View Full Version : cheap track dolly alternative
Neil Rowe
01-09-2004, 11:46 AM
ive been looking for a nice little wagon like this to replace a track dolly for smooth surfaces
will work on flat or near flat serfaces very well. 10" air tires
http://www.homier.com/itemdetail.asp?i=04417&browse=no
lol.. seems sorta cheap but works just as good + no setup. bed is steel mesh, can mount other surface. local farm/hardware/home type store may have equivalent.
Taylor Moore
01-09-2004, 11:57 AM
So Loser, with the bale of hay I guess you don't need a spreader, you can just poke the tripod legs into the bale of hay? Isn't it a little tippy like that? ;D
watch out for the cowpies....
Neil Rowe
01-09-2004, 12:19 PM
lol... :) i was thinking of just putting a nice peice of OSB on there. i think it will work really well for indoor areas or on a street where its carpeted/ somwhat rough, and a tripod dolly might get a bit jumpy , and a track dolly takes too much time. ive got a glidecam, but that also takes time to setup(only 5 min .. ihave the mounts marked with a sharpy for wher they go for proper balance, and use the same setup on it each time..works good ), and sometimes i want a rock solid track witout all the hassle of setup, or mulitple takes for camera work. ive used a baby stroller before which i happend to have in the trunk of my car, but i think this will be really nice for that sort of situation.
ps. cmon now, im in madison.. you have to drive a whole mile out of the city before you see any cows.. :) (except for one farm on the eastside that never sold out to development , and is completely surrounded by city.. property has to be worth millions now)
sparkhope
01-09-2004, 04:54 PM
Go Badgers! Class of '93!
Neil Rowe
01-09-2004, 05:27 PM
you from around here spark? dont see you on the map.. a couple of us from around here have been discussing some sort of group or colaborative project or whatnot.. let me know if your interested.
Guest
01-09-2004, 06:00 PM
I've had great luck using a wheelchair. A little fabrication can put tripod right on the arms! You can ride in it..hand-held..store tons of stuff in bag on back! Very smooth! Stores flat in your trunk. Makes great directors chair between shots! Try it!
Neil Rowe
01-09-2004, 06:19 PM
wheelchair - they do work good!
J.R. Hudson
01-09-2004, 11:04 PM
Combine the wheelchair with Jarreds and IAL's innovation and you have the masta wheel chair.
sparkhope
01-09-2004, 11:38 PM
Originally from Chi-town. Spent 5 years in Madison and now (for the last 9 years) live in Los Angeles. While I have your attention - can you recommend some headphones?
Neil Rowe
01-10-2004, 06:19 AM
..pending what youll be usingthe phones for ..
- indoor workstation monitoring of sound mixing for nle..
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HD600/
feild recording-
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HD250II/
-good all around studio phones
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DT250/
David Jimerson
01-10-2004, 09:29 AM
Class of '93? I was starting to think I was one of the old guys around here, but hey -- thirtysomethings abound . . .
Zoomforce
01-10-2004, 09:35 AM
93...ditto :)
J.R. Hudson
01-10-2004, 12:21 PM
88
:(
It's not the years; it's the mileage.
sparkhope
01-13-2004, 08:51 AM
Ok, I happened to stumble upon one of these wagons last night and gave it the "Car & Driver" treatment. Nice inherent suspension due to the large pneumatic tires however be forewarned that the knobby wheels provide for a very jittery dolly. You may opt to upgrade your wheels to the smooth thread however that's a very expensive proposition which will certainly eclipse the low advertised price you found.
much luck! ;D
sparkhope
01-13-2004, 09:29 AM
IAL - thanks for the headphone rec's. I found a cheap pair of Sennheiser HD280Pro's. I'll have to work up to the 400$ pair. I don't think I can get them - my wife said something about "over her dead body". Anyway it's amazing what this buying a camera thing has cost so far...
1. $ 2995 DVX100
2. $ 740 Bogen 503/525
3. $ 750 Anamorphic
4. $ 270 Useless .7 Wide (piece of junk from 47th st. photo)
5. $ 625 (2) ME66/K6
6. $ 387 (1) EW112P
7. $ 200 Misc. filters/cables
8. $ 400 Tools & Materials for DIY Jib/Boom/Dolly/Tracks/Car Mount
And I still have to pick up a Mac with FCP...(I figure that's gonna run another 3000$)
AW...when will it stop? :'(
And I still have to pick up a Mac with FCP...(I figure that's gonna run another 3000$)
...that is, if you don't need monitors or external storage. A G5 with cinema display runs around 5k... PLUS software. I feel your pain.
wait, wasn't the title of this thread something about a cheap track dolly? How did we get on the subject of computers? ???