Okii USB Follow Focus

I received my Okii Follow-Focus a couple of days ago, and I sincerely believe that it is the single greatest Canon accessory I have ever seen or used, at least for digital video.

Although I have a Switronix Flex-RC1, which can be used to start and stop video recording via a fiber optic cable, it won’t work with the Canon 1D Mk IV. The Oki unit will not only start and stop video recording via a USB interface, it has a total of SEVENTEEN additional functions as well. Not only can you smoothly focus just by turning a knob (much less jerky than trying to focus manually using the focusing ring), but you can also move effortlessly to any of four different pre-selected focus points. For the details, see the user manual, available on-line – I won’t try to summarize all of the many features here.

In my case, the first real decision was how to mount the unit for maximum convenience. I ended up buying a self-tapping valve, of the type used to add an icemaker line to a copper water pipe. I unscrewed and discarded the valve part, leaving the two clamp parts. I inserted a ¼-20 screw through the hole, cushioned by the little rubber backing from the value. I then mounted a small Giotto ball-and-socket to the screw, and mounted the Okii on the Giotto at about a 90° angle. The whole assembly was then mounted on the handle of my Manfrotto 504HD video head, very convenient to my hand. I don’t have a separate HDMI monitor, but I can easily check the focus with my Zacuto Pro 3X finder.

That system left the two 3/8” holes on the Manfrotto head available for other purposes. I use a 5” Manfrotto articulated arm on the left side to hold my Zoom H4N, and a 7” arm on the right to hold my LightPanel MicroPro LED light, leaving the hot shoe to hold my Rode shotgun microphone (complete with the funky “Dead Cat” wind screen). It isn’t a rig that I would want to support on my shoulder for very long but it is all beautifully self-contained.

What? You still aren’t convinced?

Well, wait till you hear what may be coming next!

I wrote to Okii with a list of additional features I would like to see. Leading the list was some way of automatically restarting video recording after the 4GB file size limit is exceeded, stopping the recording. He said he would try to figure out how much capacity was left in the file, but wasn’t sure whether it would be possible. I suggested something much simpler – just start a timer, and stop and restart the video when it gets close to 12 minutes – maybe a little less, in case there is a lot of action and the video codec requires more capacity to record everything. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see this show up as a killer firmware update, maybe (hopefully) within the month or so.

The other two features would require some minor electrical/mechanical modifications to the device. One would be a socket that could be used to control a separately powered Camera Recording light, so that if you were using multiple cameras, the subject would know which camera was currently recording. The second would be another socket that could be used to start and stop the video recording remotely, using something like a Pocket Wizard or the Canon Remote Control.

Are there any cons? Only one that I can think of –- although the batteries should last 30 hours or more, changing batteries requires using a small Phillips screwdriver to remove the back plate. I would have preferred to see a threaded plate that could be removed without any tools, and certainly without the risk of losing the screws in the snow on game day! Also, it might be nice to have a printed, laminated circle that would surround the unit to remind the new user what the nine buttons do.

Finally, I have not yet disassembled the unit to see how weatherproof all of the switches are. But if the unit isn’t as weather-resistant as the 1D Mk IV, it might be nice to offer a weatherproof “baggie” to protect the unit. But these are mere nits.

Six stars – buy it!