Teradek has announced the TOF. 1, an affordable, lightweight infrared rangefinder for the RT Wireless Lens Control System.

Meet the TOF.1 Rangefinder for Teradek RT. This small and lightweight, infrared (IR) rangefinder provides constant distance measurements essential for professionals. It provides focus pullers with accurate, real-time distance measurements between a camera’s focal plane and the subject being filmed, allowing precise focus accuracy at all times.

Teradek’s TOF.1 does more, though. Additionally, it unlocks a new autofocus function that can continuously track a subject and instantaneously adjust the lens motor. Precision autofocus with a sensor refresh rate of 60 times per second can be activated on your handheld wireless controller with a simple On/Off toggle button for quick access to automated lens adjustments.

“Rangefinders have been available to professional AC’s for years, but they’ve really only been available to the highest-budget projects. TOF.1 gives a much wider range of focus pullers access to a professional distance-measuring device for their FIZ system,” explains Greg Smokler, VP of Product at Creative Solutions. “Not only is TOF.1 affordable, it’s smaller, lighter, and as accurate as other rangefinders, and it also offers incredibly useful autofocus capability.”

Use it with SmallHD monitors

Here are some more technical details about the new product as provided by Teradek:

TOF.1 features an IR sensor array that can detect objects within a line-of-sight distance up to 80ft (25.4m). An included detachable Laser Sight can be centered to the sensor’s field of view to achieve pin-point accuracy. Both power and control are provided with a single control cable to the MDR.X Lens Control Receiver, and TOF.1’s distance readouts are displayed on paired CTRL.1 or CTRL.3 wireless handheld lens controllers, as well as on connected SmallHD monitors.

With a sensor refresh rate of 60 measurements per second, every subject movement is registered and proximity readouts are provided in real-time. Connect either lens controller with any compatible SmallHD monitor and activate PageOS 4 RT Overlays to view on-screen distance readouts, which can be adjusted in size for a customized monitoring workflow.

Once TOF.1 is properly calibrated with MDR.X, autofocus is activated with a simple on/off toggle. A specific focus tracking point is selected by the operator, and subject proximity information from TOF.1 is utilized for instantaneous adjustments by the lens motor to maintain constant critical focus. A proprietary smoothing algorithm prevents excessive jitter within the lens motor, so back-and-forth adjustments are blended together with near imperceptibility.

Price and product highlights

The Teradek TOF.1 for the RT Wireless Lens Control System is available to market as of November 5, 2020. Teradek TOF.1 Rangefinder Module costs $3,490.00.

Product Highlights

• Line-of-sight accuracy up to 80ft (25.4m)
• IR sensor with a 3° field of view
• Refresh rate of 60 measurements per second
• Distance Readouts on MDR.X, CTRL.1, and CTRL.3
• Autofocus functionality with Teradek RT
• Single cable for Power+Control
• Detachable Laser Sight for pinpoint accuracy
• Customizable Distance Overlays on SmallHD monitors