Building a camera crane

It's not a terrible idea if you're the kind of person who is mechanically inclined and has more time than money... that said, there is nothing like a well designed and contructed piece of equipment - and personally I know I'm not the guy who can do either (so after a few failed attempts at homemade gear, I buy most of my stuff)

What are you looking for from a crane?
How high do you need/want? Does it need to break down and be portable?
And how much are you wiling to put into building one?

The thing to look out for is thinking you're saving money by building...and then quickly getting into the trap of buying more and more parts to get it 'just right'
costs can quickly get away from you.
 
It really doesn't need to go that high. 20 ft maybe?

Portable? mmmmmmm yeah. I mean, I'd be taking it out on location all the time.

I wouldn't want to spend more than $100 on building one.
 
I'm no engineer - but 20 Ft and portable for under $100 sounds like a pretty tall order.
(no pun intended)

Do you have the tools and space needed to build something like that?
(and the abiilty)
 
Yeah, I was a shop boy in high school. I have the tools and ability.

I think you're right about the price though. I may fare better by just saving up a little more cash and buying a nice one.
 
if you can weld or know someone who can you will be able to build one of these.

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/7555/1154121815.jpg

it was designed off of the kessler crane, obviously not quite as nice but nice enough to get some really beautiful footage. I designed this crane to have different length tips for higher or lower jib shots. Let me know if your interested and i'll pass on the design...oh and it is painted black now so it has a little more pro look to it. This can be built for approximately $120 depending on the tools you own.
 
A Cobra Crane from Promax with the extension arm costs about $450 and is probably way better than anything you could do yourself (or at least anything I could do myself, and not to mention the time spent). It's portable and extends to 14 feet.

I own one of these and I can't praise it enough. It's smooth, easy to use, has tilt control and comes with monitoring extension cables and a mount for an external monitor.

It's really the perfect solution for a DVX or similar camcorder. The next cheapest cranes I've found start at $2000.
 
Yeah materials alone to build one in metal are gonna cost you more than 100 bucks. Mine is closer to 12-15ft. (been awhile since I worked on it) and it cost more than 100 for tubing. Then you have to figure for bearings, nuts and bolts, etc.
 
I don't know what kind of stuff you guys are shooting - but I've found that for most of my stuff 8 feet of booming is more than enough. Personally, I'd rather have a well built crane smaller crane than a longer cheaper one that might have more of a tendency to flex or bounce, etc. A small amount of movement adds a TON of production value to most things - just look at what people are able to do with something like the indislider (and that thing only moves the camera about 2 feet!).

I'm just saying if you're intent on building one, and you really want it to be portable, then why not consider building something smaller that you can take with you easier - and consider renting for those times you really want that 20 foot crane shot.

I know if I had a 20 foot crane, I would probably only take it with me to a fraction of the shoots that I would take a compact jib.
 
Beeblebrox said:
A Cobra Crane from Promax with the extension arm costs about $450 and is probably way better than anything you could do yourself (or at least anything I could do myself, and not to mention the time spent). It's portable and extends to 14 feet.

I own one of these and I can't praise it enough. It's smooth, easy to use, has tilt control and comes with monitoring extension cables and a mount for an external monitor.

It's really the perfect solution for a DVX or similar camcorder. The next cheapest cranes I've found start at $2000.
Click to expand...


There is definitely a price break in the jib market, it seems.
And its tough to beat a $450 pricetag, but it's not like there isn't a difference in the quality between something like the Cobra Crane and a two thousand dollar jib.

Out of curiosity, does the cobra attach to the tripod head, or to the legs directly?
I just checked out the site and I can't really tell from the pictures.
Just curious because I've seen a few cranes that attach to the tripod head itself which would make me really nervous. I have no idea why you would ever want to attach a crane to something that is actually MADE to tilt. Seems awfully unstable to do that.
(I'm not saying the cobra does that, just asking if that's how it works).
 
Luis Caffesse said:
And its tough to beat a $450 pricetag, but it's not like there isn't a difference in the quality between something like the Cobra Crane and a two thousand dollar jib.
Click to expand...

The more expensive jibs hold more weight, and some, but not all, have pan as well as tilt control. But for what it does, the Cobra simply cannot be beat.

Out of curiosity, does the cobra attach to the tripod head, or to the legs directly?
Click to expand...

