Focus pulling with Canon EOS 5D II

<p>Focus pulling with Canon EOS 5D II<br>

I have not shot any serious movie footage with this camera, partly because I did not want to work without a focus puller function (and did not want to use autofocus, since hunting backwards and forwards would look very messy).<br>

I see there are focus puller gadgets around for not much money and would like to ask if anyone has experience of these for moving from one manual focus setting to another without overshoots and preferably while I am shooting with the camera to my eye on a tripod and without the need to actually look at a focus scale. Can all this be done by one person or is it better to recruit a separate focus puller?</p>

<p>I bought a cheap one and used it to film a wedding with a 5D2. I thought it worked out good. I should state that was for static shots on a tripod pulling focus from someone near to someone far and then back. The one I had, sorry I forget the brand, could be marked with a pencil. The thing I liked the most though was the (fortunately cheap!) handle that inserted into the wheel. For me, I made less mistakes pushing the lever ahead or back than turning the knob "ahead" or "back".</p>

<p>If you need to moving the camera while rolling then you'll probably want some help. And if you need two people you will probably need a external monitor, etc.</p>

<p>The cheap alternative is gadget that just mounts a short rod onto your lens focus ring and you then move that rod instead of turning the ring. As long as that motion doesn't effect the stability of the shot and you are comfortable with which direction is near and far, maybe it would also work for you and save you some money.</p>

<p>A DSLR on rails with a focus pull attachment, external monitor and matte box assembly gets pretty large. It does however come across looking more professional if that sort of thing matters to your clients.</p>

<p>And don't forget...many lenses designed for photography breathe when changing focus. I immediately think of the Canon 100L macro which is a wonderful, sharp, excellent video lens. But it feels more like a 90-100mm zoom when changing focus. I personally don't mind the lens breathing a little during a focus pull, especially when changing focus in just one direction during the shot.</p>