Kessler Crane Review at DVinfo.net

Sean Seah · November 1st, 2007, 08:04 AM

Just received my crane 2 weekends ago n I was able to take it out for some testing. I would say the built quality is great and pretty simple to operate. The only problem is the 8Ft tends to flex a little and therefore there is slight bouncing at the camera end if one is not careful. However with some practise the panning can be smooth as it should be.

Here is my first attempt at it. The 3 shot wasnt that good but thaz an operator issue. As for support, I would say Eric isn't a real chatty guy but he does deliver!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF6CyRk24d0

Graham Risdon · November 1st, 2007, 04:49 PM

Hi Sean

Interesting...

Keep an eye on reflections in the car ;-)

Graham

Ian Stark · November 3rd, 2007, 03:43 AM

Sean, were all those shots taken with the crane?

Nice results (nice car park , too - could only be in Singapore or Monaco, no other place on earth has such shiny car parks).

BTW, you could come back really quickly and tell Graham that you deliberately kept the reflections in the car so we could see what the crane looked like ;-).

Ian . . .

Chris Soucy · November 3rd, 2007, 04:09 AM

at work.

Nice work Sean. Now, where was that review.......?

Keep it up!

CS

Sean Seah · November 3rd, 2007, 10:30 AM

Hi guys! Ha ha I knew about the reflection but i didnt have a PL filter.. I did a show with the crane and the Brevis today.. not sure if it will turn out till I capture it. Will try to do a better review when i get the time to shoot some photos of the rig...

Eric Stemen · November 13th, 2007, 02:07 PM

I was going to leave you a comment on youtube but it was more than 500 characters so here is what I wrote.

I'll post a comment on here instead of dvino.
The crane really made the shots look more professional!! Of course like everyone said reflections, but that's an easy fix if you would just change the angle you shot at. The only shot I would really change is with the car moving. I might have shot it more telephoto and lower to the ground(telephoto would blur out the background more, and shooting lower would make the car look more powerful.)
The criticism is just my opinion, but yes I really liked the jib shots, good job!!

Eric Stemen

Sean Seah · November 14th, 2007, 10:03 AM

Thks for the constructive inputs Eric! Those shots from the last were actually from another event which wasnt planned for. I will take note of these pointers in my coming shoot.

Planning to shoot one with more eqpt like stabilsers and DOF adapters.. I tested some shots with the brevis n it was oh so cool in combination with the Crane!

Eric Stemen · November 14th, 2007, 10:19 AM

awesome, definitely post a video when you get done.

Brian Findlay · November 24th, 2007, 12:13 PM

I should have it next wends.. hopefully do 1-2 practice things with it in the next few weeks. I found Eric a really chatty guy.. real helpful, and really prompt. I think I talked to him on the phone for about 45 minutes discussing his product and various questions I had.

I bought the thing because I'm working on a documentary and I just have too many static shots, I figured I really needed some steadicam or crane shots to give it a little more life and dimension.

If I get a chance, I'll try to post something in the next couple of weeks or at least tell you what I think. I should tell you my background is an engineer.. both HW and SW.. not mechanical.. but I used to do machining also so I sort of get it.. Out of all the cranes out there (reasonable in price.. I should mention that I dropped about 3.5K on this setup).. I got the feeling this was a far more developed product than most.. Eric is definitely an engineer.. probably why we talked so long.. we basically spoke the same language. I was impressed with the guy, hopefully (I'm pretty confident) that this will translate to me to have purchased a very decent product for the money.

I plan to be operating this alone, I have rarely used a crew aside from my wife who runs the second camera, so I have to move this, set this up, and operate it solo.. It just seemed well thought out with the right options. He told me he was working on a control panel (which I will buy when available) to put the monitor, LANC, Battery, joystick to aid in making it an easier one man(woman) operation.

Take care all....

Sean Seah · November 24th, 2007, 12:43 PM

the new turret sys would be something worth waiting for..

