ALZO Smoothy Zoom Focus Assist - works like follow focus - adapts to many different camera lens

I really wanted to like this, the black and chrome matched my retro looking camera perfectly. The arm is nice and stiff, very little wobble. The chrome wheel/handle is nicely dampened and moves easily showing for very smooth focus or zooming. So far so good.Ok, attach it to my Mirrorless lens. The loop is spring steel allowing it to flex around your lens, nice. Trying to put it on my Mirrorless lenses was a challenge, it'll go that small but it really didn't want to. Had to make it very tight or it would slip. While using it, it kept popping off. No good.I tried it on larger DSLR lenses and it attached easily and stayed in place. If you have larger traditional DSLR lenses, this should work well for you. It didn't like my small Mirrorless lenses at all though, and that's my use so it's going back. I really liked the looks, but it just won't work well for me.Another poor aspect is the foam on the inside of the ring. As others have noted, the adhesive is poor to non-existent. Mine was separated from the ring before I opened the package. It was easy to hold in place while attaching it, so not a huge deal really.

I purchased this focus assist lever to help smooth out my focus and zoom movements when shooting video on my Canon EOS T3i. The lever is constructed of sheet metal and the ring has several perforations around it to hook into based on the diameter of your lens. Also, there is some thin foam around the inside of the ring to protect the fit and finish of your lens, although you can tell they scrimped a bit in this area. The foam is thin, but should be easy to replace should the need arise.The focus assist works as you might imagine - the lever allows you to make smooth, even movements in your zoom or focus pulling. I was surprised at the size of the unit (the lever is probably 4" long), but this is good because the bigger the radius the lever makes, the more smooth your controls will be. It is not too big as to be cumbersome, though.I would recommend this assist lever to anyone who is pulling focus just using their lens barrel. It won't replace a rack focus by any means, but at this price its usefulness exceeds its cost.

I purchased this to use with my Canon 18-55 STM lens  Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Camera Lens  to shoot video. This was my first time using a Canon STM lens and since I order both of these items at the same time, I didn't know how the STM focus ring works.The STM system works great. Using internal mechanics to zoom silently and smoothly, the STM's focus ring is mechanically separate from the lens so you could spin it 360° freely. This works great for smooth zoom transitions, but it makes the focus ring very light. The weight of the ALZO Smoothy turns the ring on it's own - de-focusing for you or causing you to lose your focus position.That being said, on my other lenses, in particular my nifty-fifty  Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens , the ALZO Smoothy works great. As another reviewer mentioned, the rotating metal ring you grab onto is an added plus that makes focusing easier.All in all, I do recommend this for anyone shooting video with non-STM lenses.

I was surprised when I opened the package. This ALZO Digita 1884 Smoothy Zoom Focus assist arm is physically larger than I expected - perhaps 25% or so larger. But this turns out not to be a problem at all. In fact, it insures that the arm is study and flex-free.It fits my larger Panasonic micro 4/3 lenses (14-140 & 45-200) as if it were made for them. On my smaller Olympus 40-150 it needs to be squeezed to a smaller diameter, so there is more overlap, but it still installs easily.The arm is just the right length for easy zoom control. The wheel on the end of the arm has a very nicely-damped smooth friction to it, which surprised me. (I expected it would be undamped and friction-free.) But again the designers of this arm know what they are doing. The damped wheel results in extremely smooth zoom and precise control when the wheel is gripped and used to move the arm. This damped, smooth friction results in much smoother and more precise zooming than just moving the arm itself and not gripping the wheel.Kudos to the designer and manufacturer of this item for getting it absolutely right!

This is the best zoom handle on Amazon. The other one does not have the little metal circular finger grip which rotates with as you move the handle allowing the lens to zoom and you finger to grip it and turn with the handle all in one motion. I just tested it out. After you fit it make sure you put some pressure on the clamp device so it bends a bit and sticks well. At first it seems it will pop off and not stay. All that is needed is for you to put it in the tightest position and let it bend itself a bit, and it will be fine. My zooms in and out on a STOCK canon lens are smooth as a on tv or a mechanical zoom but with more accuracy. I love this thing. It came on time and I and using it with the DMKFoto Heavy Duty Ball Head with Quick Release Plate. Match made in heaven for DSLR budget movie making and photography.There is not jerking when zooming in and out. It did just as advertised and came on time.

It works, but is cheaply made. The foam lining on the ring is weakly taped to the metal frame, so any lateral forces (such as when you push this device onto your lens focus ring - as opposed to wrapping the device around the ring) can displace the foam.Otherwise, it grips well and the metal weight at the end of the stalk is a nice touch.

Overall it's a decent product and works as advertised. I did have a few issues with it. The band was a little too wide to go on the focus ring on one of my lenses. So it rubs against the body of the lens and doesn't really focus smoothly. Also there was some kind of sticky grease or adhesive on the little silver knob, and more would get all over stuff when you rotated it.

It's simple, easy to use, and functional. The little outer ring seems to be lubricated and allows the unit to turn while maintaining a firm grip on it. Still choppy on zooms when using a DSLR, but assists in focus like a charm. Recommended if you don't need a full follow-focus rig.