Peter Hoare

Hah, not too long hopefully. Don't want to make any promises, but we are not far from the finish line now, we missed Cinegear by a few days with a working unit. I am very happy with the product, I hope you will be too.

Pete.

Not directly, but hes been wanting to see it, and If he needs it, I would be more than happy to make him new bits for his rig.

Tomas, you can also come and visit me and have a look at the HoFoPro!!

I've just returned from London and dropped into Elstree Studios to check out a dealer there, I'd like to know peoples opinion on this http://www.rtmotion.com/product/mk2-1motor-withcase the only downside with the HoFo is it isn't expandable for multiple motors where the RT Pro Mk2 is. This could be useful further down the line.

Hi Richard,

Just to make you aware, the HoFo can be used with with multiple synced up, either by using two receiver units tuned in to one channel (not particularly pretty, but works fine) or via a splitter cable. The advantage of the motors we use is you can just split the cable off in to two and it will control two motors in sync. This is fine for 3D work, but will obviously not do FIZ, as its designed as a single channel unit.

Send me an email if you would like to talk more about the Hocus Focus, I can answer any questions over email if you would prefer.

Pete@hocusproducts.com

The HoFoPro is progressing nicely, we will just miss Cinegear by a few days with a working unit. Frustrating, but no point turning up with a mockup!

Thanks,

Pete.

Sounds good, Mikko and I will be there....

I was visiting one of my suppliers recently and the MD of the company came over with a little postit note, and he asked 'Do you know Ben Fisher?' I said I knew of him, and he showed me the postit note, which had written on it the names of every company that Ben has started. Turns out that Ben screwed this company over whilst he was making the Benz, so the MD has kept a list of companies so he can make sure they dont get conned by him again...

Small world etc.

Sale Pending...

Il be there too, all week, with the HoFo and HoFoPro.

We did something on Tuesday last year if I recall, would it be the same sort of thing again?

Pete.

Good news, we have two of these plates in stock, so I can get it out to you pretty quickly....

Hi Everyone,

Unfortunately I have decided to sell my Flyer. I got it a few years ago, directly from Tiffen Europe. It has seen a bit of use here and there over the years, but everything is in good order, with all original parts.

It is the black arm version, but not the LE.

I am based in the South East, of England, near High Wycombe, J4 of the M40. Quite happy for viewings or testing.

Its a shame I have to let it go, but since going full time with the Hocus Focus and HoFoPro, I haven't used it for a while, and I think someone else could get much more out of it.

Photos and some further details

Photos below, email me at pete@hocudproducts.com or phone me on 07841 412737 for more info.

Thanks a lot,

Pete.

Hi Jamie,

The spacing on both sizes is different, so really requires a separate bridge plate for 15 and 19mm. We did originally sell the item as both sizes together, but nearly everyone who has bought the bars so far has just bought one size, and not both, so we decided to sell the two sizes separately.

There is an option on the site for both sizes, and theres a bit of a reduction for this in price.

Thanks,

Pete.

Hi,

The price is £220 a set, (15 studio spaced or 19mm available). This includes the main rods, titanium bridge plate and two sets of short 15mm rods to fit into the xcs plate.

If there is enough interest, i could do them at 200 a set.

Thanks,

Pete.

Hi Everyone,

You may have seen the XCS rod adaptor plates I make, recently mentioned by Brooks in this thread http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=13233.

We are making another batch of these plates in the next few weeks, so I just thought I would mention, if anyone would like a set, now would be a good time...

Willing to do a deal to forum members if we can sell enough.

Let me know if you would like one, and I can stick an extra one in the batch for you. Email me on pete@hocusproducts.com

More info here:

http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=10264

http://www.hocusproducts.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=12

Hi Brooks,

Glad the XCS plate helped you out, the original design was from Rick Lewis, and the first one was made by Brian Busby, but I took over making them after Brian made Ricks one.

How do you like the titanium? ;-)

Thanks a lot,

Pete.

Hey Pete!

 

Thnx for the reply. You are based in London? have you got a hofopro unit already at your offices there, thats ready to be tested? cause Im in London Thurs/Fri 13th/14th of Jan. Maybe I can come by and check it out, would be great.

 

Also are you able to give an indication of when to expect the pro on the market?

 

Alright, thnx Pete,

 

 

David

Hi David,

Yes we are based just outside London, near High Wycombe and Maidenhead. We are currently building a run of HoFoPro units, and expect to have these ready to show people by the end of January. We will also have a stand at BVE, so you can see the system there if you're attending.

