DIY Crane

bilgami

bilgami

Veteran
I have plans on making my own crane the plans are only in my head right now nothing on paper. my plan is to make a crane that would fit on top of the tripod i already have, basically i want to create a arm about 6ft long with a tripod head on one end to hold the cam and on the other end a plate that would snap into my tripod no different than my cam does. my only question is would the tripod head be able to support the wight?

:dankk2:
 
i have a 501 head and it holds my DVX with roughly 20-30 pounds counter weight. not including the crane itself... i think the sticks are probably more of the issue though. Check out my design...

1181329890.jpg
 
So, you are thinking of using a fluid head instead of counter weights to keep the camera from sinking? Right?

At 6' the weight and strain is going to be pretty big at the tripod. If somebody does make a fluid head strong enough... it will probably be pretty expensive. You would also need to put a good amount of sand bags on the tripod, since the weight would not be centered over the top of the tripod.

http://www.homebuiltstabilizers.com/greyjibsncranes.htm

http://hbsboard.com/

http://snodart.com/hbe_jib.php
 
i know... im such a cuckoo... the asprin bottle says 1 capsul every four hours... but I always pop 3. :)
 
I like your craftsmans ship mind eye my design was not as elaborate but its given me some ideas. "So, you are thinking of using a fluid head instead of counter weights to keep the camera from sinking? Right?" well snodart i was thinking of 6ft only cuz its a nice round number and i figure i could stand in the mid of it and controll it with my out reached arms. does it need to be shorter than 6ft? how long? and yes i did plan on counter wieght.
 
6' is a pretty good length for a jib. So, maybe 1.5 to 2' on the weighted side and 3.5 to 4' on the camera side. That wouldn't give you much of a "crane" shot like mindzeye's set up would, but it would make for a nice and portable jib. My jib is about 7', with the weighted end being 2.5' and the camera side at 4.5'. It is just long enough to get decent crane-like shots, but still small enough that I can fit it in small rooms (office, bedroom, etc). I'm planning on building a smaller one in the future that is more like 4' (2.5' on the cam side and 1.5' on the weighted side). Anyway, I'd say you would be okay with 6'.

I urge you to take your time in building it, and make yourself a nice one. We use the jib more than any other piece of equipment. It is a little more of a pain to move once set up, but we choose it over a tripod every time... even if there isn't any camera movement planned. Having the cam on the Jib allows you to make subtle adjustments to the composition as the actors make slight movements (ie: with an over the shoulder two-shot). Of course it can be done without a jib, but I always opt for the jib.

what is the weight specs for the 518 head? I couldn't find it on B & H.
 
im sorry its the 519 and it supports 22lbs. i wasnt planning on making anything to big i was just looking to become more versatile. i shoot weddings and i know a crane maybe to much for a wedding but i thought if i had a crane even a small one it would give me flexability especially on an outdoor wedding. and the only reason i thought i would make a crane is cuz im saving my money for the 519 and then i will end up with a spare tripod head the 503 and i figure i might as well make use it some how.
 
hey Mindzeye. any more info on that home made jib. I'm looking to make one, but I'm still on the planning stages. My set up is pretty heavy though. 16lb. so I was going over kill with the amount of aluminum on it. I didn't think about a cable though. but its probably a good idea.
Thanks.
 
mindeye do you have more pics? whats does the cable hold? what you use for the mounting plate on the tripod?
 
I recently built a jib from the "Killer Camera Rigs" book, it was 3/4" steel pipe on the bottom, 1/2" on top. It was cheap and went together fast, but once I got my camera (HVX200) fluid head (Cartoni Focus), Brevis DOF adaptor, Marshal monitor (rented, damnit) on it, it started to flex too much.

I upgraded the lower (weight bearing) pipe to 1" steel, and it works better, but still seems like it could be more rigid. My next jib will be made of aluminum, and built EXTRA stout.

That book is a great learning tool- simple and easy to build projects that don't suck.
 
It's all about leverage... so when using aluminum... because it is somewhat of a softer element AND the only "available, easy to construct metal"... keep in mind that the shorter the jib arm the less bounce you'll get when operating the jib. For example... my jib extends over 13 feet when my tripod legs are fully extended... so i get a pretty good amount of bounce at my start and end positions... so i was forced to shorten my motions and get creative for a much higher jib shot and less motion. Somtimes I set up in a bed of a pickup truck for another 3 feet... or a roof top even... I find it's more the height that I'm trying to achieve rather than the 10ft.+ of motion. DON'T FORGET... SOMETIMES THE BEST JIB SHOTS ARE THE ONES THAT YOU DON'T EVEN NOTICE... usually i find myself only utilizing 3 feet of motion for majority of my jib shots and i'm happy with the results... I'll be posting some pictures up in the next day or two to give you guys a better idea of my design.
 
crane

crane

siniarch said:
hey Mindzeye. any more info on that home made jib. I'm looking to make one, but I'm still on the planning stages. My set up is pretty heavy though. 16lb. so I was going over kill with the amount of aluminum on it. I didn't think about a cable though. but its probably a good idea.
Thanks.
Click to expand...



here's my crane.....I pretty much based it off of the kessler crane, only their hard ware is much more solid. If you've got questions don't hesitate to ask. follow this link

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

what is the distance from counter weight to jib neck and from jib neck to camera basket neck?

Is it optional or it has to be to the nicety?

Thanks
 
For a sturdy tripod base,.. how about using a speaker stand meant for DJs? Seems pretty cheap off of Ebay and they say they can hold a hundred pounds. Just have to figure out a smooth rotation from a vertical post.

J
 
TeamJoeDawn said:
Very nice. Any suggestions on where to get the straight, square tube aluminum that doesn't either require a specialty store or the GNP of a small country?

J
Click to expand...

i got mine at home depot... you can probably order it from any relatively big hardware store in your area.
 
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