DJI Focus Pro All-in-One Combo Camera Stabiliser

I have worked for a long time with the Tilta Nucleus system and since the launch of Lidar, I have had eyes on DJI. With this new All-In-One combo, I realized it was time to upgrade to a better ecosystem that could fit my needs as a freelancer, renter, and owner of a small video production business.From here I will just start to incorporate the rest of the products to complete the ecosystem!

I just got this and entire thing feels cheap and flimsy. There is nothing professional about this follow focus. It's really a piece of garbage. There are not pre-marked discs only blank ones, the motor is on the weak side. The grip handle (which it doesn't say anywhere) cannot be used when power with an external power source (so do not use the included p-tap cable to power the system when using the grip). Overall it's a waste of money. I'm returning mine.

I had high hopes for this, but the system is extremely disappointing. Firstly, it feels very cheaply made and I have doubts about how long the components will last for. In comparison to the Tilta Nucleus M, which is made from all metal and feels professional, the DJI Focus Pro is made entirely from plastic with nasty cheap buttons. The firmware, at least on release, is also very buggy and I had issues getting 3 motors to connect to the Hand Unit almost every time I turned it on. The motor design is also quite odd, where the wheel that sticks out the side turns in addition to the gear wheel that drives the focus/iris/zoom ring. This makes it difficult to get the motors close enough together on one 15mm rod to drive both Focus and Iris on most cine primes. I also ... MoreI had high hopes for this, but the system is extremely disappointing. Firstly, it feels very cheaply made and I have doubts about how long the components will last for. In comparison to the Tilta Nucleus M, which is made from all metal and feels professional, the DJI Focus Pro is made entirely from plastic with nasty cheap buttons. The firmware, at least on release, is also very buggy and I had issues getting 3 motors to connect to the Hand Unit almost every time I turned it on. The motor design is also quite odd, where the wheel that sticks out the side turns in addition to the gear wheel that drives the focus/iris/zoom ring. This makes it difficult to get the motors close enough together on one 15mm rod to drive both Focus and Iris on most cine primes. I also don't like the choice to have everything connected with USB-C - it just doesn't feel professional in comparison to LEMO and I can see them getting snagged and pulled out. My main issue though is that there is no way to use the lidar AF with the hand unit. You can only use lidar AF with the on-camera hand grip. This means that only the camera operator can control it, which gives the operator rather a lot to do/think about, plus the screen is so small that it's quite fiddly. This would be great for a 1-man shooter who needs AF capability, but I was told by DJI prior to purchase that it was possible for an A/C with the hand unit to control the lidar from off-camera. Not true and I've confirmed this with DJI technical support. The only thing you can do from the hand unit is transfer AF lidar control to the camera grip. There is no way for the lidar data information to be transmitted to a bigger screen or the hand unit, even if you use DJI Transmission and their own High Bright monitor. This feels like a great opportunity missed where an off-camera AC, when needed, could turn on and control the lidar autofocus. For example, during action sequences with loads of motion and focus changes. Wouldn't it be great if the AC could just switch on AF and select on the screen what subject to keep focus on. Well, you can't - only from the on-camera hand grip. The screen on the hand unit is also so ridiculously small that it's hard to use given its touch control. I think if you're a 1-man shooter the Hand Grip with lidar AF is a game changer, but it also add quite a bit of weight to your rig (the Hand Grip is quite heavy). There is also very limited camera compatibility at launch for camera control - the cables available are really for cameras that already have some form of AF and I'm just not sure why they wouldn't release cables for RED/Arri/Venice/Blackmagic. I.e. cameras that don't have any form of AF, but could use it on occasion. Ignoring the issues already described, I really like that the Hand Unit gives force feedback on the focus knob when you reach your focus marks. It's also incredibly easy to set focus marks with the press of 1 button, though these are limited to marks A and B. I.e. you can't set more than 2 focus marks. In summary there are things to like about it, but build quality, buggy firmware and deeply flawed implementation of lidar AF, means that I decided to return it. I also own the Tilta Nucleus-M and aside from the lidar function of the DJI, there is simply no comparison. The Tilta is just better in every way, except for the lack of force feedback on the Hand Unit focus knob and the implementation of focus marks.