Varizoom Rock Style Zoom, Focus, Iris control Only for HVX200 and DVX100B camcorders

This is very well made, and works perfectly with the Panasonic AG-HMC80 video camera. The controls are smooth, and seem solid. I agree with another reviewer about the poor design of the handle mount, though. The manufacturer certainly could come up with a more practical design.

I bought this for use with my HMC150. It works perfectly with two small hitches.Cons: For the HMC150, the plug locations are swapped, so the two small jacks almost don't twist around at the end where they are conjoined to fit into the jacks. Once they've been left plugged in for a while, however they tend to stay that way.The focus knob is fixed, so it only twists so far each way. While this is utterly invaluable, it would be nice if it also had an option to HOLD the current focus if you had already set the focus either with autofocus or the focus ring on the camera. Because when you switch the knob on this controller to manual, wherever the knob is set, it jumps to that without keeping into account where it was before.Pros: The cable is quite long. I was worried when I looked on here to see that lots of people buy an extension cable. It's just over 3', so that was a relief.The record button takes just the right amount of pressure to depress. Don't worry about accidentally hitting it. It's not a flimsy plastic clicker.If any of the knobs aren't calibrated properly, or your zoom is creeping (which I find is very rare, so that's another pro) they make it very easy to readjust the knobs with an allen wrench.The instructions weren't poorly translated from Chinese, and they're very concise and exhaustive. I had no more questions after reading them.I'm not sure whether you'll find this a good or bad thing (I personally cannot decide; it depends on the situation,) but the iris and focus controls are INSANELY precise. While touching a knob, if you THINK of adjusting it, you do.

This remote works very well. As stated elsewhere the potentiometers are very sensitive. Considering the diameter of the iris knob, for example, and comparing it with the radius of the iris ring, this is understandable.One thing that I definitely do not like is the extremely crude wheel-and-post attachment method. Unlike remotes from some other manufacturers, which have a tension knob and a clamp that swings aside, the Varizoom remote has two one-inch threaded posts and a pair of thumb-nuts. There is minimal synthetic rubber padding inside the clamp (on the female part of the clamp only), which means that you really have to honk on those 1/2" thumb nuts to make it secure and even then it can twist. To compensate we inserted a snippet of synthetic rubber on the male side of the unit. Competing products have a much better way of doing this.The posts can catch on things, snag cables, etc., plus, in order to remove it you have to completely remove both nuts (and try not to drop them). If you need to transport your tripod between shoots you can't leave the remote installed on the tripod arm or it will get damaged. Even if you just loosen it and rotate it, the posts will rip your tripod bag. This means that you have to be constantly fiddling with the thing - and when you store it, the posts snag on other items in your gadget bag.It turns out that it is easier to remove the tripod arm instead of the remote. We also popped a couple of plastic crown nuts on the posts.This post and nut approach is literally right out of the 1870's. You would certainly never see this type of attachment with any modern musical gear. There is a notable lack of elegance as well, as the spring and posts for the rocker are fully exposed rather than being concealed inside the rocker knob.Is this a total show-stopper? Considering that this is the only remote I know of that handles zoom, focus and iris remote for my camera, the answer is no. If Libec, however, were to develop a competing ZFI product for my camera, I would jump ship immediately.

My third wired remote controller for Panny cameras. Works on my AG AC-90A and AG AC-160A cameras flawlessly. Both models of VariZoom remotes that work on Pannys are a bit touchy, not because of the remote, but because of the CAMERA.It takes a bit of practice to get the zoom started smoothly, as the slightest touch may get the zoom started too abruptly. As you move through the zoom range, once it's started, it's much more under your control. I first thought this a function of the remote, but it's actually the camera's fault. You have to practice a bit to get those silky-smooth slow crawls going, but you can do it with practice.Also, for those who insist on disregarding the instructions, you do so at your own peril. The instructions are revealing on how to make the controller work as you expect and will cut down on a lot of experimentation and frustration. One thing the instructions don't explain is the inclusion of the velcro style strap that's included. It's for cable management of excess cable that may hang down from the camera or controller. Very thoughtful, but i had to contact tech support to confirm what it was for. (Probably one of the more stupid questions tech support has received.)These are a far better way to control the camera from the pan bar than by holding the camera under the side strap and controlling from the zoom rocker on the right side of the camera. You also have focus and exposure very handy, as well as choosing between manual and auto mode, start and stop at the pan bar instead of all over the camera body. A lot handier IMHO.

The zoom rocker is great! I haven't had as much success with the focus control, it's a fairly inaccurate coarse control. I'm using a Panasonic 4K AG-DVX-200 with a somewhat shallow DOF at tele and when I used the controller, it was difficult to keep subject in focus as any tiny move on the control would shift the focal point by a couple of feet.