Crane Questions « Videomaker Community Forums

chitlin
Member

I consider myself an advanced amateur videographer, and I am considering purchasing a crane to use at sporting events for a better angle on my shots. I have never used a crane, so I have a couple of questions about it. The style I am looking at is the type that sits on top of a tripod and you operate it manually. I apologize if these are stupid questions. They seem to be so stupid that I can't find the answers on any of the sales websites!

When you boom up and down, does the camera angle stay level, more or less? For instance, if the camera is near the ground, and you boom up to ten feet high, the angle changes as you move?

I have a Canon XH-A1, and it has a remote control, but it has to face the lens side of the camera to work. Is there some type of remote you can connect to this camera that you can control from the ground?

Do I have to buy a special head to put on the end of the crane, or will the camera connect directly?

How difficult is it to operate the cranes, physically speaking? Heavy? Awkward?

Thanks for any answers anyone has!

Posted 4 years ago #
SpencerStewart
Member

Though I have not used a crane or jib myself, most of these questions would depend on the crane itself (for example: certain jibs always keep the camera level, you cannot tilt or pan.)

As for controlling the Canon, you would want to research "lanc controllers." These are typically wired controllers that can adjust zoom, focus, rec/stop, and other functions.

Good luck though, I hope I can invest in a crane sometime too.

Posted 4 years ago #
ldstrobel
Member

I'm going to do some shameless self-promotion for a crane/jib that my son is in the process of building. He's working on the prototype right now. Around 2 years ago he built his first jib and he's spent the last 2 years figuring out what he wants and needs in a jib. He's decided that his jib needs to be extremely portable, quickly/easily setup with maximum camera angle control. This unit is self contained including the stand and pan/tilt head. All this will fall under $1500.

Keep an eye on his website...
http://www.mobileprojectors.com (there's nothing mentioned about it there yet)

Or contact him at....
http://www.mobileprojectors.com/page6.php

The first jib on modified tripod...

Posted 4 years ago #
Tin_Man
Member

chitlin,

i am pretty much an exclusive videographer for youth sports and MMA events and found myself standing on ladders, construction lifts and such. although they work great for me, I would love to afford a HI-POD, see this link

http://www.hi-pod.com/refurb/

this one is under 3K but its probably worth it if you get paid for your gigs. i would love to afford this but my current football gig pays me only enough to justify my hobby, LOL.

there are several types of these telescoping jibs on the market and you can get fancy with remote control, base station lcd display, enclosures etc.... lots of colleges use these as a part of chalk talk and some companies sell the whole 9 yards for under 5K.

hope this leads you in right direction,

if you purchase one and get tired of it, send it my way LOL

best of luck

Tin Man

Posted 4 years ago #
SpencerStewart
Member

Yup. My school has one of those for football. Its awesome.

Posted 4 years ago #
ldstrobel
Member

Wow... it's been 2 years since my original post about my son's crane/jib. He has done a complete remake and has hit a brick wall on how to get it to production. We don't have a clue as to how to go about getting it from prototype to production since our pockets appear to be tapped for survival. If someone can help me out with this I would appreciate it. Here is a picture of the new crane. The whole thing folds up, motorized head, tripod and all to fit easily into a car trunk. The head is pan/tilt with joystick control. I'm sure the price in the original post needs to be adjusted but that would have to be discussed with my son. Please reply back to this post to contact me. :)

Posted 1 year ago #