Anyone used the ProAm jib crane? at DVinfo.net

G. Randy Brown · July 10th, 2008, 10:48 AM

Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on this jib?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NR-ProAm-DVC200-...QQcmdZViewItem

Ken Steadman · July 10th, 2008, 11:50 AM

I have one, I got one for 180 on ebay a month ago and was pleasantly surprised by it, for the price its a pretty nice crane I have noticed the camera mount on mine is just a little bit off angle but I have shimmed mine straighter. I shot a test film with it the first day and was impressed on how the footage came out; really gave it "production value". I guess it all depends on what you gonna do with it. I'm planning on shooting some test footage with it this weekend I'll repost a link here for you.

G. Randy Brown · July 10th, 2008, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Steadman

I guess it all depends on what you gonna do with it. I'm planning on shooting some test footage with it this weekend I'll repost a link here for you.

I'm covering a 1000 mile car rally next month and will be shooting from the back of a pick-up. There will be times we'll be going close to 100 mph BUT that would be on a straight interstate and I'm thinking if I can weight down my tripod well I could get some great shots. My only concern (well...my biggest concern) would be if the mount to the camera would be strong enough.
I would like to see that footage whenever you get it posted....hey can you do your test going 100 mph from the back of a pick-up???!!!! : )
Thanks Ken,
Randy

Nate Haustein · July 10th, 2008, 02:19 PM

How big of a camera do you plan on using it with? I have one of the 8' models and the tripod they sell with it, and for what I paid it works quite well with smaller cameras such as a HV20 and in a pinch an XHA1. Almost the entire crane is made of aluminum, and is both lightweight and solid.The connection to the camera however is simply a 1/4" thumbscrew and a little rubber pad. If you trust your camera to a wing-nut at 100mph then by all means go ahead...(I do.)

If the shots are meant for novelty in the production, I would think you could get by with the crane, but I'd say you'd want something with a bit more control, if not stability, if you're using the crane as a primary camera. Remember that there's really no pan ability when a camera is on the jib, though the tilt of the crane, both auto and manual works pretty well for how simple the system is.

You'll definitely want a good monitor to see what you're doing, and a LANC or toslink cable to control zoom/iris/focus etc. Sounds like fun though, I'd like to see some footage when you're all through with it.

Nate Haustein · July 10th, 2008, 02:21 PM

Oh, and get the tripod they offer, it's just a speaker stand with a plastic piece on it, but that arm gets to be like 30lbs+ with all the weights and camera on it. Not really something that fares very well on a tripod head, especially at high speed!

Gary Burlingame · July 10th, 2008, 03:36 PM

I own a ProAm DVC250 (the 12' version) crane and love it. I have a motorized Bescor head that I use on the end of the crane to get smoother pan/tilt shots.

I recommend mounting the crane on a sturdy tripod rather than on a crane, however, because a speaker stand is a lot harder to level out on uneven ground/surfaces.

Here's a link to a video that has 2 of my ProAm crane shots at the very end of the video:
http://www.calvarychapeleastside.com...-building.html

Chris Soucy · July 10th, 2008, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G. Randy Brown

There will be times we'll be going close to 100 mph

Jibs/ booms/ cranes are almost impossible to control in breezes stronger than about 10 MPH.

At 100 MPH you are gonna be on the wrong end of one lean mean killing machine.

Add to that the "lever multiplication factor" of an 8 foot crane on a 4 foot tripod/ stand which means that a 1 inch bump on the road will produce a 1 foot swing of the camera head/ camera (imagine what G forces you're going to be putting on that 1/4" screw).

Not to mention that your OIS is going to give up the will to live in pretty short order.

Hope your medical/ equipment/ public liability insurances are all up to date - you're gonna need 'em.

CS

G. Randy Brown · July 11th, 2008, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Soucy

Jibs/ booms/ cranes are almost impossible to control in breezes stronger than about 10 MPH.

At 100 MPH you are gonna be on the wrong end of one lean mean killing machine.

Add to that the "lever multiplication factor" of an 8 foot crane on a 4 foot tripod/ stand which means that a 1 inch bump on the road will produce a 1 foot swing of the camera head/ camera (imagine what G forces you're going to be putting on that 1/4" screw).

Not to mention that your OIS is going to give up the will to live in pretty short order.

Hope your medical/ equipment/ public liability insurances are all up to date - you're gonna need 'em.

CS

I was getting pretty excited until I read this one. It is not what I wanted to hear but it's what I was afraid of (and then some).
Last year we had one camera shoot the event out of a sunroof and me hanging out of a window. As you can imagine the wind was indeed a factor but my "logic" (okay, I'm using the word loosely) was that their isn't near that much turbulence in the back of a pick-up bed and as long as I didn't swing the camera out too far it wouldn't....okay, okay, this is sounding dumber and dumber as I type...maybe it is a very bad idea at that speed.
Thanks everyone, your comments are very much appreciated,
Randy

Paul R Johnson · July 11th, 2008, 09:12 AM

I've got a very heavy Vinten 6ft arm, and the counterweights alone in their flightcase box are too much for one person to lift. I rigged this last year in an L200 Mitsubishi (we call them pick-ups, not sure what the American term is?) The results of the back up to about 40mph were pretty good, but going out over the side was tricky at anything over 30 or so - the wind pressure on the camera and exposed arm too much to deal with. I have used it inside a panel van. Tripod to the rear of the loadbay, this allows the cameraman to sit on the floor next to the open side door and have the camera weight supported for sideways shooting, the bumps are a little reduced too, which does help.

