FS7: Slider recommendation

I use a Dana Dolly with the American Stands purpose built for the DD. It's not portable in the sense that most people think of sliders. I really like the Trost slider with the extension that I saw from the URL posted above.

MYT make excellent sliders but expensive and it is getting hard to keep track of their product range now. In the past they have had an excellent "hands on" booth at NAB. They have been setup usually near the Sony booth in the Main Hall where all the camera, lens and lighting gear is.

Newsshooter has had a few articles on the SmartSlider system that is made and sold in Italy. For a portable system to use with an a7S or maybe an FS5, I am pretty sure this would be a good investment.

http://www.newsshooter.com/2015/10/...ment-and-a-new-wi-fi-controlled-motor-option/
 
That Ronford-Baker is a deluxe slider. There are a bunch of independant machinists who do stuff for camera ops have over the years produced similar sliders to the Ronford Baker, usually about 3 feet long with a price range of 4 to 8 grand. They're usually made for 50 to 70 pound camera packages and have a Mitchell Plate as the mounting surface. Last place I have seen stuff like this advertised was on the Steadicam Forum.
 
Last edited:
I started to look at a short slider for use with my FS7/5 and the Syrp magic carpet pro in 600 mm looks nice. Anyone using it?
 
Lenilenapi said:
As long as we're on the question of sliders I have a question I've not been able to retest and have not gotten a straight answer from anyone yet.
A couple of years ago I used a Dana dolly with an F3 trying to do a straight in move ( not a typical sideways slider shot) that was intended to go from outside a restaurant into the window to the dinners inside. Pretty simple shot and we had a very good crew and solid support under the Dana dolly with heavy duty Jr stands. It was angled about 30 degrees down so the camera wouldn't see the tracks. Seemed simple but none of us had used a Dana dolly on a straight in move before though I had done it with an Indie slider .

Anyway the point is the shot didn't work. The Dana dolly just had a ton of slop in it (the wheels themselves) and wobbled from side to side no matter how we tried to rig it include just dropping it from a rope. The rails were solid. The gaffer swore the Dana dolly was set up right and just never used it like that before and I've never found anyone else who has tried straight in move though that seems very strange to me.

Thoughts? Anybody do this successfully? Was the dolly just set up too loose?

Lenny
Click to expand...

I have a Dana and do that move all the time with no particular issues. I tend to keep a light finger on one of the wheels for a brake...I gently increase the pressure to brake then stop.
I've been told Dana dolly wheels do wear out over time and occasionally need to be "shaved" to even them out. That could be one of the wobble issues. You have to send them in for that service. And it's important not to store it wheels down as that could give you flat spots on the wheels.
 
thekreative said:
I'll second the CamTram, it is the best I've owned (I've had 2) runs on everything and go for less than a grand second hand..... if you keep looking
Click to expand...

I have one that I bought back in probably 2010 or 11. I only use it on “big” shoots, now. Mostly live shows. I also have the Track in a Box* track system that fellow shooter Bruce Taylor designed. It’s all not exactly quick to set-up from scratch(which is why I only use it on big shoots that are going a full day or two and it’s in a static location), but it’s a beast that can carry a real load reliably and smoothly.


*Looking at the screen grab of the video, the Cam Tram is actually suspended from the Track in a Box track system.
 
I have a speed rail bracket like the dana dolly and its about 5 min. to set the camtram and rails up , so pretty quick
 
I took delivery of a Manfrotto 60cm slider the other day and didn’t expect to much but it is surprisingly good.

Put my FS7 and FSB8 head on top and it was so smooth and thanks to the shortness of the slider the whole thing felt really solid. No wobble just a one take thing. I like the simple construction but it would have been better with the wheels on inside.

Anyway it appears to be what I was looking for. A short and easy to use thing that is fast to put up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top