Cobra Crane, a warning

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Nobody356

Well-known member
After anxiously waiting for a week i recieved my new cobra crane and dolly today and was very excited. Unfourtunately I ran into a problem, the crane doesnt work with my tripod(which is a pretty good and expensive bogen), I called ProMax's tech support and was told that I needed to buy a specific tripod and type of head which the tech support guy said would cost ~$600. This to me is very frustrating because I dont have lots of money to just throw aroundand their site says that the crane will work with "any sturdy tripod"

I feel like there was some false advertising and I feel a little lead on but I will probably end up just buying the tripod they suggested(its either that or try to return it), its a good tripod anyways but its still pretty frustrating.

Does anyone else have this crane and would you say its worth the extra costs?
 
yeah.. i have the cobra crane II + and all that jazz and they dont really say how much it weighs anywhere that i could find, but the wieght of the crane alone without any counterbalance weights on it is waay too much for most tripods.

what model sticks did they tell you to pick up.. the same one as in the demo vid?
 
yea I have the II +, I forgot to specify but they told me to get the bogen 3046 tripod and the 3066 head(which no longer is being made) which i believe is the one in the demo.

It looks like I might get with some somewhat expensive shipping costs if I try to return it so theres no easy way out, and I'm afraid my tripod really cant handle the thing. When I called ProMax they couldnt even tell me how heavy the thing was but from lifting it I can tell its pretty darn heavy.
 
There's a very sturdy trypod by Los Mandy which I use for my porta jib and it costs a lot less that 600. portajib.com
 
I use Bogen 3061 Heavy Duty 1-Stage Video Tripod Legs (supports up to 66lbs) for my SkyCrane... $267 about 2 years ago... however I suppose if you also need a head things get more expensive pretty quickly.
 
I have a Crane 2. Works great but it's certainly quite heavy & bulky. You'll need a substantial tripod.

Is it worth it? Honestly I haven't tried competitors, but I've been pleased with the results with the Cobra Crane. It's just not very easy to lug around and use.
 
When I get a jib, Skycrane is going to be my choice.

As for tripod, I use a Libec LS22 ... Got it for less than $400 through EVS, and the legs are the same monsters that are on it's bigbrother (LS50) and support up to 98 lbs!
 
Or you could always buy used. I usually avoid ebay, but got a great deal on a bogen 3063 head and 3050 legs, solid as a rock, and great with the cobra crane II+. And get this, $150 shipped. Sure the tipod is heavy, but it is solid as a rock, and a great tripod and fluid head just for the camera. If you know where to look, you don't need to get a $600 tripod. In fact, let me look right now and see what I can find.
 
coffee said:
that sucks! so now what? you basically have to send it back or buy a new tripod?
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exactly

And my dad's mad at me about the situation so that helps :huh:

I assume that if I return the thing I'll have to eat the shipping costs(NY-Cali) so even if I found another crane that would work with my tripod I'd be starting off with less money. Only problem I can see with the crane itself is the size ...looks like I'll have to dis assemble it everytime i move it(in the car). Does anyone who has the crane know how long it takes to put together once you get used to it? So if I did return and get a different crane(that worked with my tripod) I'd want something more portable too. I'm not sure any crane will work with my tripod tho
 
If you want to have a stable crane shot, you need to have a heavy duty tripod, like the one I linked to above. No camera crane is going to work with a light weight tripod. The cobra crane for me takes about 5 min to assembe and dissasemble, so it really is not too bad, however you do need to have a large vehicle to haul it around. Hope you get it worked out.
 
Check out your local hardware store and look for a surveyor's tripod. They are heavy duty and you can easily retrofit a crane onto one.

There's a bunch listed on the homedepot.com site. Go there and search for "tripod".
 
HansK said:
Check out your local hardware store and look for a surveyor's tripod. They are heavy duty and you can easily retrofit a crane onto one.

There's a bunch listed on the homedepot.com site. Go there and search for "tripod".
Click to expand...

Great idea for a much cheaper fix. And you can get 'em in that nifty safety yellow or orange too!
 
Nobody356 said:
...looks like I'll have to dis assemble it everytime i move it(in the car).
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..im not sure id even want a crane/jib that actually fit comfortably fully assembled in a car. but I happen to drive a full size van for production so my 2+ and all fits in fully assembled right down the middle, but breaking it down or setting it up is just as sharky said ..about 5 min. very quick and easy.
 
Promax is offering the IndyPackage that comes with a Bogen 3046 sticks and a 501 head (and a bunch of other stuff .. varizoom, remote monitor, dolly & tracking, etc.).

Anyone know whether the 3046 & 501 head should be good enough for the Crane I+? I'm guessing they shouldn't sell something that's barely good enough, but hell ... who knows.
 
Nobody, I have the CobraCrane II as well. What kind of tripod/head you have? It should fit on most heads that have a 3/8" connection. I have it on a Cartoni ActionPro with 75mm half ball mount. No problems whatsoever.
 
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