Once there we have HoFoPros ready to go, I can let you know and you are welcome to come and have a look and I can demo it to you and you can see what you think.

We expect to be taking orders by BVE, and delivering units by NAB.

Thanks,

Pete.

Hi James and David,

Thanks a lot for mentioning the HoFo and the HoFoPro. You are right, the HoFoPro and its new motor wil turn any lens out there, its incredibly strong and fast yet still only uses two moving parts in its drive train, so it is quiet and very reliable. Our system is also Preston compatible, so if you want to use Preston or Heden digital motors in place of ours, we will be selling a setup that does not include a motor, so the user can use our system with whatever motor they choose (we will also be selling our motor separately for people to use with Preston or Cmotion systems etc). Our new system brings other features to the table over the original Hocus Focus, such as auto end stop calibration, camera run/stop and programmable soft stops on the transmitter plus many other features that we have not announced yet.

More info on the new system can be seen here, http://www.hocusproducts.com/hofopro.php

This page includes a few videos, one of which shows our new drive motor being made.

James, you are welcome to come and pay me a visit any time to try the system. We will have a stand at BVE in London in February, where we will have Pro and original HoFo systems on display for anyone to come and look at, and I will be at NAB in April to show the new system off as well.

Thanks a lot,

Pete.

Hi James,

We were getting all ready to take the final photos this week, and the laser engraving company spelt receiver wrong on our receiver! Just having some more cases done and will get the photos next week.

Obviously the motor and receiver are total redesigns, however the transmitter is more of an update. The knob itself is new, we have added side pointers and I have reduced the thickness of the body by about 15mm, so its nice and slim now.

Photos will be available soon.

Pete.

Hi Everyone,

Heres a short video showing how we make our new focus motor. Each and every motor is machined from solid, then EDM wire cut off the plate, polished by hand and anodised black. The two motor shells are made side by side and stay together throughout the process, an individual serial number is engraved on the inside to ensure that the polished halfs match up perfectly when the motor is finally finished.

The Making of a Motor.

The motor is preston compatible and will be available soon, either on its own, or as part of our new Hocus Focus Professional system.

Let me know what you think,

Pete.

Yeah I switched to storm cases too. Much better than Peli for the latches. The bigger peli cases with latches all down the sides etc, especially if its cold or wet, it hurts to open those things. The storm case latches open so easily and close easily, adn they have all the same guarantees and features as Peli cases do.

I have also recently been testing some new cases called NANUK. They are very cost effective and pretty good for the money. Their latches are easier to open than Peli cases too.

Hi Alfeo,

Unfortunately not, the Steadicam bars are a bit bigger than 15mm standard, and the centre distance is too small. I could however make a similar plate that would fit 15mm lightweight bars though....

Interesting.

Wonder who the op is?!

Yeah I had seen the Explorer cases, to be honest though, we get a very good price on the Storms and I trust them, and the size of the case fits well with the product etc etc, so they would have to be half the price to justify the change.

Might get quotes anyway just to see...

Thanks for the suggestion.

Pete.

Yeah, the first few Storms I bought were Hardigg ones, but recently they are al coming in branded as Pelican Storm. Same case, and its much better than the peli equivalent.

I asked the peli guys at a show just after they bought out Storm if they were going to can it or keep them going, and he said 'its a good product, theres no reason to get rid of it', so it sounds like even Peli know the Storm is better....

Pete.

Good stuff.

 

I recently started using Storm 2950's in black. One fits the sled and arm (I don't like the "arm flops around in the vest" method), one empty for the vest and stand, and one with partitions for batteries, focus, booze, wireless and cables.

 

Storm Peli cases are lighter than standard Peli's so I like em for air travel.

Storm cases also have much nicer catches that don't rip your finger nails off or require a proper thump to close like the Peli case catches do. I considered Peli and Storm for a while, and after testing and using both, decided to use Storm for my stuff and to date have bought 150 im2100 cases (so far!)

Storm also has the life time warranty and the purge valve, it does everything the peli does, its just much more comfortable to use, and easier on the fingers. They are also usually quite a bit cheaper than the eqiv Peli.

Im Storm for life now, won't use Peli again, I value my finger nails too much.

The camera appears to be waving about quite a bit in relation to the 'talent', looks like the body rig is quite flimsy and is allowing the camera to wave around. Would be interesting to see the footage anyway though...