It does attach to the tripod head but stability is not an issue at all. The crane does not tilt with the head. In fact, you use the tilt arm to control the tilt of the camera using a cable system.

You do have to have some solid sticks, though. I've got a Bogen head with a hexagonal plate. It's perfectly stable, although the rules of any crane apply as far as balance goes and keeping an eye on your rig.
 
malcolm man said:
I would really like one, but am afraid that a nice crane is just bit too pricy for my budget as of now.

You can find a million tutorials on the web on how to build your own.

Example:
http://www.pana3ccduser.com/article....r-the-Panasoni

Has anyone actually done this? If so, how'd it work?

Is this a bad, bad idea?

I know that I'll be suspending about $6500 above the ground.

What do ya guys think?
Click to expand...

Malcolm, I built a crane (technically... a jib) a few years ago:

http://snodart.com/hbe_jib.php

Aside from my 35mm adapter, the jib is the one piece of DIY equipment that I have put to use the most. We tend to use the jib over a tripod/fluid head set-up the majority of the time. My jib is only 7ft long (end to end), so we can't exactly get a true crane shot with it. Honestly though, we have yet to come across a time when the jib didn't reach high enough (well, we did set it up on a truck bed once for a little added height). You would be surprised how high the image feels even with a 7ft jib (especially with a wide lens). At any rate, the jib has worked like a champ and is plenty sturdy.

DIY projects are always a gamble. I spent 8 months and over $1000 refining my 35mm adapter design. The result is that it looks comparable to many of the pre-build adapters that cost the same. I had a great time doing it all, but my goal is making movies, not adapters... so the worth of that venture is debatable. I could have made a couple of good shorts in that 8 months!

I would say that the Jib is a bit of a safer DIY venture. The toughest part will be deciding on a design that will fit your needs and then hunting down the right bearings for your design. I would guess that it took me about 4 - 5 months of design and build time for my jib (including the time for the DIY tripod used with the jib). Of course, there were only a handful of designs floating around the web at the time. Now with more designs around the web, I doubt it would take as long to decide on a design (or maybe longer since there are so many!).

If you just don't have the $ to buy a nice jib/crane, but you have the tools and knowhow... I would say go for it. I can't imagine not having the jib around.

Of course, I have a bad habit of submerging myself in DIY projects... so you might want to ignore my advice :lipsrseal

EDIT:

mikkowilson said:
Be sure to check out www.homebuiltstabilizers.com - they have an entire section on cranes & jibs. And yes, they also have their own forum just for homebuilding camera rigs.

- Mikko
Click to expand...

Great advise.
 
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snodart said:
We tend to use the jib over a tripod/fluid head set-up the majority of the time. My jib is only 7ft long (end to end), so we can't exactly get a true crane shot with it. Honestly though, we have yet to come across a time when the jib didn't reach high enough (well, we did set it up on a truck bed once for a little added height). You would be surprised how high the image feels even with a 7ft jib (especially with a wide lens).
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was saying - glad I'm not the only one who thinks we don't always need to go 500 ft on a crane.
:thumbsup:
 
im working on a jib as well.

I have built a few smaller jibs, but I was never satisfied with the reach, and the wind could shake them a bit which really ruins a shot. This time im spending a little more.
I bought:

1x 10ft 4x4 steel square pipe
1x 10ft 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 steel square pipe

~$90 so far. I really want to go with another 10ft 4-1/2 x 4-1/2 but maybe later. My aim is not to spend much over $350 on this project.

Both weigh around 80lbs and they will telescope for transportation.
I estimate the complete jib arm and mount to weigh ~350 lbs without counter weight. I want it rock solid, smooth, good reach, and most importantly ultra stable. Looking very promising right now.

Call me crazy, but im modeling it after this:
http://www.telescopicjib.com/db5/00495/telescopicjib.com/_uimages/DSC_0012.JPG
(no plans for a remote head yet)

snodart is right, DIY projects are always a gamble. Maybe I will fail miserably... I will learn something nonetheless. Same for you. Its worthwhile even if you get nothing out of it, but thats just my opinion.

I have not had power to my home for 7 days now with temperatures indoors dropping to about 28 F... So its delayed...

As far as safety, the first time I used my jibs I made sure that there was something soft for the camera to fall onto. It could be a point of failure that you did not anticipate. Its a good idea to also do some stress tests to make it break while your building it instead of on set.
 
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