The Best Jib/crane Poll

The Best Jib/crane Poll

  • ProMax CobraCrane ll +

    Votes: 3 5.2%

  • EZ FX Jib

    Votes: 17 29.3%

  • Kessler KC-12 Crane

    Votes: 25 43.1%

  • Glidecam Camcrane 200

    Votes: 7 12.1%

  • ProAm DVC250 Camera Crane

    Votes: 6 10.3%
  • Total voters
    58
Dykortech

Dykortech

hi all,

to the person worried about a kessler mounted on their fluidhead: I'm quite surprised to see the kessler guy recommending that. I wouldn't do it. They offer a fluid swivel for $199, I would buy that if you get a kessler.

I've used the glidecam, it's fine, but it's VERY simple.

Whoever said that the Dykortech design kicks the crap out of all the other sub-5k
jib designs, I agree completely. If you are buying a simple up-down autoleveling
crane, I'd say get the glidecam, it's $450 or something. If you want something
serious it looks like this Dykortech is the only thing remotely affordable with
"full" jib capabilities.

btw, hydraulic controls are such a ffing good idea. it's why all the shots are so
silky in the demo video. everything else I've seen is a little herky jerky, the demo
video on dykortech.com pretty much says it all.

Dykortech guy: will you be at the cine gear expo in LA at the end of June? And, do you have a US distributor?

_a
 
Pro Gressive said:
how the head of the jib achieves its panning motion? Is this done by cables
Click to expand...
If you are referring to the Dykortech Advanta-Jib, the panning is done with cables and the tilt is done with hydraulics.

Best,
Christopher
 
Last edited:
SKeyeWALKER

SKeyeWALKER

Howdy Y'all,

Bob Jones here from "NIGHTSHIFT ENTERPRISES" home of the SKYCRANE.

Gosh, I sure would like to have seen how folks compare the Skycrane to the other jibs listed.


On another note, Joe Johnson, if you view this posting, sorry this message is a bit belated, congratulations Joe on your Sci-fest film and winner of the Skycrane Junior.


If any of you Skycrane owners / users have any questions or suggestions in terms of tecniques or improvements etc, I'd be delighted to answer any questions and I'm really interested in any feed back good, bad or indifferent.

For those of you that may be interested, I've just recently developed a new jib dubbed the "Skycrane Moonraker" it's a thirteen foot jib. It will actually make up four different jib lenghts, 5', 8', 10', & 13'. If any of you folks would like to see pictures, please feel free to drop me a line. bob@skycrane.com

Anyway, keep the tape roll'n...

The Best to all.

Bob Jones
 
Just picked up the glidecam. So far it seems nice I already used it on one shoot. With the exception of the angle selections breaking on the manfrotto I am pretty damn happy with it. Its strong sturdy glides well and doesn't attach to the head. I also purchased a motorized head for the plate but the pan is broken so we couldn't use it.
 
Bob Jones,

I'm in the market for a crane/jib. Do you have a "pan" option or would you consider engineering one for the skycrane?

I think that Jarred had mentioned the Skycrane in an earlier post. I was wondering how it compares to the other cranes also?
 
Pro Gressive,
[SIZE=+0]Hey mate,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]yeah I still check in every once in a while, I guess not as often as I should. To answer your questions. The jib pan is done via closed loop cable and pulley system though the cables are unsheathed to reduce friction over the length of the jib. The Advanta-Jib Lite only has plastic cable guide tubes at the pivots at the jib ends. The lack of sheathing eliminates the jerk associated with breaking the friction in typical push/pull cable type setups. The hydraulic cylinders used for the tilt also have a very low friction break point making tilt starts unnoticable[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]The complete jib less tripod runs about $2900 Canadian eh![/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]As of yet we don't have any dealers down under but we ship world wide.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0][/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]thanks[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0][/SIZE]
 
Hey Alex (Turing)

Not sure if I'll be doing cinegear, I heard it was mostly film related gear, not much video. Is this true?, I've never been. We are selling direct right now but are considering distributers in the near future.
DV West in November may be my next LA expo.

P.S. my last reply to Pro Gressive wasn't supposed to be that big, I don't know what happened.

thanks for the compliments

John
 
Laughs, i thought that you were yelling it at me John :P

Would you please explain the controls at the control end with the bar? I thought that it would relate to the head angle but in some of the photos on your website they dont match up?

I agree though that the footage is really nice. Love that shot going up the tree with the sun piercing through!
 
Hello Robert,

Yes, I do offer a pan head, it's dubbed the SKYpan. It's retrofitable to all of the Skycranes as well as other jibs in the market place.

