Dolly Recommendations
- Thread starter Aschu
- Start date
You really haven't given us much to go on; a dolly can range from a DIY version for $50 to full sized doorway dolly for several thousands $$$. There are curved track, straight track, flextrack, pneumatic wheel, slider etc. Dozens of variants. Without an idea of your budget or needs it's impossible to make any recommendation.
Aschu
Well-known member
Point taken.
http://www.google.com/products/cata...ds&oe=utf-8&cid=183432052055883685&sa=image#p
Whats the lowdown with those types^? I really am not sure what to be looking for and budgets pretty low. $100 right now. Is it worth the investment to get it now or should i wait till i have more in my budget? I don't have money for tracks.
I'm looking to do some dolly shots inside and outside. Up until this point I have used a tripod or go hand held and I am starting to get bored with those limitations.
http://www.google.com/products/cata...ds&oe=utf-8&cid=183432052055883685&sa=image#p
Whats the lowdown with those types^? I really am not sure what to be looking for and budgets pretty low. $100 right now. Is it worth the investment to get it now or should i wait till i have more in my budget? I don't have money for tracks.
I'm looking to do some dolly shots inside and outside. Up until this point I have used a tripod or go hand held and I am starting to get bored with those limitations.
djkarn105
Well-known member
I'd say the best bang for your buck is a slider given your price range.
To get usable results from a cheaply made dolly ends up sucking A LOT of production time, and I'm speaking from experience on this.
Check out Zaza cast's DIY slider thread, for about $150 you can get a slider that will give you top notch REPEATABLE results.
To get usable results from a cheaply made dolly ends up sucking A LOT of production time, and I'm speaking from experience on this.
Check out Zaza cast's DIY slider thread, for about $150 you can get a slider that will give you top notch REPEATABLE results.
Useless. Those are made for quickly moving tripod setups around in a studio environment, not for getting smooth shots. You can't even lock the wheel so that they'll stay parallel so you'll end up with wobbliness.
I would not buy anything now and save up until you can afford something good or just DIY it. If you know your way around tools you can put together one yourself for less than $100. Tracks would be just cheap PVC pipe. Google DIY dolly and you'll find plenty of blue prints online.
$100 is kind of low, even to undertake a DIY project unless you like scavenging dumpsters for parts. I built one for about $180:
http://www.vimeo.com/5264606
It was easy enough to build but, as a previous poster noted, the results are "good" not "pro." It works but has limitations: it is not easy to attach multiple sections of PVC tubing to one-another. It requires couplers and a fair amount of sanding and tinkering to get the connection right. My rig is limited to 4ft dolly move.
It also looks ridiculous compared to a professionally-built model. I've had people ask "what's that piece of crap for?" Mind you it work alright, it just looks like I built it in my basement so people wonder why I skimped on it when I have thousands of dollars of pro gear.
I rarely use it. Takes up a lot of space in the car and is not light. I'm looking at a slider now, either one from Kessler, Cinevate (oddly no one here seems to have one but go to their site and watch the videos to get a sense of what a slider can do; they call it Pegasus) or the ZaZa slider discussed down in the DIY thread. Go down there and have a read...I think the thread is up to 120 pages now!
http://www.vimeo.com/5264606
It was easy enough to build but, as a previous poster noted, the results are "good" not "pro." It works but has limitations: it is not easy to attach multiple sections of PVC tubing to one-another. It requires couplers and a fair amount of sanding and tinkering to get the connection right. My rig is limited to 4ft dolly move.
It also looks ridiculous compared to a professionally-built model. I've had people ask "what's that piece of crap for?" Mind you it work alright, it just looks like I built it in my basement so people wonder why I skimped on it when I have thousands of dollars of pro gear.
I rarely use it. Takes up a lot of space in the car and is not light. I'm looking at a slider now, either one from Kessler, Cinevate (oddly no one here seems to have one but go to their site and watch the videos to get a sense of what a slider can do; they call it Pegasus) or the ZaZa slider discussed down in the DIY thread. Go down there and have a read...I think the thread is up to 120 pages now!