Hi all,

I appreciate that there are already threads in this forum which ask "what is the best crane"? But most of those threads seem to be for folks buying in the US. Companies like Kessler say they will ship to the UK but I'm worried that the shipping fees and import taxes will push the price of the crane way up.

So my question is: what's the best value crane in the UK? I've heard a couple of people say that the B-Hague cranes are reasonably good. Should I go for a B-Hague crane?

I don't have a huge amount to spend - only about £600.

Thanks loads,
Jack

I have a Hague Camcrane which costs about 650 pounds. It's well made & good value for the price. I don't use it as much as I thought I would as it is a bit heavy & cumbersome to carry around & set up. The Camcrane uses a cable & pulley arrangement to tilt the camera head rather than the parallelogram lever affair of some other models. I found this very difficult to control so use it with a motorised pan & tilt head that I also got from Hague at just under 300 pounds.

There is a guy who sells jib arms on eBay & they are worth a look. It's basically a cottage industry as he makes them to order. They look good, are an excellent price well under your budget & he gets good feedback

13.6ft Jib-arm camera crane with stand (Special Offer) on eBay, also, Other Camcorder Accessories, Camcorder Accessories, Photography (end time 18-May-09 08:26:48 BST) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/13-6ft-Jib-arm-camera-crane-with-stand-Special-Offer_W0QQitemZ180354852630QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Photography_CamcorderAccess_RL?hash=item18035485263 0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1690%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50)

2007equipment (http://www.avant-gardefilms.com/2007equipment.htm)

There is a Vinten Dolphin arm on eBay Vinten Dolphin Short Jib Arm on eBay, also, Tripods Supports, Photography (end time 10-Jun-09 19:03:58 BST) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vinten-Dolphin-Short-Jib-Arm_W0QQitemZ260408858287QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_TripodsSupports?hash=i tem260408858287&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A2|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50) and although this is the shorter version, it's an incredible piece of kit. I've got the longer version. The short one has a more limited range of movement. They are really, really heavy - but this means finger tip control with enough momentum that jerky movements are almost impossible. The front section also pans left and right. You do need a head of course, and the lead weights are actually real lead!

I'm afraid I too don't get the use out of it I expected, and luckily I did have a heavy duty tripod for it. It's priced at £450 which is pretty reasonable.

I just noticed that B. Hague have a special offer on their K10 Camcrane 434.74 pounds. It looks like very good value as that price includes a stand & motorised pan & tilt head. B. Hague & Co. Ltd Jibs, Cranes & Booms (http://cameragrip.co.uk/acatalog/info_353.html)

To Nigel:

How are you finding the control of your Hague Camcrane since you bought the motorised pan & tilt head?

Which model of the Hague Camcranes do you own?

It's great to see you can get gear like this at such great prices.

Thanks

To Nigel:

How are you finding the control of your Hague Camcrane since you bought the motorised pan & tilt head?

Which model of the Hague Camcranes do you own?

It's great to see you can get gear like this at such great prices.

ThanksI bought the CamCrane K16DV B. Hague & Co. Ltd Jibs, Cranes & Booms (http://cameragrip.co.uk/acatalog/info_29.html) along with the Underslung Power Head B. Hague & Co. Ltd Pan & Tilt Power Heads (http://cameragrip.co.uk/acatalog/info_39.html)

It's all very sturdy & works well but as I noted before I don't use it as much as I thought that I would. With hindsight I think that I would have been just as happy with the K10 Camcrane currently on special offer at under half the price that I paid for my crane, stand & head.

You need quite a lot of weight to balance the arm which I am sure is true of all cranes & I am sure that I need much more practice at operating it. However when fully extended it is slightly scary swinging around an expensive camera near any buildings, power lines or anything else that a clumsy move could send it crashing into.

Hi Nigel

Thanks for your advice. If I get some funding I'll invest in one - hope the special offer will still be on :)

The power lines do sound scary - perhaps some rubber gloves are in order - hee hee