Gear Head

ChainSmoker

ChainSmoker

Active member
I was about to hit the junkyard in search of parts to build a gear head for the ultimate in smooth shots and thought I would see if anyone else has tried and or built one already. Be nice to hear other peoples stories, ideas, etc.

Rich
 
I'll second that. I'd love to have an actual gear head for my tripod. Tired of hand panning. :(
 
I suppose going looking for a ww2 AA gun with a wielding torch could end badly but having operated one of those in kalamazoo I must now have it for my camera...
Did you manage to find something in the scrap yard for the gear head?
 
Yes the yard yeilded way too much stuff. But after a long night of hanging out with Mr. Michelob and the Marlboro Man, it looks like the best choice will be to use a window regulator for the tilt, and a pinion gear for the pan. Going to be a bit big and bulky, but if it works for a first attempt I don't really care. Refinements can always come later. I don't have to be on set until late this afternoon so hopefullly I can get something built by then and see how it goes. Oh and faulty, if you ever have a AA gun on set, let me know. I must come see that in action :)

Rich
 
I'd love to see the results of such a project. Ever since I had the chance to mess with a real live Arrihead, I've wanted one badly. $25,000 is a bit beyond my budget right now though! Maybe your "refinements" could include a three speed transmission, just like the big boys.
 
Something to think about: You think you can crank away at a gearhead with our lightweight cameras and tripods without the image shaking all over the place?

I don't foresee good results on anything less than something as solid as a Chapman-Leonard or such.

Unless you can manage a servo system and do it electrically. (Motor vibration can be damped...)
 
Hmm.. its no so much an issue of using it when the camera is lightwieght but once the mattebox, 35dof mount, followfocus, and whichever bevy of wires potruding becomes a problem the gearhead starts looking oh so pretty...
Getting it not to shake would be a bit harder, it would imply fluid head or mounting the tripod head above the gearhead and just turning everything short of the legs... Old gearheads would work rather well too, it may be cheaper to go used then build but then it wouldnt be a diy forum..
 
Gearheads are smooth with even nothing on them, so I don't think the lack of mass from a DVX or HVX would be a problem. Getting laughed at by having such a small camera on a gear head might, so yes, I think a MB + FF + perhaps even a 35mm adapter might mitigate some of that...

I'd love to have an old Moy....
 
Not thinking there would be roughness in the motion of the gearhead...thinking that turning a crank would tend to shake the tripod.
 
Any geared head I've ever used has been mounted either on a set of ronford sticks or a chapman peewee so wiggling hasn't been a problem.... The problem would be in buying a set of $tick$ strong enough to support it, or some welding some a-team style DIY thing.
 
I finally got to spend some time in the shop last night, and I was able to build a very crude and temporarily mounted, but functioning tilt mechanism. It does shake a little bit since I used wood to brace for it testing purposes. Once I replace it with steel and weld it to a base plate, I don't forsee that happening. Here are a couple of pics of what I have so far. Let me know what you guys think.

Cameratilteddown.jpg


Cameratiltedup.jpg


CUoftempbracingandfixedbaseplate.jpg
 
I totally love the handle. Looks like you got it from a hand cranked window in a car/truck. :D Looks good so far. Very interesting. I'm intrigued by people who can make all of this stuff for themselves.
 
I was going to say Datsun! That thing is cool and I sense it's only going to get cooler...
 
Has anybody ever used one of these Bogen Geared heads:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

Do they work like an Arri Geared head?
Click to expand...

I haven't actually used the Bogen, but I've messed with the Arrihead and there's absolutely no way that the Bogen would even come close. The Arrihead weighs almost 40 pounds with the wedge, bridgeplate, and pan/tilt wheels, so it definitely has some mass that will help keep things stable. The Arri also has three speeds on both the pan and tilt. It's very, very smooth.

The Bogen is designed for still cameras and as designed it's not meant for moving a camera while it's active. I have an older Quickset geared head that looks great, but movement-wise it doesn't compare with the Arri, Mitchell, Moy, or Worrall geared heads that are designed for moving the camera.
 
"Pimp my Tripod" you need some neon under the mounting plate.

Try hot gluing glow sticks under there. I kid . . . . I kid

Very cool invention.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top