utilises magnetic damping with
tactile feedback that is customisable to your own needs for example you can control the stiffness.
You simply hold the trigger in the front and turn the dial. Depending on how much the wheel needs to
move or how sensitive the focus throw is on your lens, you can adjust it to a custom setting that
works perfect for every scenario. It also has a unique feature in the A/B point setting. First you
find your in-point, press A/B, set your out-point, press A/B again. Now the magnetic damping creates
a strong resistance at both these points that acts as a hard stop but you still have the ability to
force it past if you need to but it has enough power to stop at the exact location. Here's an
example. The in-point is on the fence and the out point is on the player hitting the ball.
Both you and the hand unit operator have the ability to switch between manual and autofocus
by hitting the m-button but the Focus Pro also introduces the worlds first AMF feature. In this
hybrid mode you can let the Autofocus stay on a subject until your focus puller needs
to take over by simply turning the wheel. The transition is seamless without any delays,
the moment the wheel is turned focus goes to manual. This means that you can get amazing
results shooting wide open where the focus puller is just on standby and ready to pull
at the right time. The unit feels premium and will be my go-to for future projects.
The motors also received a massive upgrade! They now come in the standard in 15" rod size
so no need for adaptors. Powered by USB-C each motor has two ports so you only need to power
one motor and the rest can draw power from each other. These babies are are incredibly strong and
for all my productions I kept it at the lowest torque setting but I know for sure it will be
able to handle bigger, stiffer lenses. I had to tie down the Zoom lens to the rails with an
elastic because sometimes when it hits the hard stop it actually lifts the lens up. This tends to
happen on smaller bodies with large lenses but a foot mount will also solve the problem. I mostly
used the FX3 with an adaptor but a bigger camera with a PL-mount will be more secure.
Until now I've already relied on LiDAR in certain scenarios and I often make use of a focus puller
so why am I raving about this system? For me it all comes down to ONE WORD.. INTEGRATION.
I'm already sold on the RS3 Gimbal & the one piece of gear I use on every production is the
DJI transmission paired with the High-bright monitor! It's become the standard for all my
focus pullers and is also a great Director's Monitor. Not only does it never cut out or
lose transmission but the display is super bright and beautiful. The transmission is
easy to attach to my gimbal and the High Bright monitor touch screen now becomes an
extension of control. The Display can actually receive waveform data from the LiDAR which can
also be used by your focus puller as focus assistance. For the scenes where autofocus
is simply not an option your focus puller get's a topdown view of the scene and can
use the waveform as a guide. So in essence, the LiDAR is showing you where what is in the frame
and you can decide where to focus by simply looking at the waveform. The Hand Unit can
connect directly to High Bright Monitor that instantly lets the system talk to each other.
So who is this for? If you're solo shooter gravitating towards manual lenses but still
want to utilise accurate autofocus in majority of scenarios, the creator combo is a no-brainer. You
can use the autofocus and still take over with the finger wheel when the situation requires it. If
you're a working DP that relies on a focus puller, why not give your focus puller the advantage of
relying on the waveform or in some scenarios simply give over control to a machine who has
the ability to keep a wide open shot perfectly sharp without a buzz or the need for a retake.
This system is the coming together of two worlds! On the one hand you have solo filmmakers who can
embrace a world of manual lenses and in the world of high end production, autofocus finally has a
place. Not as a substitute but as an extension to improve the workflow of focus pullers.
If you have any questions,
drop them in the comments below and I'll do my best to answer, see you in the next one!