What will be the hot jib arm for the HVX-200?

Hi Illya:

Your observations seems astute, the problem is I would never buy something this costly without renting or using one and NOBODY in LA that I can find has even heard of the EZFX, much less rents it. I have rented and used the PortaJib. Seems fairly intuitive to me, I had no issues with figuring it out.

What about the Hollywood MicroJib? Have you seen it, used it, heard of it? Evidentally it is actually manufactured by the same company that manufacturers the PortaJib (different client obviously). Seems like a great solution for flying and travelling to the far corners of the globe.

I usually do hire a real jib operator (Mark Koonce) if I am going over about 10-12 feet but it seems ridiculous to hire a professional jib to do tabletop (which I do more and more frequently) and a lot of the small impromptu shoots that we do here without professional talent and a big crew so a small portable jib is in order for me.

The Kesseler seems nice for a low-end solution but to me the moves don't look that professional on their demos and having a jib that rides on a tripod head seems not like the way I would want to go for a variety of reasons.

The Dykortech seems interesting to me, I like a lot of the features but the company and how long they might be around and how much service they can offer are both factors. Both PortaJib and Hollywood MicroJib are within 10 minutes of my office while EZFX is in Florida. Seems like a no-brainer to buy from someone whom I can walk to so that I obtain the best service and support, no?

Best,

Dan
 
puredrifting said:
BTW,

I rented the Glidecam 200 jib for a trip to Utah to shoot scenic outdoor stuff. Sorry, the Glidecam is a POS. You cannot do a smooth start or stop with that arm, no matter how good you are.

Dan
Click to expand...

maybe your glidecam crane was messed up because i have one and it is super smooth. yours was probably abused. i used to rent the porta jib all the time and it is really nice. i bought the glidecam just to keep around for lower budget things and personal stuff that did not warrant a $150 rental. while it is lighter and takes a little more finesse to get the smoothness, it is super smooth and i haven't rented the porta jib since i got it....

cheap POS, no. as good as the $5000 porta jib, no but considering it's only $400 it rocks.
 
Hi Cheez:

No offense intended, the Glidecam is decent for the money but just didn't do it for me. The bushing design seemed very primitive and yes, this was a rental so perhaps it was thrashed although I rented it from EVS and their gear is usually okay.

It was disappointing to drive 1200 miles to Monument Valley, Utah, one of the most visually spectacular locations in the world and be stuck with this thing when we really needed something that was professional quality. I wish that I would have had time to find a better rental but this shoot came up during the week between Christmas and New Years last year and everyone was closed, the Glidecam was all that I could get my hands on with a really short notice.

Best,

Dan
 
I have been looking at jibs for a while now and have used the Porta Jib Traveller in the past.

I saw the Dykortech at NAB and now can't keep the damn thing off my mind!!!

For the money it's really nice and is more in the class of $5000+ jibs.

You won't be putting motorized heads on it since that would exceed the load limit
but it pans and tilts smoothly anyways. Probably won't see a dutch head for it either.
However, you ought to be able to recoup your investment on this baby pretty fast.

I hope they can get some regional distributors so more people can get their hands on it for a test drive. If they had the sales resources I think they could sell alot of them.
 
Hey Sproketz, thanks for the compliments,

The A-J Lite, doesn't have a dutch head but you can cheat dutchies by mounting the camera sideways, turning the tilt into a roll. Mounting the camera on a diagnal will get some crazy shots too.

Funny I can't get the damn thing off my mind either.

Thanks

John
 
Hi guys.

Yeah, I saw the Dykortech at NAB and was really impressed in the short amount of time I spent with it. We've been using a Glidecam for small stuff and a homemade 16' jib with a fixed head for longer reach. As soon as the HVX starts paying for itself more frequently, the Dykortech is next on my list. Finally, a useful, affordable remote head!! Makes me jealous I didn't think of it first. . . . .
 
I bought the Intelijib and love it. I outfitted it with the Microdolly power head. This unit goes together in about 2 minutes and is built like a tank and weighs 60 lbs (less sticks). The jib kit comes with 6 & 12' reach. I don't know how a jib can be used without a powerhead of some sort. If you want portability (air travel) I would go with the Microdolly.

I can get you a discount on the jib if you want one. Cost is about $4500.

This is the same unit that Panasonic has in their brochure. The unit can be seen at: https://www.industryadvanced.com/cat...&products_id=8
 
Questions questions questions

Questions questions questions

Hi folks,

I'm faced with the very unsettling position of needing to purchase a jib without the possibility of trying it out beforehand. I'm in Australia, and none of the businesses here stock the two jibs I'm interested in.

The two ones I am deciding between are the EZFX Jib and the Advanta jib lite.
In terms of service, the ezfx product seems to be backed by a company with expected longevity, but I'm getting the notion a lot of people here feel the Advanta jib is the bee's pyjamas, or at the very least the cat's knees.

So could someone who knows the ezfx, and who has seen the advanta jib at NAB, please tell me in what way the advanta jib seems a better piece of gear? What specifically can it do better than the ezfx?

Thanks for your time!

M.
 
The Microdolly jib is similar to the Cartoni mini jib. Both are good, if not excellent for travel. But having the portability means a trade off.. these products have their limits. I've used the Cartoni extensively, and have only played around with the Microdolly jib at a trade show. I was quite surprised with the Microdolly Jib, it looked much more flimsy than it actually was. I like the 'weight cage' just like on a Shotmaker.

The Cartoni works best (and has the fastest set-up time) at it's smallest setting, since the design is really similar to the Microdolly I'm going to guess that the same is true for them.

Both work best with light DV profile cameras. Even through you can put bigger cameras on, I don't feel comfortable with it. Usually people want to use an ENG weight tripod, because it's relatively light and effective. However, the lack of jib mass with heavy cameras/weights on the end make for a less stable center of gravity, an that makes an accident more likely.

People can be crushed or killed by small jibs so it's important that those operating know what they're doing. On a PBS kids show I witnessed a near fatal jib accident once and it's nothing to take lightly.

There's an EZFX owner-operator here in Los Angeles. She rents it with a Varicam package. I'm sorry I can't remember her name. If you call EZFX they might be able to point you in the right direction.

If you're doing a lot of traveling with a jib you should look into water bag weights. It's a heck of a lot better than lugging 40+ lbs of dumbbell weights through an airport!

I.
 
Illya Friedman said:
[...]
There's an EZFX owner-operator here in Los Angeles. She rents it with a Varicam package. I'm sorry I can't remember her name. If you call EZFX they might be able to point you in the right direction.

If you're doing a lot of traveling with a jib you should look into water bag weights. It's a heck of a lot better than lugging 40+ lbs of dumbbell weights through an airport!

I.
Click to expand...

Not sure if this was directed at me, but I found it helpful so thanks!

M.
 
Dan:

- how do u like the portajib traveller?
- did you end up getting the scissor arm and was it really worth it?
 
Hi Alexandroff:

Wow, is this an old thread, I had totally forgotten about it.

1. Yes, purchased the PortaJib Traveler, not long after this thread went up. Have had it for about two years. Love it, it is great. I use it mainly for tabletop although I did DP a short film for a Dance film festival and used it a lot, it worked really well for shots of dancers as well.

2. I did purchase the scissor arm and yes it is worth it because it allows you to do compound moves easier.

Dan
 
thank u.

looking into portajib myself.

i also saw a rumor that cinevate may make an even smaller jib, but was unable to get any confirmations.
 
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