|
|
|
|
|
July 8th, 2005, 01:44 AM
|
#1 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 424
|
Tennis Balls ...
Has anyone heard of setting up 2 tennis balls for each corner of a skateboard dolly instead of using skateboard wheels?? A friend of mine told me he remembered reading an article in VideoMaker about it. Kind of like older folks have tennis balls on their walkers...has anyone heard of this/experienced it?
I believe its for a one man dolly...only the camera and tripod would go on the platform...? |
|
|
|
July 12th, 2005, 03:43 AM
|
#2 |
|
RED Code Chef
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Holland
Posts: 12,514
|
I can imagine this could work, however I've never heard of seen it as of yet.
If you have a "skateboard" dolly perhaps you could try it out?
__________________
Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge | Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers | Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors |
|
|
|
|
July 12th, 2005, 04:02 PM
|
#3 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 424
|
I just hooked up the tennis ball dolly and oh man does it ride oh so smooth. Great thing is it's so lightweight. I'm about to take some test footage and pictures...stay tuned!
|
|
|
|
|
July 12th, 2005, 07:45 PM
|
#4 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 424
|
http://www.rch-e.com/temp/t-cell.jpg
Here's the tennis ball dolly. Here's some test footage: http://www.rch-e.com/temp/dolly-test.mov total price including track= 20 dollars |
|
|
|
|
July 12th, 2005, 08:27 PM
|
#5 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 382
|
I'm confused. Could you post a pic of the underside? How do you keep the balls from 'frictioning' against the frame? How does the thing move?
__________________
PAL shooter in NTSC territory |
|
|
|
|
July 12th, 2005, 08:42 PM
|
#6 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 424
|
it works the same as a skateboard dolly, the tennis balls are mounted by a vertical bolt, the balls sit side by side making a V similar to skateboard wheels, the 3/4 " electrical conduit fits in the V groove and slides..
sorry if that pic was confusing, the dolly isnt actually on the track in that pic |
|
|
|
|
July 12th, 2005, 09:03 PM
|
#7 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Enterprise, AL
Posts: 857
|
Will the tennis balls slide as easily as smoothly on PVC for track?
How about a stiff industrial water hose?
__________________
Fear No Weevil! |
|
|
|
|
July 12th, 2005, 09:11 PM
|
#8 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 817
|
Riley,
That is really smooth, nice job. Yeah, it would all make a bit more sense to me if you had a shot of the rig on the track, or better yet a video of the dolly in action. So the tennis balls are just sliding on the track? How much weight do you have on it (cam + tripod + rig)? The video shows a bit what I would expect of the motion - a rough start, but then smooth motion. It's tough to get that first bit of movement? Keep it up and show us more. |
|
|
|
|
July 12th, 2005, 09:18 PM
|
#9 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 382
|
Very cool!! Hell of a lot cheaper than going out and buying roller blade wheels as well!
__________________
PAL shooter in NTSC territory |
|
|
|
|
July 12th, 2005, 11:36 PM
|
#10 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 424
|
Dolly Demo....
http://www.rch-e.com/temp/DollyDemo.mov Pre Answers to questions: *the bungie cord is used to pull the tripod tight against the dolly sled/"platfrom" so that tripod and camera dont fly off *weighs about 5 pounds or less *in theory would hold camera weight up to about 20lbs before the tennis balls start to sag in, definately a one man dolly, all you have to do is push the tripod *disassembles for easy transport Last edited by Riley Harmon; July 13th, 2005 at 12:25 AM. |
|
|
|
|
July 13th, 2005, 07:12 AM
|
#11 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 382
|
Thanks for that! I was figuring they roll or something..
__________________
PAL shooter in NTSC territory |
|
|
|
|
July 13th, 2005, 08:22 AM
|
#12 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 220
|
Oh, good lord. Now that's just freaky. I'm wondering how many moves you can do before the fuzz starts coming off the ball making it not so smooth any more. Keep us updated!
Dan www.DVcameraRigs.com |
|
|
|
|
July 13th, 2005, 11:45 AM
|
#13 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 817
|
Riley,
Good job - can't be much more clear than that. Last questions: 1. The electrical tubing you use... how long can you get that? 2. Do you drill through the tennis balls first? Does the bolt just go through one side of the tennis ball, or all the way through? Thanks for sharing. |
|
|
|
|
July 13th, 2005, 12:29 PM
|
#14 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 424
|
The conduit comes in varying lengths. I bought a 10 ft section of 3/4" EMT for 5 bucks each. As far as the bolt. I took a knife and made a small hole on both sides and then popped the bolt all the way through.
And if the balls get worn down, they are cheap enough to replace. I paid $.94 for a 3 pack and got 2 packs for 6 balls total. Last edited by Riley Harmon; July 13th, 2005 at 12:50 PM. |
|
|
|
|
July 13th, 2005, 01:16 PM
|
#15 |
|
Major Player
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 382
|
Would PVC work well for the rails? PVC can be joined pretty easily with those screw in nipples (watch it! ;p) without bumps. Not sure if conduit can do the same (you could always wrap the seem in tape I bet..). PVC is also cheaper than conduit and you can arc it to make curving track.
__________________
PAL shooter in NTSC territory |
|
|
|
 |
| ||||||
|
||||||
|
|
