Wooden Camera Zip Focus, Push Button Rosettes & PL Mount for C200

by Olaf von VossApril 20^th, 2018

US based Wooden Camera, member of Vitec Group, has released yet another useful product to their already impressive lineup: The Zip Focus. It’s a straightforward single rod follow focus for both, 15mm and 19mm rods. Ryan Schorman walks us through it and also explains their Push Button Rosettes and a brand new PL mount for the Canon C200.

This new, one-sided follow focus is easy to attach, easy to align and has some handy extra features. It’s available for 15mm lightweight rods and for 15mm studio / 19mm rods. We’ve already covered the Push Button Rosettes in this article.

Wooden Camera Zip Focus

When travelling light, you don’t want to burden yourself with unnecessary extra bulk. Modularity and ease of use is key here. The Zip Focus is such a device. it’s pretty simple on first sight but it comes with some clever features while only taking very little room in your bag.

The Zip Focus comes in two models, which are basically the same but with different mounting adapters. One version attaches to your 15mm lightweight support rods, the other to 19mm (or 15mm studio) rods. The 15mm lightweight version is the one you’ll most likely want, simply because a tiny single rod lightweight follow focus makes so much more sense on a lightweight rig instead of being attached to a giant 19mm studio camera package. But it’s still nice to see that the Zip Focus system cater for all your needs.

The 15mm LW (left) and the 19mm model of the Zip Focus (right).

The Zip Focus comes with two standard marking disks, a hard stop marking disk, a 0.8 gear with 35 tooth and a handy friction gear for photo lenses that don’t have gears on them. No need for extra clip-on gear belts, very neat!

The 19mm model comes with an additional 15mm bushing to attach it to 15mm studio rods.

The whole system is easy to use and pretty much self-explanatory, really. It attaches to your rod and offers two points of rotation. One on the rod itself and another one between the rod adapter and the gear box. With these adjustable joints you can easily align the unit to your given lens. The gear ratio is set to 1:1 and you can attach a whip or a crank to the Zip Focus, too.

In order to work flawlessly with modern photo lenses (which do not offer hard stops) you should use the provided hard stop marking disk. Unlike other solutions on the market, the hard stops are not part of the Zip Focus itself, but of the dedicated marking disc.

Pricing and Availability

Both models of the Zip Focus are $499. The 15mm LWS version weighs 352g (0.78 lbs), the 19mm/15mm studio version weighs 368g (0.81 lbs).

A set of 4 Push Button ARRi Rosettes (two left, two right).

The Zip Focus is very compact, measuring only 101.6 x 88.9 x 127 mm ( 4 x 3.5 x 5 in) for the 15mm LWS version and 101.6 x 88.9 x 139.7 mm ( 4 x 3.5 x 5.5 in) for the 19mm/15mm studio version. Both models are available now. The push button ARRI rosettes come in left and right variants and you can purchase them individually, in a set of two (left, right) or set of four (2 left, 2 right). One rosette is $85, the set of two is $160 and the quadruplet is $299.

Wooden Camera PL mount on a Canon C200.

The PL modification Kit for the Canon C200 is $499. The whole process can be done at home, no need to send the camera in. Furthermore it’s reversible so your warrenty is not in danger here (but it can’t hurt to doublecheck with Canon).

Links: Wooden Camera

What do you think about this new compact follow focus? Let us know in the comments below!