Brian Findlay · November 24th, 2007, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean Seah

the new turret sys would be something worth waiting for..

Its still an active project, but the priority was moved down a little.. its a great idea, but even if it were available (me .. myself).. on certain types of technology, I prefer to wait for the second generation.. I talked at length with Eric about this, the problems he has encountered, etc. I got the distinct idea that it would probably not be a product any time soon as to do it right would require alot of aircraft quality pressure tubing that far exceeds the cost of a conventional electronic turret.. I really needed this thing yesterday (actually, I should have had it several months ago).. so I'm not in a place to wait, and that wait right now is undefined.

I have little doubt talking to him, that if/when it is a product, it will likely be a solid well designed one.

Dan Copeland · November 27th, 2007, 01:59 PM

Actualy I am in the middle of building my own head, I have the turent end done just need to work on the control end. It will be very similar to operating a tripoded camera instead of using a joy stick control.. You will have a better feel of the camera movment.

DaNc

Sean Seah · December 25th, 2007, 08:20 PM

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...y/IMG_4161.jpg

Here is a link to the crane at work.

Jon Omiatek · December 27th, 2007, 07:38 AM

I recently purchased a kessler crane and couldn't be happier. I purchased the 8ft crane & kessler fluid head. I have access to a bogen 316 & 516 fluid heads and I like the Kessler hercules head better at this point. It's rock solid and smooth.

I am using a modified bescor head(Grizzly pro video) which controls the zoom and pan/tilt. I purchased a used tripod, a bogen 3061 on ebay for $200 which supports up to 66lbs. There aren't too many options that will support the crane(20lbs for 8ft and 30lbs for 12ft). Add in camera and remote head and counter weights and you will max out your tripod in a hurry. With the pd170 & battery & remote head I had approximately 25lbs of counter weight. That would total 45lbs plus the fluid head. It's a rock solid tripod and they are available on ebay all of the time.

The crane is very well built and easy to assemble. I put mine together for the first time in 5 minutes. After a trip to the local sporting goods store I had it balanced in about the same time. The total investment, minus remote head, LANC controller & monitor is about $1500 and worth every penny.

November 1st, 2007, 08:04 AM	#1
Sean Seah Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,498	Kessler Crane Review Just received my crane 2 weekends ago n I was able to take it out for some testing. I would say the built quality is great and pretty simple to operate. The only problem is the 8Ft tends to flex a little and therefore there is slight bouncing at the camera end if one is not careful. However with some practise the panning can be smooth as it should be. Here is my first attempt at it. The 3 shot wasnt that good but thaz an operator issue. As for support, I would say Eric isn't a real chatty guy but he does deliver! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF6CyRk24d0

November 3rd, 2007, 03:43 AM	#3
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	Sean, were all those shots taken with the crane? Nice results (nice car park , too - could only be in Singapore or Monaco, no other place on earth has such shiny car parks). BTW, you could come back really quickly and tell Graham that you deliberately kept the reflections in the car so we could see what the crane looked like ;-). Ian . . . __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

November 3rd, 2007, 04:09 AM	#4
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,689 Images: 18	Blimey, it's the overseas club.......... at work. Nice work Sean. Now, where was that review.......? Keep it up! CS

November 24th, 2007, 12:13 PM	#9
Brian Findlay Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 40	I just bought a 12 foot Kessler Crane and a motorized head I should have it next wends.. hopefully do 1-2 practice things with it in the next few weeks. I found Eric a really chatty guy.. real helpful, and really prompt. I think I talked to him on the phone for about 45 minutes discussing his product and various questions I had. I bought the thing because I'm working on a documentary and I just have too many static shots, I figured I really needed some steadicam or crane shots to give it a little more life and dimension. If I get a chance, I'll try to post something in the next couple of weeks or at least tell you what I think. I should tell you my background is an engineer.. both HW and SW.. not mechanical.. but I used to do machining also so I sort of get it.. Out of all the cranes out there (reasonable in price.. I should mention that I dropped about 3.5K on this setup).. I got the feeling this was a far more developed product than most.. Eric is definitely an engineer.. probably why we talked so long.. we basically spoke the same language. I was impressed with the guy, hopefully (I'm pretty confident) that this will translate to me to have purchased a very decent product for the money. I plan to be operating this alone, I have rarely used a crew aside from my wife who runs the second camera, so I have to move this, set this up, and operate it solo.. It just seemed well thought out with the right options. He told me he was working on a control panel (which I will buy when available) to put the monitor, LANC, Battery, joystick to aid in making it an easier one man(woman) operation. Take care all....

