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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

The ultimate dolly thread

I haven't seen the Cinevate dolly but have had some bad experiences with other pieces of their kit.

Had good experiences with the Losmandy Spider, but beware the flex-trak - it shifts around and makes pulling focus a beeatch. If you're shooting 2K cropped or some other sub-35mm DOF you might get away with it.

http://www.porta-jib.com/spider_dolly.htm
 
I'm about ready to buy, but can't decide between the Indie Dolly and Long Valley's Super Track Dolly. Can anyone provide any comparative insights?
 
new ride on dolly

new ride on dolly

ikan has a new folding ride on dolly they showed at NAB FreshDV has some footage of it
 
Dollies are something I'd always rent, if I could, along with lenses (at least at the moment...). Nothing you can buy is going to beat a Fisher dolly (of course, it's not always an option given budget and location).
 
but: no seat.

I have one of the Longvalley dollies and it has served me very well over the past 9 years or so. I did one indie with the tripod mounted on it. After that, I put a pedestal on it and had a buddy build me a seat out of a drum throne. It works great. The seat is adjustable. The pedestal makes it very quick to change camera height. For the money, it's pretty much a no-brainer.
 
I'm partial to the camtram myself.

02-camtram-saka.jpg
 
The Cinevate dolly now supports up to 3 seats :) http://cinevate.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2218 The seat assembly doubles as a variable height low angle rig supporting our 100mm bowl assembly. After Matt and Kendall at Freshdv did their review we made a series of changes inlcuding a redesigned handle, low angle shot kit, new quick-release seat, toolless tower insertion, etc.

Aram Bauman and Mike Hechanova have been shooting in New York for the last few weeks with one of the first production versions of our dolly with pics here: http://mikeks.smugmug.com/gallery/4939908_LHCTC#P-4-20

We'll have a video overview done tomorrow morning and posted shortly after :)

The next product launch will be our variable length jib, designed for use with the dolly, including a simple wired remote focus system for 35mm adapters.
 
I personally hold of with dollies, as I do travel a lot. But it's interesting to look at all those. Indiedolly or Ikan seem to be the winner if I ever get one.
 
After much research and fluctuating between a bigger dolly and something more compact that would fit in our small production vehicle we recently ordered the spider dolly. Has a seat, adjustable bazooka column, runs on flextrak or regular track and breaks down in to 3 cases. Dolly supports 400 lbs., column supports 200 lbs. Will upload pics when it comes in.
http://www.porta-jib.com/spider_dolly.htm
 
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