Arri FF4 or O'Connor CFF-1?

[Paul Nordin]

Remember this classic movie scene?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOILK...eature=related

I’m going to cause some controversy here but that’s my personal feeling on wooden hand wheels.

ROTFL Eric that is priceless! too funny

[KETCH ROSSi]

Actually I was very much set to the FF4, but now will be getting the CFF1 for all cameras, but still trying to set my self up to which Wireless Focus system to get as well, decisions decisions, he he.

[Mitch Gross]

And me, I kinda liked the wood. But then again I'm an old Aaton guy and still believe that the walnut handgrip remains the absolute best. But I do understand the logic.

No logic to a Jaguar's dashboard either, but it sure is pretty.

[KETCH ROSSi]

And me, I kinda liked the wood. But then again I'm an old Aaton guy and still believe that the walnut handgrip remains the absolute best. But I do understand the logic.

No logic to a Jaguar's dashboard either, but it sure is pretty.

Well part of my as an Italian, I love the WOOD Look, especially the dark one, and I also always love that Aaton grip, and love the Denz DVF for this reason too, but must agree that in some design the modern Rubberized Plastics make way more sense.

BTW, thanks again for passing on my request to James at Abel, Mitch, great guy and I also asked him to quote me on one of this beauties. ;)

[Eric Ulbrich]

After seeing th CFF-1 at NAB this year I was sold. I went ahead and purchased a unit from Abel Cine. After building it and playing with it for a few weeks I sadly decided to return it and buy an ff4 (which was cheaper btw) here are my reasons why

1: the gearing on the the CFF-1 has some issues there is play between the gear and the knob and on top of that it's loud. Spinning the knob one way or another makes quite a lot of noise. It was so loud on one show the sound guy was able to pick it up on his mix.

2: all the knobs are really small and awkwardly placed making it really hard to
Make adjustments on the fly. The metal Kip handles are small too making it hard to adjust the unit

3: my assistants really hated it. Yeah you can mount it on yor top
Rods rotate the focus knobs ect but honestly my assistants had to work twice as hard to find the right knob that controlled the right part of the follow
Focus.

It's an over completed design that's more
Expensive than a system that already works....perfectly. You can't mess with German engineering. Honestly I'd say buyer beware unless you hae a specific need for this product.

[A. Clint Litton]

I don't necessarily agree with Eric, though he does make some good points...it does take some more work at times, but I believe it's only difficult at first because it takes some time to get accustomed to the CFF (and yes, if you have fat fingers it can be difficult to adjust the tiny knobs). That said, I don't believe the FF4 is perfect in every way and for every task...which ultimately leads me to believe that the CFF's versatility makes it the winner in the long run.

Speaking of the long run, as robust as the CFF feels now, it will be interesting to see if it's ultimately as durable as the FF4 (or FF3 or FF2) through years and years of production. I guess only time will tell...

All that said, I have an FF4 available if you're interested...

Cheers,
Clint

[Colin Sheldon]

After seeing th CFF-1 at NAB this year I was sold. I went ahead and purchased a unit from Abel Cine. After building it and playing with it for a few weeks I sadly decided to return it and buy an ff4 (which was cheaper btw) here are my reasons why

1: the gearing on the the CFF-1 has some issues there is play between the gear and the knob and on top of that it's loud. Spinning the knob one way or another makes quite a lot of noise. It was so loud on one show the sound guy was able to pick it up on his mix.

2: all the knobs are really small and awkwardly placed making it really hard to
Make adjustments on the fly. The metal Kip handles are small too making it hard to adjust the unit

3: my assistants really hated it. Yeah you can mount it on yor top
Rods rotate the focus knobs ect but honestly my assistants had to work twice as hard to find the right knob that controlled the right part of the follow
Focus.

It's an over completed design that's more
Expensive than a system that already works....perfectly. You can't mess with German engineering. Honestly I'd say buyer beware unless you hae a specific need for this product.

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but we really enjoyed using the CFF-1. We had no play issues with ours, and we definitely didn't have any noise complaints either.

The follow focus is extremely adjustable, which does mean it has a few more knobs then the Arri, but once you get used to it that flexibility it's pretty amazing.


http://www.finnerknowsbest.com/compo...video/watch/25

[Pawel Achtel]

The O'Conner is lovely and certainly the best value for money.

However, my choice is the Arri LFF-1. It is just as (or even more) flexible as the O'Connor except it's 1/4 the size and weight. It is tiny. It is also about twice the price ... oh, well, can't have everything :)

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Arri LFF-1 is great -- best compact FF out there. The pricing on it is just plain stupid though. It costs more than a CFF-1 or FF-4 and there is really no justifiable reason for that.

As for the CFF-1, it's awesome. Some of Eric's comments have me a bit confused. Such as the one about noise... I'm really suspecting that the unit was either a bad one or something was configured incorrectly. I've encountered a few AC's that don't like the CFF-1 at first. Mostly because it's non an Arri and that's all the reason they need to not like it. But it is definitely more versatile than the FF-4 and overall I think it's a nicer and more capable unit. I would gladly take either when shopping for a studio FF.

I personally own an FF-4 and MFF-1. I will be picking up a CFF-1 for my second Epic-X kit when the time comes.

[Raul Gonzo]

Any issues with the FF4 and the RPPs?