November 27th, 2007, 01:59 PM	#12
Dan Copeland New Boot Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hamilton Ontario Canada Posts: 21	Hydraulic Head Actualy I am in the middle of building my own head, I have the turent end done just need to work on the control end. It will be very similar to operating a tripoded camera instead of using a joy stick control.. You will have a better feel of the camera movment. DaNc

November 1st, 2007, 04:49 PM	#2
Graham Risdon Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Wiltshire, UK Posts: 192	Hi Sean Interesting... Keep an eye on reflections in the car ;-) Graham

November 3rd, 2007, 10:30 AM	#5
Sean Seah Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,498	Hi guys! Ha ha I knew about the reflection but i didnt have a PL filter.. I did a show with the crane and the Brevis today.. not sure if it will turn out till I capture it. Will try to do a better review when i get the time to shoot some photos of the rig...

November 13th, 2007, 02:07 PM	#6
Eric Stemen Major Player Join Date: May 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 378	I was going to leave you a comment on youtube but it was more than 500 characters so here is what I wrote. I'll post a comment on here instead of dvino. The crane really made the shots look more professional!! Of course like everyone said reflections, but that's an easy fix if you would just change the angle you shot at. The only shot I would really change is with the car moving. I might have shot it more telephoto and lower to the ground(telephoto would blur out the background more, and shooting lower would make the car look more powerful.) The criticism is just my opinion, but yes I really liked the jib shots, good job!! Eric Stemen

November 14th, 2007, 10:03 AM	#7
Sean Seah Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,498	Thks for the constructive inputs Eric! Those shots from the last were actually from another event which wasnt planned for. I will take note of these pointers in my coming shoot. Planning to shoot one with more eqpt like stabilsers and DOF adapters.. I tested some shots with the brevis n it was oh so cool in combination with the Crane!

November 14th, 2007, 10:19 AM	#8
Eric Stemen Major Player Join Date: May 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 378	awesome, definitely post a video when you get done.

November 24th, 2007, 12:43 PM	#10
Sean Seah Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,498	the new turret sys would be something worth waiting for..

December 25th, 2007, 08:20 PM	#13
Sean Seah Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,498	http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...y/IMG_4161.jpg Here is a link to the crane at work.

December 27th, 2007, 07:38 AM	#14
Jon Omiatek Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 755	I recently purchased a kessler crane and couldn't be happier. I purchased the 8ft crane & kessler fluid head. I have access to a bogen 316 & 516 fluid heads and I like the Kessler hercules head better at this point. It's rock solid and smooth. I am using a modified bescor head(Grizzly pro video) which controls the zoom and pan/tilt. I purchased a used tripod, a bogen 3061 on ebay for $200 which supports up to 66lbs. There aren't too many options that will support the crane(20lbs for 8ft and 30lbs for 12ft). Add in camera and remote head and counter weights and you will max out your tripod in a hurry. With the pd170 & battery & remote head I had approximately 25lbs of counter weight. That would total 45lbs plus the fluid head. It's a rock solid tripod and they are available on ebay all of the time. The crane is very well built and easy to assemble. I put mine together for the first time in 5 minutes. After a trip to the local sporting goods store I had it balanced in about the same time. The total investment, minus remote head, LANC controller & monitor is about $1500 and worth every penny.