$80 CamTram

M

Mike Caffrey

Member
$4k on a CamTram seems like too much of an indulgence for me. For a few months I've been trying to figure out how to build my own and I've finally got something that works and cost $80 in parts and about 5 minutes of assembly to get 5 feet of smooth lateral movement.

I need a little practice, but here's a first shot and demo of how it works.


http://www.monsterisland.com/video/TrackingShot.mov
 
$80 CamTram... Bill of Material... Parts List...

$80 CamTram... Bill of Material... Parts List...

PaPa said:
and its built how?

cool stuff.
Click to expand...

I'm interested as well, what exactly did you use, where did you purchase? I thought it looked pretty smooth.
 
The video should have showed it at the end. Wasn't it there?

That's a 48 inch drawer slide for a massve tool drawer. It's got smooth ballbearing movement and holds 500lbs. $80 for a pair. I bought two 3inch bably plates, turned them upside down and glued the slide to the plates. I glued a quick release plate to the slide and used a mini ball head.

I'll probably find a better solution than crazy glue for the long term. I'm treating it as a guide for the camera, not a true support mount. Assembly is a bout 10 seconds and it breaks down to the size of a light stand.

I'm mainly using it for short indoor shots, so it's not a perfect solution for eveyone, but I'm hoping someone will see it and suggest an even better idea.
 
Way cool! I shopped around for drawer slides but never got this far. Any stability issues when panning/tilting during a move?


-Stu
 
Panning and tilting? This can't hold a fluid head.

I didn't notices any noise issues. The ballbearings are well lubed. The lube can get on your hands a little though.
 
Pictures

Pictures

Sounds like a unique solution to an age old problem, though it's difficult to picture it. Please post some photos, it is difficult to judge the video without seeing what created it.

Unless of course, you're going to patent the idea and want to keep the details hush, hush. If so, good luck with it and let me know when you got one for sale :)

Cheers,

Peter
 
Mike Caffrey said:
I'm mainly using it for short indoor shots, so it's not a perfect solution for eveyone, but I'm hoping someone will see it and suggest an even better idea.
Click to expand...

Mike:

Nice job. It seems to me that it has its particular uses. Not the most versatile item, but I imagine it could be used in tight spaces or areas where the floor or terrain or other restrictions wouldn't easily allow for a full scale dolly.

John
 
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