Edelkrone FocusONE V2: First Look

Turkish manufacturer Edelkrone recently released the second version of its follow focus unit called FocusONE. This updated version brings a number of interesting innovations to a niche that already has some pretty strong and affordable options.

Tradition of innovation

Edelkrone has a long list of innovative products. In the past, we covered the Edelkrone JibONE, the Edelkrone Hybrid 3D Printed ORTAK, the Edelkrone Motion BOX, the Edelkrone SliderONE PRO among many other innovations made by the company.

We own a number of Edelkrone products and while they are not all perfect, they are all very well built and do typically offer some unique features and from the looks of it the new FocusONE v2 continues this tradition, let’s take a closer look.

The Edelkrone FocusONE v2

Edelkrone FocusONE v2 main features

The FocusONE v2 is a manual follow focus with several refinements compared to the first generation of Edelkrone’s follow focus units. Here are some of the units main features:

Made from CNC machined aluminum.
Works on either side of the camera.
Adjustable hard stops.
Custom tension adjustment.
Works with 15/19mm rods.
Has 0.8 gear pitch.
Comes with one adjustable lens gear.

What’s new?

Besides being lighter than the original model, the new version is marketed as being the world’s most precise follow focus. According to Edelkrone this is not because it has the best gearbox design, but because its gearbox design is unrelated to its precision.

This was achieved by using a different design than conventional follow focus units. While the gearboxes on regular follow focuses are typically between the marker disc and the focus ring (which results in some loss of precision in the gearbox), the FocusONE v2 design allows the marker disc to be in direct contact with the focus ring as you can see from the diagram below.

Edelkrone FocusONE v2 mechanism

Edelkrone also claims that the FocusONE v2 has a smoother & backlash-free operation as well as a custom tension leaver which might help if you are using lenses with different focus throws.

The control wheel itself can be adjustable to work at different angles which can be convenient. The disc on the unit is white so you can paint on it but it also has a single marking which should make it easy for some simple A to B pulls.

Edelkrone also promises compatibility with other accessories such as matte boxes and the design itself is pretty narrow so you should be able to use it even with smaller lenses close to the camera (which can be a limitation with some other follow focus units).

Pricing

Like all other Edelkrone products the FocusONE v2 is available from the company’s website and sells for $139.

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Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.