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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 :)

Affordable Slider for the Scarlet?

Thanks, everyone for the help!

It looks as though the Midas Mount is great value for price,

Does anybody have doubts or complaints about the 4' Midas Mount?
 
I am really impressed with the Dana Dolly. I got mine a couple of months ago, and it's really sweet. Incredibly solid, very smooth, perfect weight, adaptable to 75/100/150mm heads...
I was going to get a Midas Mount dolly but decided against it... Seems a lot more flimsy than what I wanted, and not as smooth as the Dana Dolly, and you're tied to using their tracks. I was also not happy to find out that either you cannot break the 6' track down at all, or you can get a version that breaks down into 2' sections. I wanted 3' track sections that fit in my car, but also had enough strength when joined together... so that's exactly what I did (Bought four 3' lengths of Schedule 80 aluminum pipe which join together with Splice Locks for a 6' track run.)

The Dana Dolly will last me much longer and will allow for a lot more flexibility, not only being able to put different heads on it, but if I need more track I can hit basically any hardware store and run it on any 1-1/4" pipe, which is CHEAP and readily available. The entire package (including the aluminum schedule 80 track pipes and splice lock joiners that I purchased from other sources) came in under $1000

www.danadolly.com

Fellow RedUser Jonas Klittmark's Scarlet on the Dana Dolly on a shoot we did last week
383460_534594877437_1915759653_n.jpg
 
Doug M said:
Thanks, everyone for the help!

It looks as though the Midas Mount is great value for price,

Does anybody have doubts or complaints about the 4' Midas Mount?
Click to expand...

I used the 6' and thought that the smaller version would be easier to deal with...but it was really nice to have that extra travel. It all depends on your shot.
 
Trevor Meeks said:
I am really impressed with the Dana Dolly. I got mine a couple of months ago, and it's really sweet. Incredibly solid, very smooth, perfect weight, adaptable to 75/100/150mm heads...
I was going to get a Midas Mount dolly but decided against it... Seems a lot more flimsy than what I wanted, and not as smooth as the Dana Dolly, and you're tied to using their tracks. I was also not happy to find out that either you cannot break the 6' track down at all, or you can get a version that breaks down into 2' sections. I wanted 3' track sections that fit in my car, but also had enough strength when joined together... so that's exactly what I did (Bought four 3' lengths of Schedule 80 aluminum pipe which join together with Splice Locks for a 6' track run.)

The Dana Dolly will last me much longer and will allow for a lot more flexibility, not only being able to put different heads on it, but if I need more track I can hit basically any hardware store and run it on any 1-1/4" pipe, which is CHEAP and readily available. The entire package (including the aluminum schedule 80 track pipes and splice lock joiners that I purchased from other sources) came in under $1000

www.danadolly.com

Fellow RedUser Jonas Klittmark's Scarlet on the Dana Dolly on a shoot we did last week
471792_534594877437_201600113_30605865_1915759653_o.jpg
Click to expand...

We've been working with a Dana Dolly this summer. Great piece of gear! Packs up into our friend Joe's car in 5mins.
 
I have a problem with sliders they seem like so DSLR. Coming in 3 ft , 6ft ( is there a 9ft lengths ? ) I find the camera travel distance limited & wtf are the one with winders about ...do they work ?. Designed to be used by one man & his monkey I guess.

Personally I much prefer the gear like the Dana Dolly above or even a doorway dolly on pvc track. Similar or less money infinitely more flexible with longer track runs possible more sturdy & for less money than some of those delux "named" sliders getting around.

P.S. Another reason I prefer other means than sliders is physics. Most sliders to keep costs down have been micro engineered to give a minimum footprint to maximum profit ratio. So you have camera mounted on a head, taller than the width of the slider which can create stability issues. If you look at the Dana dolly above the width of its platform would be minimum distance required IMO, which is significantly wider than the fattest slider, I've seen.
 
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Dana Dolly looks really great. But, I think I'm going to go for the CineMoco. I asked them if it would support Epic/ Scarlet weight and they said it supports up to 11 lbs so you could probably get away with using this in a very light Canon configuration (what I plan to do). But I'm not sure if I want to wait for it to be released or buy during the kickstarter :-/

Anyways, check out the kickstarter www.cinemoco.com if you have not seen it yet. I saw it on another thread on here and I am totally sold! It would fit my needs perfectly and at the price point as well, totally badass!
 
I don't know man, I'd leave the moco with the dslr.

Adam Johnson said:
Dana Dolly looks really great. But, I think I'm going to go for the CineMoco. I asked them if it would support Epic/ Scarlet weight and they said it supports up to 11 lbs so you could probably get away with using this in a very light Canon configuration (what I plan to do). But I'm not sure if I want to wait for it to be released or buy during the kickstarter :-/

Anyways, check out the kickstarter www.cinemoco.com if you have not seen it yet. I saw it on another thread on here and I am totally sold! It would fit my needs perfectly and at the price point as well, totally badass!
Click to expand...
 
Cinemoco looks useless for anything in the scarlet weight range. Realistically it's hard to build a rig out under 10 or 11 pounds. For a 7D, yeah... but a Scarlet? F that. Get a Dana Dolly, dude....
 
Man, Cinemoco looks sweet for DSLR ; )

For Scarlet & its weight with a tripod head cant see how you get this under the weight allowance. If they could beef & "biggen it up" it might be of interest, maybe version2.

