want to build a Geared Head (like arri)

[dlang]

Alright I may be way in over my head.....but the only way to learn that is if I pursue it huh(: anyhow I've been venturing off into stop Motion films and am needing to get precise increments for camera moves. I've been looking at the geared heads out there and ran into the rediculously priced Arri Heads....Who can afford it?? obviously the head relies on fine toothed gears to make it tick. I was wondering if anyone has ever been bold enough to try and build one with the circular knobs like the Arri Head. Is there any resources...aka...pics of the guts of these things? Any contibution of knowledge etc...is appreciated.

[dbarak]

That's a tough job, especially if you were to actually use it for fluid real-time shooting. But since you'd be using it for stop motion, it might not be quite as difficult. One solution that might be ideal for you, though, would be a Gitzo geared head, which is designed for larger still cameras.

Here's a link to one type (no product or vendor endorsement implied):

http://www.samys.com/product_detail.php?item=3385

http://www.samys.com/images/products/boge405.jpg

This is just an example of what's out there for still cameras, but it might work for what you need.

[Erik Olson]

I don't know if the gear ratio is switchable / selectable, but this is a nice looking XY lump (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5554-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_3263_3263_Deluxe_Geared_Head.html) .

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/largeimages/5554.jpg

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[dlang]

Ya I expect it would be a tough one, but looking inside one the mechanics don't seem all that technical.....however, I'm saying this based off of some really low rez pics I've seen. My plan was to make a universal geared head that would work for stop mo and real time shooting. I've been messing with some gears to make a simple version of one. I have literally never touched a pro gear head so I really have nothing to compare too, hence the reason I'm coming to you guys. Thanks for the links. If things get unreasoble with my project I'll probably end up going that route. Any other tips/resources would be appreciated. thanks