HV30 Manual Focus Ring!! whoa...very slick!
 

hello there,

I came across this on another forum today and think it's totally bad@ss. I searched this forum and didn't see anything about this focus ring in particular, but please excuse if you already know about this

Check it out: :: Irv Design :: MFR ::

It's goes for $38 + shipping, but says he is currently out of stock??!! This is a simple and beautiful device..much more sleek and unobtrusive than some of the DIY jobs I have seen (which are a complete freakin eyesore IMHO). $38 for pure HV30 focus Sanity!! well worth it, we all know know that the stock focus "dial" sucks a fatty!!:) hope he manufactures more very soon!

regards,
Brendan

Simply brilliant. I'd be curious how effectively it works in the real world.

People seem to like it. I believe the guy sold out 200 units. I plan to buy one when they are available.

One of my big problems with the camera is the inability to focus and use the LCD at the same time--I tend to like low angle shots where I need the LCD in a horizontal position. This would seem to handle that problem well. Now for the zoom control...

edit: He hopes to have some next week some time...

Tripp, I think anything is better that the HV30's focus dial at this point, haha. For controlled shots, it's probably excellent; for run and gun shots, it's probably pretty darn stable too...did you check out the YouTube Demo??..it's pretty compelling!

YouTube - Irv Focus Wheel Review

This is amazing, I thought that the HV30 was incapable of doing a decent rack focus.

wow...cool...I want one.

I've been wanting for one for a little while, he hasn't had any for sell :(

He originally posted info about this product quite a few months ago..I got one when he first starting selling them and it does work great...

That's brilliant.. If I wasn't using an SGPro on my HV20, I'd buy one of these.

just ordered one
 

I'm glad that I found this thead....I just ordered one and it's shipping tomorrow. It looks like it will work out well.
Best, Craig
BTW, this is what we produce video for. www.keystv.com
The HV30 should be perfect. I'm going to shoot a piece with it this weekend and will post it here next week.

I have two. Both work, but they're a bit noisy (there's a grinding noise) and a bit flaky to get consistent motion (the thing touching the focus wheel has to be set off center, and it's not a sure thing it'll catch every time). It's a big step up from nothing, but it's not perfect. Well priced, I think.

I got mine yesterday. It does work as advertised but there is a flaw in the HV20 that makes it less useful--it takes a lot of travel on the focus ring to get from point a to point b. I had to check to see if it was moving!

I haven't shot anything with it yet and I'm sure it will be an improvement but I'm a little dissapointed in the functionality--not with the product itself.

HV30s have less distance to travel when pulling focus? I noticed that it took quite a bit of thumb spins with my HV20 to get the focus to move too.

Actually, I need to amend that. In actual practice, the focus ring worked rather well. Putzing around in the living room didn't seem to be a relevant test to actual shooting.

Thanks for highlighting this...
 

Thanks guys, Brendan and Andy in particular, for highlighting the focus ring...it certainly appears to pass the 'fit for purpose' criteria.
The feedback has been really helpful - so much so in fact that I've just ordered one!
This thread is another great example of a community helping each other out - DVi at its best.