Indisystems Mimic follow focus control

[Wayne Reimer]

During one of the early 2011 equipment expos,Tim at Indisystems unveiled a new follow focus control for his rail systems, called the Mimic. As a very happy owner/user of his Areeba shoulder mount/mattebox/follow focus system, I was VERY interested in a possible solution to the one single, nagging issue I had; when shooting handheld, taking one hand off of the forward grips to manipulate the follow focus often resulted in a slight "bob" of the camera.
Better technique needed, certainly, however the mimic looked like it may be the answer to the problem.
I was very pleasantly surprised this past week to recieve a package unexpectedly from Tim. In it, the new mimic controller.
The system replaces one of the grips on the Areeba system, and has a substantial, knurled wheel mounted exactly where your thumb naturally falls. A two stage pulley replaces the original follow focus knob, and the two are coneected by using one of the two tubular belts provided in the kit. Also included are the allan wrenches needed for the conversion, extra set screws, etc.
Mounting and alligning everything took under ten minutes. Getting the correct tension on the belt was a bit hit and miss, but not difficult to achieve.
Once I had it mounted, I took the new set-up for a test drive.It works brilliantly; I have two speeds for pulling focus; the stepped pulley lets me use one setting for long, fast pulls, and the second for more precise work. Switching from one to another takes very little time, however you can't do it on the fly.
From a control standpoint, it solves the problem I had; no more "bob" or "blip" of camera movement when changing zoom lengths ( I should mention I use this mount on a Sony VG-10, and have been using the follow focus for zoom control rather than focusing duties since the VG-10 autofocus works very well for the most part)
Everything moves fluidly, with just enough tension that there isn't any creep once you've hit your mark, yet not so tight that you can't easily change settings on the lens with one thumb. throughout, the camera stays very stable, you mantain your two handed grip at all times, and the footage is smooth, regardless of what manipulations you go through with the lens.
Color me a VERY happy guy....This is exactly what I've been waiting for. The camera is going to get a lot more shoulder use because of this, I think.
Well done, Tim! If anyone is looking for a well made, VERY reasonably priced shoulder rig, with a highly effective follow focus control, you do not need to look any further than this. It is a great set-up, obviously designed by someone who actually SHOOTS video...highly adjustable in all the right ways, high quality materials throughout...everythng works, and works well.
BTW, I have NO affiliation with Indisystems other than being an extremely happy customer. Tim has brought quality support gear to the independant videographer without breaking the bank account. Plus, they are absolutely AWESOME to deal with

[Wayne Reimer]

I've posted some quick and dirty photos of the the mimic here;
Zenfolio | Wayne Reimer | Camera equipment