Drop me a line and I'll send you some shots of it. bob@skycrane.com

The Best...
Bob
 
Pro Gressive said:
Laughs, i thought that you were yelling it at me John :P

Would you please explain the controls at the control end with the bar? I thought that it would relate to the head angle but in some of the photos on your website they dont match up?

I agree though that the footage is really nice. Love that shot going up the tree with the sun piercing through!
Click to expand...
Hey Pro, NO I WASN'T YELLING AT YOU, but I'm sure a few wars have started this way by miscommunication via email. :)

With regards to the panhandle controls on the advanta-jib lite, the pan ratio between the panhandle and the camera pullies is 1:1, this geometry allows you to do swing shots while tracking a subject with little effort.

The tilt ratio is not 1:1 but more like 2:3, if this ratio was 1:1 than the panhandle would need to be lifted to a verticle position (perpendicular to the ground) to get a full 90 degree downward camera tilt. At this verticle panhandle position panning the camera would be difficult without much of a moment arm to apply torque to the pan pully.

Even without the 1:1 tilt ratio it is quite easy to do an up/down jib boom while tracking a suject, it takes finding a sweet spot, but once you find it, it's cake walk (whatever that means).

about the tree shot you mentioned in my demo video

I was driving through the desert from Scottsdale Arizona to LA , when I saw the sunrise behind me, I had to stop to get a shot, even if a bush was all the forground I could find at the side of the road. The setup and strike on the jib is short so it didn't take long to get a few simple shots.

thanks

John
 
Hey John thanks for the replies your Product sounds amazing and you really seem to know what you are talking about...except for that 'cake walk' comment! WTF? Laughs thats great :)

I cant seem to see anything about its Maximum weight? Im just wondering if it would be able to hold a camera like the RED?
 
The images and US prices have been deleted from the Advanta-Jib Lite product list page. Are you planning to update the product images? What are the US prices?

Best,
Christopher
 
Pro Gressive said:
Hey John thanks for the replies your Product sounds amazing and you really seem to know what you are talking about...except for that 'cake walk' comment! WTF? Laughs thats great :)

I cant seem to see anything about its Maximum weight? Im just wondering if it would be able to hold a camera like the RED?
Click to expand...
hey Pro,

The A-J lite is rated for cameras upto 10 lbs or 4.5 kgs, there's a (for specs and features click here) thing highlighted in red somewhere on my site I think on the packages page that will take you to another page where you'll have to solve another clue to get to another page and so on , kinda like the Da Vinci code, :) hence an extreme need for a make over.

From what I've heard the RED will be under 10 lbs, with glass, I guess it all depends on the glass and matt box though.

thanks
 
Christopher Glaeser said:
The images and US prices have been deleted from the Advanta-Jib Lite product list page. Are you planning to update the product images? What are the US prices?

Best,
Christopher
Click to expand...
Hi Chris, I guess we met at NAB, how's it goin?

Yes there will be new images on the new site.

I've temporarily removed the US pricing because the American Dollar won't sit still. I remember the US buck used to cost us Canadians a $1.60 CAD now it's somewhere bouncing around $1.10.

Most customers who order the jib pay by credit card, and being located in Canada, we can only process the transactions in CAD. Depending on how the US economy is feeling that day will determine what conversion rate the credit card will charge.

This I found this was the fairest way to do it since I have no control over currency exchange rates, wish I did.

Thanks
John
 
heh, I'd keep your money in swiss francs or CAD if I were you, the USD is toilet paper right now :)

john: a loaded HVX with an adapter will easily exceed 10lb. I haven't weighed mine yet because I'm still waiting for bits and pieces, but it will certainly exceed 10 lb - but not by much.

could one get away with 15lb?

_a
 
Hi Alex,

Toilet paper seems a little harsh, facial tissue maybe:)
The naked HVX is 5.5 lbs, with battery maybe 6lbs, that leaves another 4lbs for adapter and lens. I'd like to know what the complete combo would weigh.

Usually cameras look heavier than they are, my old Sony Betacam with Fuji lens and chocolate bar weighed in at 14lbs.

either way 11lbs won't break the jib. The rating is for the springs that counterbalance the camera as it tilts forward in the overslung position. Because it tilts about an axis below it like a fluid head, it's weight needs to de supported to assist in the tilt back up. Plus the jib was designed to be as light as possible for light DV cameras to minimize travel weight and counterweight so it's nowhere near as beefy as the full size Advanta-Jib. I flew a 50lb Arri BL3 with a 1000 ft mag once on my full size rig.

Thanks, I look forward to your post with the weight when you get it all together.

John
 
hvx 5.5, 6 w/batt, 7.5 w matte box, 9 with zacuto plate, 10+ lens weight with an M2 or the as-yet-unreleased cinemek.

probably not too far north of 10 lbs, but I wouldn't be surprised if a full rig was a solid 12.

_a
 
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