Poll:crane Talk!!!

Logan LeBlanc

Logan LeBlanc

Well-known member
So I need a crane or a jib. I think I know the difference concerning construction, but I'm not sure which is better overall. I don't wanna spend more than $700. Please tell me what you have, what is best, and WHAT IS CRAP (stay away from it)! Thanks guys.....and girls.....
 
I have the 12' Kessler Crane. It totally rocks! I used to have a Skycrane Junior, but I got rid of it in favor of the Kessler. I use a Porta Jib at work. It's great too, but a lot more money. I highly recommend the Kessler Crane.

http://kesslercrane.com/
 
glidecam camcrane 200 is great. plus it mounts straight to your sticks so you won't trash your fluidhead with all the weight. you mount your head on the cam end for pan and tilt. mine has treated me very well. b&h has it for just over $400.

http://www.glidecam.com
 
For anyone who is interested in the Kessler, such as myself, they just came out with a fluid swivel add-on for their cranes. It's $200 extra, but it will save your fluid head from any wear down. It looks pretty cool and adapts to a 100mm bowl, 75mm bowl, or 3/4'' bolt. For a total price of $600 for an eight footer and the swivel, the Kessler is hard to beat for the money.
 
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I have the 8' Kessler with the 3' ext which give a 5.5' or 8' option. Its a great product. I shoot a lot of custom home and resort video and the two size options work great for tight or larger spaces. the basic 8' is $399.00 the 3ft ext. is $99.95. The heavy duty swivel head is $199.00. With this you have a very adaptable crane kit. Or go for the big 12'.

The crane adds real dimension to the video I deliver to my client and put it on a door way dolly and your shot options really expand.

S Cannon
 
Hey guys, If I just loosen the head on a regular aluminum tripod, how smooth do you think the shots will come out? The glidecam has a cool "non-head ruining" mount but the kessler looks tempting. Another thing is that I want a smaller option (about 3ft) to shoot indoor stuff. Does anyone know if the kessler can do this? Thanks
 
I have a 12' kessler crane coming tomorrow. I need to go pick up some counter weights, wondering what people with this unit suggest? Or if there is a way for me to figure it out without wasting cash on weights!!

Thanks
L8Rz
Buck
 
Logan LeBlanc said:
Hey guys, If I just loosen the head on a regular aluminum tripod, how smooth do you think the shots will come out? The glidecam has a cool "non-head ruining" mount but the kessler looks tempting. Another thing is that I want a smaller option (about 3ft) to shoot indoor stuff. Does anyone know if the kessler can do this? Thanks
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any jib with counterweights is going to weigh at least 60lbs. if your head isn't rated for that much weight, it will wear out, or worse...possibly break, sending your jib and cam crashing to the ground. the glidecam crane is super smooth. i have not used the kessler but i have used a $4000 porta-jib and the glidecam is very close at 1/10th of the price.... i have also used a cobra crane II and the glidecam smokes it. as far as short goes, it sets up at 3 different lengths. the shortest around 3'....
 
I was reading this thread to find determine whihch crane is best, and how much it will cost to rent, for a shot I want to do for a video... I read above someone said it will "really expand your shooting options." The shot I want to do is a floating out/swirling shot from the sky (ethereal type stuff) and I wondered; since it will be the same cost to buy versus rent for a week, could you guys break down for us "crane-newbies" what other sorts of shots are facilitated by cranes, besides overhead type stuff?
 
evolvnyc said:
I was reading this thread to find determine whihch crane is best, and how much it will cost to rent, for a shot I want to do for a video... I read above someone said it will "really expand your shooting options." The shot I want to do is a floating out/swirling shot from the sky (ethereal type stuff) and I wondered; since it will be the same cost to buy versus rent for a week, could you guys break down for us "crane-newbies" what other sorts of shots are facilitated by cranes, besides overhead type stuff?
Click to expand...

I have the Kessler 8' with the 3' ext. as well. This gives yme the option for a 5.5' crane as well as an 8'. I couls also add another extension for 12'. If you mount a tripod head on the camera plate with the camera attached you can stand in front of the crane and with the pan and tilt locks on the head loose you can use the tripod head handle to maneuver the crane up, down, left, right, tilted or a range of these together for some very interesting angles and motion. The longer the crane the more lateral motion you will have and of course the taller you are the higher you can extend your arm. The Kessler site has some video with this as part of their features.

If you camera works with a remote zoom control you can also zoom while rotating, tilting or moving the crane up or down.

www.kesslercranes.com

S Cannon
 
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I use my glidecam mostly for work with my indie dolly system. Here it is without all of the extensions and dolly is in narrow track mode.

M2_Crane1.jpg


The place I work at was so blown away they've ordered the indie dolly, glidecam 200 with the remote pan and tilt head, (which I will ..ahem.. TEST Thoroughly for them).
 
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