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Dolly for 6000-7000 euros... advice?

Mathieu Ghekiere

Mathieu Ghekiere

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www.productionsofthe3rdkind.com
Hi,

I'm in the market for a new dolly, not for the RED, but for an EX1 - that's also why I posted in the Off Topic board.
At this moment, we have only 2 dolly systems in mind:

the Panther Husky dolly:
http://www.panther.tv/cms/en_fe_huskydolly.html

and the PD1 dolly:
http://www.premierstudioequipment.com/Products/PDLine/PD1Features.html

I've worked with the Panther Dolly before, on rails, and I really liked it, but the PD1 dolly seems more film oriented, nicer build quality, and has an arm for lift movements.
We are looking to get a system with rails. We can get a Panther Dolly and some rails for about 6000 euro's.
We can get the PD1 dolly for about 10.000 dollars, with a bit more rails then the Panther Dolly above, but that's only about 6700 euro's.

So our preference goes to the PD1 dolly BUT there's a catch...
We are located in Belgium, and we are a bit scared of import taxes and shipping costs, and we think the complete price would be a lot bigger.

So, now on to my questions to you guys of this board:
- Does anyone know if the PD1 is available in Europe somewhere?
- Does anyone has other propositions for dolly systems in this price range, rails included? We can't find a lot on the internet, and it's a bit frustrating.
We live in Belgium, where it's almost impossible to find any video material at all on display and stuff.
- Anybody can give me links to shops in Europe (UK, Germany, France, Netherlands,...) that have dolly's of this quality and price range on sale? It seems very difficult to find them online, strangely enough.
- Any preferences from members? Other advice?

Your advices and help are greatly appreciated!

Best regards,
 
Update:

the PD1 dolly is only available after 1 month, at least, from America. We have shoot coming up, the second of may.
We could rent a dolly, but financially it would be more interesting if we already could shoot with our own dolly.

bump:

can anyone here give his opinion? Is it so impossible to buy a reasonable good dolly for 7000 euro's in Europe? Most notably in Netherlands, Germany of France? I'm not counting on Belgium, because I know we have very little big equipment stores here...
 
I've used the PD-1...Indie Rentals has one in Hollywood.

It's a bit wiggly. It's kind of cool because it will get the job done, and it's not terribly expensive, AND it's transportable with a small crew. But I was a bit disappointed with it's less-than-rock-solid nature. I do not consider it a fault of the builder...it seemed to me it was more just simply the nature of it's design and weight.

Considering you can get a Chapman or Fisher for less than $200/day if you're frugal, the better choice is renting.
 
Thanks Nate, unfortunately I'm based in Belgium, where prices for renting a dolly is a bit more expensive. Well, here you hire like a Panther Husky Dolly for 140 euros a day, without tracks.

Also, we intend to use a dolly very often, so in the long term it's cheaper for us to buy then to rent everytime.

If anyone still has any advice about shops in Europe selling dolly's, advice is still welcome.

PS: Nate, do you know the Panther Husky dolly, or do you have any experience with it? If so, which one would you consider to be the better dolly? Price, they aren't so far seperated, it seems, but the PD1 SEEMS (I can't testify) more designed as a real film-dolly...
 
Have you looked into a used Elmack Cricket? They are pretty cheap and available in the states, I would think much more so in th EU since they were made in Italy.

Nick
 
Those old used dollies are like old used cars -- beat up, hard to find parts, worn down with age.

The Husky is simple and strong in design, and surprisingly versatile. The PD-1 is interesting in concept but a little weak in execution. I'd go Husky.

Disclaimer: We sell the Husky but we wouldn't gain anything from this sale and it doesn't change my opinion of this gear.
 
If your looking at something as basic as the Husky and a solid dolly that is good for travel you might want to consider the Matthews Briefcase dolly.

http://www.msegrip.com/catalog/chapter13.pdf

I have two of them, work great on or off track (has both solid surface wheels and track wheels) and are surprisingly solid. 500 lb payload. Folds into itself and turns into a briefcase that is airline transportable (70 lbs). I could send some pictures of one if you want, but don't know how to post them here.

PS - have been considering selling one of mine, just never gets on my priority list. Then again, shipping to Europe might be more of a hassle then it's worth to you. Perhaps you can find one in your area.
 
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