Silencer Air

Silencer Air

The first thing to notice about the 24Shots Silencer Air is its rod shape, which houses all internal electronics, wireless receiver and batteries. Its design is not only sleek, but also modular: you can separate the battery module by essentially splitting the rod in two and connecting them with a cable, if that better suits the needs of your rig.

The controller part of the system is in the form of a trigger instead of a more traditional wheel, allowing you to easily reach the whole focus range with a simple movement of a single finger. The trigger also features a couple of function buttons that allow you to navigate between focus points, but more on that later…

Although the promo video doesn’t seem to recommend anything more elegant than a zip tie to mount the trigger to your rig, mounting the motor itself can be done in a variety of ways. You can of course use the standard rod system method to mount the Silencer Air alongside your lens, or use the included hot shoe mount to attach the system on top of the camera. In both of these positions, you can either use their included belt system designed for lenses without gears, or with a geared system for cine lenses. Note that the geared motor solution for a rod-mounted setup requires the optional Pro Gear Drive accessory.

The Silencer Air with Pro Gear Drive accessory

You can also use the Silencer Air on a drone, and even attach it to a radio receiver to be able to control the unit directly from the drone’s remote.

All these options make the Silencer Air a very versatile solution, whether you are using a cinema camera or a DSLR, on the ground or in the air, on a shoulder rig with or without rods, or even a gimbal — for which being able to separate the unit into two can really come in handy for keeping the system balanced just right.

Silencer Air – 24Shots App

But the Silencer Air goes beyond the functionality of pulling focus back and forth. With the 24Shots app, you can program the unit for more advanced performance such as calibrating and saving the profiles for your various lenses, fine-tuning the power curve for the motor, adjust your settings for drone use, and establish your focus marker workflow. Judging by their demo video below, this feature in particular seems to be a very powerful tool indeed!

The product relies heavily on the app for functionality, which could be a cause for some concern. What if your phone battery dies? Or if the WiFi connection is unreliable for some reason? Does this render the product unusable? Well, the app does appear to have an adjust-and-sync-to-device sort of workflow, so I think it would be safe to assume that once you upload all your changes to the trigger, the system should remain fairly autonomous.

You would think such a feature-packed product would be certain to break the bank. Its price? You can pre-order it now for $875, to which you have to add $120 if you want that optional geared drive for cine lenses. Not too bad! It will start shipping on June 1st.

This product comes just on the heels of the announcement of the new Tilta Nucleus-M — another impressive and affordable wireless follow focus system due to hit the shelves soon. The 24Shots Silencer Air will surely give those in the market for a follow focus something to think about.

What do you think of the 24Shots Silencer Air? Let us know in the comments below!