Jib/Crane at DVinfo.net

Neil Dankoff · March 18th, 2009, 01:30 PM

Hi Guys, Has anyone one used the Glidecam Camcrane 200? Any feedback would be much appreciated. Also, if there is any other similar products that anyone could recommend. Are these types of equipment difficult to operate.? Long learning curve? Do you need a monitor to get any type of effective shot? Thanks,
Neil

Jason LeFrense · March 18th, 2009, 01:40 PM

I have the unit and its really not bad for the price you pay. Couple of things you should know before buying. Make sure you have a strong tripod and I mean strong. Also you will need a monitor, I picked up the Ikan and it seems to do the trick for me.You are going to want to pick up a motorized head for the camera and depending on the size of the camera you are using it could get a little pricey. I use mine with the HV30 and Sony Z7 and it works great.

Neil Dankoff · March 18th, 2009, 01:43 PM

Thanks, Did you purchase it at Vistek? If not, where?

Jason LeFrense · March 18th, 2009, 01:51 PM

Ya I bought the unit trough Vistek, I picked up a small motorized head through Markertek, its nothing fancy but it works for what I need it for. The biggest thing for me was the Tripod, I picked up an old Hercules and it works great. If you do decide to get a motorized head make sure you get long enough cable from the head to your remote.

Neil Dankoff · March 18th, 2009, 02:00 PM

Great. Thanks again.

Craig Seeman · March 18th, 2009, 02:12 PM

Kessler Crane® - Quality Professional Camera Cranes, Camera Jib & Camera Support Products - Home
Allows you to control the camera tilt itself from the base of the crane.

watch this
http://www.kesslercrane.com/index.ph...pper&Itemid=99

Andrew Stone · March 19th, 2009, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Seeman

Kessler Crane® - Quality Professional Camera Cranes, Camera Jib & Camera Support Products - Home
Allows you to control the camera...

Pretty impressive stuff. Pricing is quite reasonable too.

Craig Seeman · March 19th, 2009, 09:28 AM

Neat thing about Kessler Crane is that they have
Tooless version which makes field assembly easy
The head has a built in controllable tilt function which means you can avoid motorized head.
The downside is that although they have a dolly for it and it's inexpensive it's proprietary (you have to get their tripod). If you don't need the dolly, the jib/crane is probably the best bang for the buck in terms of size/flexibility.

I looked at the other cranes mentioned in this thread before I made my purchase and nothing came close IMHO.

Neil Dankoff · March 19th, 2009, 10:06 AM

Thanks Craig. I just went down to our video specialty store here in Toronto (Vistek) and they had a Comely Productions DVC2 DV Crane II. Looked great, really inexpensive but apparently solidly built. Anyone hear anything about it?

Craig Seeman · March 19th, 2009, 10:53 AM

Here's their site
Camera Cranes, Jib Arms and Boom Cranes - CamCrane.com
B&H also sells them. Only supports a max of 10lbs though. While an EX1 would make that, it's cutting it close.
http://www.camcrane.com/usa-can/en/p...er_2008_v2.pdf
I like the fact that it has a tilt control.
Max height seems to be a hair under 8ft.
Kessler can hold up to 25lbs and you can add accessories to extend it to 12ft.
Kessler has a very good reputation (and if you follow the ads in the upper right you'll see they're a DVInfo sponsor).
Camely crane does look interesting though but I'd be concerned about the weight/height limitation but one might find the "one bar" vs "two bar" support easier to deal with.

Keith Moreau · March 19th, 2009, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil Dankoff

Hi Guys, Has anyone one used the Glidecam Camcrane 200? Any feedback would be much appreciated. Also, if there is any other similar products that anyone could recommend. Are these types of equipment difficult to operate.? Long learning curve? Do you need a monitor to get any type of effective shot? Thanks,
Neil

I have the Camcrane, I actually got mine used along with a really nice crane tripod at Amazon marketplace for a good deal. You need to purchase some barbell weights to make it work well.

It's a good basic crane, light, smooth. If you want tilt and pan you should get one of the cheap electrical remote units to control that aspect of it and of course some way to monitor the output. I'm using a Sony 820 DVD player that has surprisingly good resolution even with the composite video input.

March 18th, 2009, 01:30 PM	#1
Neil Dankoff Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 25	Jib/Crane Hi Guys, Has anyone one used the Glidecam Camcrane 200? Any feedback would be much appreciated. Also, if there is any other similar products that anyone could recommend. Are these types of equipment difficult to operate.? Long learning curve? Do you need a monitor to get any type of effective shot? Thanks, Neil

March 18th, 2009, 01:40 PM	#2
Jason LeFrense Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sydney Canada Posts: 126	I have the unit and its really not bad for the price you pay. Couple of things you should know before buying. Make sure you have a strong tripod and I mean strong. Also you will need a monitor, I picked up the Ikan and it seems to do the trick for me.You are going to want to pick up a motorized head for the camera and depending on the size of the camera you are using it could get a little pricey. I use mine with the HV30 and Sony Z7 and it works great.

March 18th, 2009, 01:43 PM	#3
Neil Dankoff Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 25	Thanks, Did you purchase it at Vistek? If not, where?

March 18th, 2009, 01:51 PM	#4
Jason LeFrense Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sydney Canada Posts: 126	Ya I bought the unit trough Vistek, I picked up a small motorized head through Markertek, its nothing fancy but it works for what I need it for. The biggest thing for me was the Tripod, I picked up an old Hercules and it works great. If you do decide to get a motorized head make sure you get long enough cable from the head to your remote.

March 18th, 2009, 02:00 PM	#5
Neil Dankoff Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 25	Great. Thanks again.

March 18th, 2009, 02:12 PM	#6
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Kessler Crane® - Quality Professional Camera Cranes, Camera Jib & Camera Support Products - Home Allows you to control the camera tilt itself from the base of the crane. watch this http://www.kesslercrane.com/index.ph...pper&Itemid=99

March 19th, 2009, 09:28 AM	#8
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Neat thing about Kessler Crane is that they have Tooless version which makes field assembly easy The head has a built in controllable tilt function which means you can avoid motorized head. The downside is that although they have a dolly for it and it's inexpensive it's proprietary (you have to get their tripod). If you don't need the dolly, the jib/crane is probably the best bang for the buck in terms of size/flexibility. I looked at the other cranes mentioned in this thread before I made my purchase and nothing came close IMHO.

March 19th, 2009, 10:06 AM	#9
Neil Dankoff Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 25	Thanks Craig. I just went down to our video specialty store here in Toronto (Vistek) and they had a Comely Productions DVC2 DV Crane II. Looked great, really inexpensive but apparently solidly built. Anyone hear anything about it?

March 19th, 2009, 10:53 AM	#10
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Here's their site Camera Cranes, Jib Arms and Boom Cranes - CamCrane.com B&H also sells them. Only supports a max of 10lbs though. While an EX1 would make that, it's cutting it close. http://www.camcrane.com/usa-can/en/p...er_2008_v2.pdf I like the fact that it has a tilt control. Max height seems to be a hair under 8ft. Kessler can hold up to 25lbs and you can add accessories to extend it to 12ft. Kessler has a very good reputation (and if you follow the ads in the upper right you'll see they're a DVInfo sponsor). Camely crane does look interesting though but I'd be concerned about the weight/height limitation but one might find the "one bar" vs "two bar" support easier to deal with.