Jag35 Zip Tie Focus Lens Gear
We received these Zip Gears from Jag35. The Zip Gear is a strap that wraps around a lens to provide an interface with a 0.8 mod focus driving devices. These lens gears have a low profile and can be kept on your lenses to eliminate having to change out the gears for each use. They’re easy to apply, you simply attach the gears to your lens using a Zip tie. The Zip Gear works great with all Follow Focus’s as the pitch on the gears fits most industry standard follow focus systems. And best of all- they’re affordable.
You have the option to choose from Four basic sizes. The small size is around 7 inches, the medium size is around 8 inches, the medium plus size is around 9 inches and the large size is around 10 inches. The Zip Gears come in red or black options.
Jag35 has a metric chart and a sample lens chart for your convenience on their site (click here). The small and medium size will easily work on most AF lenses as they have a very short throw. Don’t worry about getting a size too large, as they can still be trimmed down as seen in the video (above). You can find the Zip Gear follow focus lens gears over at http://Jag35.com.
follow focus, follow focus lens gear, Jag35, Jag35 Zip Gear, lens gear, Zip tie
I still don’t understand how a small, notched plastic strip can cost $18. It’s not like something like this went through years of R & D. I wonder what the manufacturing cost on these is? 50 cents each? That’s one crazy mark-up…
I guess they must be infused with unicorn hair
Did you just make a reference to the magical, mystical creature that is THEE unicorn?? Love that! It is a huge investment to make the mold for these. That’s where a lot of the cost comes in.
Plus, this is not a highly marketable product. Only a very small group of the entire population of the world will be purchasing this product. There’s not a lot of demand. It’s not like you were selling a Pepsi or Coca-Cola …everyone drinks those beverages …big market …therefore price is low.
It does stink that the price is that high. Should be an easy work around with zip-ties or order something similar from a machine part magazine. It’s crazy what you can find in some manufacturer supply catalogs …same product for pennies on the dollar.
Hi Neil,
I didn’t actually manufacture the Zip Gears, so I don’t know how much it cost them to make them, but like Olivia says.. there is a lot of initial investment that goes into making the molds at first, not just that, but there’s other costs to running any company, managing, materials, licensing, permits, taxes, tons of other operating fees, plus employees, healthcare, insurance, workers comp, ect. ect. you get the point. And on top of that, one the product is read, you gotta mark it up for distributors to make money so they can put it on resellers stores… and then on top of that, the reselling stores, need to make some money off it, otherwise what’s the point.
Hi,
I actually make them here in the UK, The super accurate CNC moulds to make them are extremely expensive – so set up cost is high.
Yep the same machine can pump out parts for a Kinder Egg at cents a piece but the volume of this product is very low for a ‘plastic’ product
Mix in dealer/distributor/shipping and import duties and its hard to hit a lower price – in exactly the same way a it is hard to meet a low price for a small clamp for a rig or suchlike
We still hit 50% or less of the cost of some of the alternatives.
Best wishes, Sam Morgan Moore
I have these gear on all my lens but as soon as i moved to a remote follow focus i released that they slip making auto calibration impossible. So I had to revert back to the old red rock gears.
Thanks for the replies guys.
I understand that CNC machined parts like an actual follow focus or handgrip assembly, brackets etc. may require a lot of investment but with something that is a notched strip of plastic? I have a friend who has told me on very good authority that something like the little screws that hold rigs together cost 10 cents a piece to make. They sell on ebay for $20. Why can’t the mark-up on some of the more complex products (which most people would understand requires more cost to develop) be filtered down so that things like these gears for example could be cheaper?
I’d happily pay $10 or less for a focus gear – take that $8 and add it on to the higher-end rigs. I guarantee you’d sell a lot more of the focus gears and those extra customers may very well end up buying other products from you for the sake of convenience. It’s a win, win, right? Right?
Someone make those crickets stop chirping…
Would the Zip Gears work with some kind of additional focus lever like the Redrock Nano Lever?
Thanks!
Mike, they might.. you’d have to DIY it. I haven’t tried this.
Hey Olivia,
You didn’t manage to try these gears out with a RJ follow focus at all ? would be intrigued to find if their compatible but want to make sure before i order as i’m overseas.
Liam, these are using the same standard .08 pitch. It should work fine with that follow focus.
[...] Focus, but it’s been an issue for me when i’m loaning or renting out my FFs. I like the low profile zip tie gears because they can stay on your lens and take up minimal space, but if someone wants to borrow your [...]