Best dolly to work with and most affordable, what options are there

S

Scott W

Member
I know their are a few dolly systems out there for $900+ but some of them definitely don't look like they're worth the cost.


Besides the DIY way is there any affordable alternatives for a decent dolly longer than just 5-6 feet?
 
The Dana Dolly is a small cost effective dolly, not a slider. What do you mean by a dolly longer than 5 or 6 feet? Are you asking about a dolly or the track? Do you want a ride on dolly?
 
David W. Jones said:
The Dana Dolly is a small cost effective dolly, not a slider.
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The Dana Dolly, despite it's name, is a slider - one of the best available, but still a slider.

A slider only holds the camera and a head and you must elevate the track to shooting height. To be a dolly, it must accommodate at least tripod sticks or other tall camera support (and possibly much more) and be designed to ride on the ground or ground level track, elevating the camera to shooting height on the mobile platform itself.
 
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nothing said:
The Dana Dolly, despite it's name, is a slider - one of the best available, but still a slider.

A slider only holds the camera and a head and you must elevate the track to shooting height. To be a dolly, it must accommodate at least tripod sticks or other tall camera support (and possibly much more) and be designed to ride on the ground or ground level track, elevating the camera to shooting height on the mobile platform itself.
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What he said ^ any other viable options?
 
The key with dollies:

1. Camera operator shouldnt operate the dolly. So your dolly should have handles for a dolly grip
2. Should be able to hold lots of weight, a heavier dolly means smoother ride. Just a few days ago we threw on 2 big bags of cement (80lb) + 2 operators and a heavy ass dolly. Super smooth!

Google around for a track dolly, if I find something I'll let you know
 
I have the long valley dolly and it's very good. Actually I bought the kit and built it with the components. The wheels float on these disks that make all moves including on curved track really smooth. I'd recommend it highly for that style dolly. The next dolly I will get is the premier studio pd1. This looks like the ultimate portable dolly to me.
 
+1 for the premier studio pd1.

I once worked with it, and just love it.
Sweet spot between size, weight and usability.
 
Postmaster said:
+1 for the premier studio pd1.

I once worked with it, and just love it.
Sweet spot between size, weight and usability.
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Yeah the PD1 is great, I've worked with it numerous times and its awesome. I own another Premiere dolly and their stuff is great.
Problem is that it isnt very affordable (to buy), but to rent it isnt bad. I've seen them for around 100/day
 
RickyC said:
Yeah the PD1 is great, I've worked with it numerous times and its awesome. I own another Premiere dolly and their stuff is great.
Problem is that it isnt very affordable (to buy), but to rent it isnt bad. I've seen them for around 100/day
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Can you let me know where I could possibly rent from?
 
I've got an Indie Dolly system I want to sell. Works great - I just don't have a need for it with what I do these days. PM me if interested.
 
Microdolly. www.microdolly.com. The most portable, lightweight and smooth system I've used and owned. You cannot "Ride" on the dolly, but one person can realistically manage the setup in 1 or 2 minutes. As I shoot most of the times in situations where time and manpower is scarce, this dolly simply has no competition. Its actually, for me, more convenient than my Philip Bloom Pocket dolly.

Its expensive, but this dolly will last you a lifetime. Cannot recommend it more.
 
I absoluteely agree the a T dolly that you chuck your sticks on is the easiest dolly to handle esp compared to sliders which involve unounting your head etc..

S
 
Scott W said:
Can you let me know where I could possibly rent from?
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Here in Houston the only person I know that has it is Hassan Nadji (nadjifilms.com) - not sure where you are in your area, look for some rental houses that may have it
 
I think it depends on what you need it for. I decided some time ago that (as much as I love them) for the majority of shooting we do, a full-size dolly doesn't make sense (we simply don't have the setup time most of the time), so we stick with sliders for most movements (the Dana Dolly type hybrid between track-based dollies and integrated sliders, makes for a great compromise) and then simply hire full-sized dollies when we have the time and budget for them.
 
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