Is it me or in the pics are those skate rails bending under the load of DLSR ? Put a Scarlet on that track this will be even more pronounced. So that stepper motor will be running downhill fast then hitting the middle & crawling up the incline . So you will at least need thicker rails ......wouldn't you?

P.S. This is on Kickstarter so it isn't even made yet...right.
 
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It is on Kickstarter but the owner assured me that if you buy while on Kickstarter you will receive it as they have already met there goal...and you will be getting it for cheaper than the retail price.

I still shoot a lot of HDSLR stuff (more than Scarlet unfortunately!) so it would be perfect for my HDSLR setup and possibly could suit a light weight Scarlet setup with out a fluid tripod head. It is rated for up to 11 lbs. Anything beyond that the max speed of 15cm/s will begin to decline. Also, You don't have to use the rails. I'm trying to figure out the exact dimensions of the rails. They look like they might be 19mm. Not sure though.

I also asked about an XL version that could support heavy cameras. The owner, Justin, told me they are always working to increase the strength of the system while keeping it as light and mobile as possible. Maybe the next version will support more weight...who knows. Obviously this system would not replace a Dana Dolly or kessler, etc. for Scarlet, but it might give you some cool options in a light weight configuration. Not 100% sure yet.

If I end up getting this system for my 7D (I have high hopes of using it with Scarlet) I will certainly pass on my findings. But I'm still on the fence.....
 
I'm a backing Cinemoco and am in the same boat, Adam. I got it specifically for DSLR time lapse, but it would would be a bonus if the motor were strong enough to support Scarlet.

I asked about the possibility of a cable cam set up and the response was that they are taking user feedback for ways to improve and that a cable cam would "be a great option" - a vanilla response, but theoretically the motor would be able to handle a bigger payload if you reduced the friction. Of course, how much friction would be required to drive the camera without slipping is another problem altogether.
 
Nice idea (Cinemoco) but you can literally see jiggling and stuttering on all of these time-lapses and videos - self propelled dolly is quite fun :), but I do have concerns about build quality of it. Because it is already not perfect. I got Cineslider for 2 years and now it is stutters like a crazy, become totally useless, no adjustments can be made to fix it ! Because of plastic rails they use I guess - maybe some micro dents or so... I will try to use this declared "lifetime warranty of Kessler" let's see how it comes along. But I'm seriously consider something else for my RED in a while. Comparing to everything, DANA dolly design looks easy and rigid. Don't think it is super smooth - some micro vibration still can occur as I understand design of it. But overall - really promising.

Or we always can go to some manufacture web page and figure some sort of DIY :))) http://www.lm76.com/speed_guide.htm Using one of these you can made up to 13 feet slider as I see.
 
Thanks for the feedback Doug. I think a light weight configuration of Scarlet on a perfectly level surface will move around fine. It might be a little slower than a DSLR, but I think it will be good enough to get some nice smooth track shots. Again, it wont be a great slider/ dolly setup for Scarlet. Not even close. But I do think it will be useable to get some cool ones. We shall see ;)
 
Dmitry Burenok said:
Or we always can go to some manufacture web page and figure some sort of DIY :))) http://www.lm76.com/speed_guide.htm Using one of these you can made up to 13 feet slider as I see.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I ended up with a bunch of parts from these guys: http://www.8020.net/
...And put together a DIY slider that runs 8 feet and massively exceeded my expectations. It slides with teflon runners and is very smooth, and the long length gives you more dolly-like results.
 
DL Fitch said:
Yeah, I ended up with a bunch of parts from these guys: http://www.8020.net/
...And put together a DIY slider that runs 8 feet and massively exceeded my expectations. It slides with teflon runners and is very smooth, and the long length gives you more dolly-like results.
Click to expand...


Can you post a pic of your sistem sounds very lovely what you have done

Luigi
 
regarding Cinevate, I've been very happy with my Atlas 30 and my Scarlet, even when fully rigged up with V mount, O Connor O Box and O Focus, 2x 4x5.65 filters, and a 138mm pola. It weighs in around 24l bs and the Atlas 30 functions just as well (if not better) as it does with a 3 lb DSLR load on it. That said, it's not the cheapest option available, but not outrageously priced either. Bear in mind that you must use two tripods/c stands/etc to support the slider at higher-than-ground-level shots, so it's also not the most portable solution in the world, but I'm honestly not sure if I would feel comfortable mounting even a barebones Scarlet on a center mounted slider setup.
 
Here's some pictures of my setup:

slider1.JPG

slider2.JPG

slider3.JPG

slider4.JPG



It's not perfect; makes a little big of noise, gets top heavy (except when underslung!), and takes a little practice getting used to... but that said, I've gotten some amazing results. Very quick to setup - I use my old Manfrotto legs and C-clamps when I'm by myself, or have had my grips rig it in some pretty wacky ways off C-stands and the like. All I had to buy was the high-hat/75mm adapter piece, so it was a pretty amazing deal... but definitely a good starting point for any DIY system. Oh yeah, and I can stand on it!

This HDRx stuff was shot with it, when I was still working out the kinks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGf9s_s9Kzg
 
Rhino Slider Pro


Kickstarter funding is done, but they're shooting with a RED Epic mounted to one in a photo down the page. Also, love the idea that the rails can be infinitely expandable!
 
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