Nate Haustein · July 11th, 2008, 09:12 PM

So what if you made like an airfoil around the wing, then...ok, maybe not - 100mph is a little extreme for this sort of thing.

Chris Soucy · July 11th, 2008, 10:12 PM

Having burst yer bubble over this, think it's only fair to try to add a bit of positive to the party.

You might be able to get some vehicle mounted milage out of something like this, tho' there's still a major air turbulance thing to sort, and even if mounted almost slap bang in the centre of the vehicle (in relation to the four wheels) there's still going to be a bit of banging around going on.

http://www.stickypod.com/steady_cam_camera_mount.html

I'm not pushing this particular companies goodies BTW, just pointing to other possible solutions to your problem.

CS

July 10th, 2008, 10:48 AM	#1
G. Randy Brown Major Player Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 288	Anyone used the ProAm jib crane? Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on this jib? http://cgi.ebay.com/NR-ProAm-DVC200-...QQcmdZViewItem

July 10th, 2008, 02:19 PM	#4
Nate Haustein Trustee Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 1,313	How big of a camera do you plan on using it with? I have one of the 8' models and the tripod they sell with it, and for what I paid it works quite well with smaller cameras such as a HV20 and in a pinch an XHA1. Almost the entire crane is made of aluminum, and is both lightweight and solid.The connection to the camera however is simply a 1/4" thumbscrew and a little rubber pad. If you trust your camera to a wing-nut at 100mph then by all means go ahead...(I do.) If the shots are meant for novelty in the production, I would think you could get by with the crane, but I'd say you'd want something with a bit more control, if not stability, if you're using the crane as a primary camera. Remember that there's really no pan ability when a camera is on the jib, though the tilt of the crane, both auto and manual works pretty well for how simple the system is. You'll definitely want a good monitor to see what you're doing, and a LANC or toslink cable to control zoom/iris/focus etc. Sounds like fun though, I'd like to see some footage when you're all through with it. __________________ Nate Haustein PXW-FX9 / FCPX www.flightcreativemedia.com

July 10th, 2008, 02:21 PM	#5
Nate Haustein Trustee Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 1,313	Oh, and get the tripod they offer, it's just a speaker stand with a plastic piece on it, but that arm gets to be like 30lbs+ with all the weights and camera on it. Not really something that fares very well on a tripod head, especially at high speed! __________________ Nate Haustein PXW-FX9 / FCPX www.flightcreativemedia.com

July 11th, 2008, 09:12 PM	#10
Nate Haustein Trustee Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 1,313	So what if you made like an airfoil around the wing, then...ok, maybe not - 100mph is a little extreme for this sort of thing. __________________ Nate Haustein PXW-FX9 / FCPX www.flightcreativemedia.com

July 11th, 2008, 10:12 PM	#11
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,691 Images: 18	Hi guys...... Having burst yer bubble over this, think it's only fair to try to add a bit of positive to the party. You might be able to get some vehicle mounted milage out of something like this, tho' there's still a major air turbulance thing to sort, and even if mounted almost slap bang in the centre of the vehicle (in relation to the four wheels) there's still going to be a bit of banging around going on. http://www.stickypod.com/steady_cam_camera_mount.html I'm not pushing this particular companies goodies BTW, just pointing to other possible solutions to your problem. CS

July 10th, 2008, 11:50 AM	#2
Ken Steadman Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: DC Suburbs Posts: 86	I have one, I got one for 180 on ebay a month ago and was pleasantly surprised by it, for the price its a pretty nice crane I have noticed the camera mount on mine is just a little bit off angle but I have shimmed mine straighter. I shot a test film with it the first day and was impressed on how the footage came out; really gave it "production value". I guess it all depends on what you gonna do with it. I'm planning on shooting some test footage with it this weekend I'll repost a link here for you.

July 10th, 2008, 03:36 PM	#6
Gary Burlingame Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bellevue, WA Posts: 36	I own a ProAm DVC250 (the 12' version) crane and love it. I have a motorized Bescor head that I use on the end of the crane to get smoother pan/tilt shots. I recommend mounting the crane on a sturdy tripod rather than on a crane, however, because a speaker stand is a lot harder to level out on uneven ground/surfaces. Here's a link to a video that has 2 of my ProAm crane shots at the very end of the video: http://www.calvarychapeleastside.com...-building.html

July 11th, 2008, 09:12 AM	#9
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,045	I've got a very heavy Vinten 6ft arm, and the counterweights alone in their flightcase box are too much for one person to lift. I rigged this last year in an L200 Mitsubishi (we call them pick-ups, not sure what the American term is?) The results of the back up to about 40mph were pretty good, but going out over the side was tricky at anything over 30 or so - the wind pressure on the camera and exposed arm too much to deal with. I have used it inside a panel van. Tripod to the rear of the loadbay, this allows the cameraman to sit on the floor next to the open side door and have the camera weight supported for sideways shooting, the bumps are a little reduced too, which does help.