VariZoom Remote Lens Controllers for DV Camcorders
an article by The Watchdog

Thanks to the XL1's built-in LANC jack, you're now ready to step up to a degree of image control more commonly found on expensive professional video cameras… variable-speed zoom and remote focus adjustments directly from the tripod pan handle. The VZ-Pro-L remote lens controller is a stylish, functional device that plugs right into that mysterious jack just below the DV port on the right side of the XL1 body. You know, the one labeled "Remote L" which you've probably never used for anything other than analog edit control, if you've even used it at all.

This most recent product from VariZoom, a company based in Austin, Texas which specializes in manufacturing remote lens controls for a variety of video cameras, is a universal device that works with any LANC-enabled camcorder… which is just about all of the Sony and Canon models. Although it was designed with the popular Canon XL1 and Sony VX-1000 in mind, it will function with older Hi-8's as well as the new Sony Digital 8 camcorders… almost anything that has a Control-L jack.

The VZ-Pro-L, essentially, is a stylish brushed aluminum box with a rubber-coated hand grip. It clamps firmly to your tripod pan handle and then becomes an extension of that handle, allowing you to move the camera and control focus, zoom and more, all with one hand. The VZ-Pro-L offers several important advantages for the videographer that make it easily worth double or triple its price. Primarily, it emulates the studio-style handle controls which cost over $1000 on big, expensive professional video cameras. With the VariZoom controller clamped to your tripod pan handle, you can shoot from the back of the camera like you're supposed to. There's no more reaching forward between the top of the lens and the EVF assembly to activate the zoom rocker with your left hand. Also, say goodbye to unwanted noise from bumping the lens and microphone during awkward grabs in the dark for the zoom and focus rings. Additionally, you can "set and forget" the XL1's great super-slow creeping zoom speed without having to worry about holding just the right amount of pressure on the rocker. Just dial in that speed on the VariZoom, and have it work consistently every time, no matter how much pressure you put on the rocker. Finally, you get precise, exact focus movements from the XL1 lens with the VariZoom controller. Let's check out all these features in a little greater detail.

The key feature of the VZ-Pro-L is the variable-speed zoom function, consisting of a rocker switch and a speed control knob that lets you dial in the desired zoom speed. You can set the dial for a particular speed and just leave it there for a series of focal length changes at that constant speed setting… or you can adjust the dial while zooming "on the fly" to ramp the zoom speed up or down during a shot. The speed control is located directly below the grip handle, easily accessible by your index or middle finger while your thumb controls the zoom rocker. It's like having a remote manual zoom.

On the bottom side of the controller are the two focus buttons, one for each direction. This gives you a little more control by allowing you to determine your own focal plane. In other words, if you have foreground elements sharing the frame with background elements, you can use the focus in/out buttons to set the focal plane exactly where you want it. With practice, you can utilize these buttons to perform a rack focus move.

The VZ-Pro-L lens controller also includes a record start/stop button, and a "wake-up from standby" button that allows you to revive a camera that's gone into sleep mode in between shots. For XL1 users, this is a welcome feature, as it is prone to enter standby faster than other cameras are. If you've got a camcorder perfectly positioned up on a jib arm and it goes to sleep, this button comes in very handy. A recording tally light, six-foot LANC cable and a clamp for attaching the controller to a tripod handle (or camera boom) round out the features. One cool thing about the VariZoom LANC cable that other reviews have overlooked is that the plug that goes into the camera attaches at a 90° angle. This means the cable drops down from the jack, instead of sticking straight out where it can get bumped or bent. This right-angle jack makes the controller cable especially easy to plug in when the XL1 is wearing a protective rain cover.

VariZoom offers other LANC controllers in addition to the VZ-Pro-L model, and more controller designs are in development, with differing features and physical designs. They will all work with the XL1 and other Canon and Sony camcorders. For instance, the VZ-200-L controller functions exactly like the VZ-Pro-L except for the wake-up from standby feature, and the zoom rocker is laid out front-to-back instead of left-to-right. It costs about $50 less. No matter which VariZoom controller model you decide to buy, it'll be money well spent on a tool you'll never want to be without.

The VariZoom controller is designed with the ergonomics of video production foremost in mind: just put your hand on the grip, and the lens controls are naturally at your fingertips; allowing you to concentrate on producing great videography... which is where its true value lies. It's hard to put a price on that, in my opinion.

See also VariZoom Pro-LX Remote Lens Controller
See also VariZoom Stealth Lens Controller

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Thrown together by Chris Hurd