Motion Control Slider/Dolly

[Eric Coughlin]

What are some good motion control sliders or dollies?

I've been looking at SlideKamera (https://slidekamera.com/) and they seem to have really good products. I particularly like that they have an elevator kit that can be motorized, so in addition to dolly in, out, pan, tilt, barrel roll (with Ronin 2 which can be controlled by the same SlideKamera controller), you also get vertical up and down movement, which the verticle movement is a big winner in my mind.

I'm not aware of any other motion control system (at this price point, around $20k-$30k) that offers all of that, but was wondering if there are other options.

There's Panther Dolly, but I don't believe you can motorize the dolly in and out, and it's rather heavy and cumbersome for one person to setup compared to the SlideKamera, nor is it really well suited for motion control as far as I'm aware, and costs more money.

There's the Bolt Cinema Robot, but too heavy and expensive for my needs. Edelkrone motion control jib which can be attached to Edlekrone motion control dolly/tripod, but pretty limited camera weight capacity, and don't think it has a good setup for live control.

 

[Phil Holland]

You have to take into account your payload and goals, but two good options are eMotimo ST4 and the Kessler CineDrive. If operating in realtime it's also worth looking into the Nodo Inertia Wheels, which is compatible with both of these systems. Both systems can be adapted to a vareity of tracks and dollies.

Interestingly I own both of these systems and they have their pros and cons. If I need to setup a simple move as fast as humanly possible, eMotimo has the edge. For heavier payloads and more complicated moves via app and not going through DragonFrame, Kessler has the edge.

Camblock might be worth a look if it fits your needs.

There's lots of ways to dive in here with hardware, just a matter of figuring out what your wants and needs are.

 

[Eric Coughlin]

Cameras I have are Amira, C300, C70, FS7, R5 and may add an Alexa Mini before long. Amira can be stripped down to around 15 lbs which is the limit for some rigs like the CineShooter and eMotimo, and of course the other cams listed are smaller.

I didn't realize CineShooter has a roll axis add-on so that's cool. One thing I'm trying to figure out is what the advantage of say a CineShooter is over the Ronin 2 which I just got. The Ronin 2 seems capable of motion control. Not sure if it can connect to Dragon Frame; do you know if it can? The Ronin 2 can also be linked to the SlideKamera controller which is pretty cool, as that's the setup I'm planning for the dolly setup. Ronin also has the Force Pro which you can attach to a fluid head to control remotely for real time moves.

I'm not finding a good controller setup for the CineShooter. I'd think Kessler would have one, I just not seeing it. Noda Wheels seem a bit pricey but maybe worth it. Think I'd prefer a joy stick for my needs rather than wheels.

This is mainly for a studio setup, so Dragon Frame could be useful. Have never used it before and am somewhat new to more in-depth motion control.

It doesn't look like any of those options offer a simultaneous dolly and vertical setup like the SlideKamera offers. Camblock is supposedly much better and featured than Kessler and Emotimo, but at around four times the cost, and I'm not clear on what it does better than Kessler and Emotimo. Their website is also down currently. There was some company I was trying to remember and it may have been them. They have a vertical option, but doesn't look like its ergonomic or integrated (such as the controller controlling it in conjunction with horizontal kit) for use with horizontal kit at the same time, and you'd be looking at around $40k+ for a dual setup.

This is the SlideKamera Elevator kit which I think looks great as it can be motoritzed (Matthew's has a very similar elevator setup but no motorizing option). I think Acebil, Acetek, and SlideKamera are all the same company, or they work together on joint items.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...load_25kg.html

Vinten has a setup that does vertical movement but is a bit heavy and costs $128k, so beyond my budget.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...d_robotic.html

I am kind of curious what kind of setup Hollywood would typically use for a motion control setup when there isn't room for a Bolt Cinema Robot (though I'm also curious how 1000 lb Bolt Cinema Robots are moved to various locations). I'm not aware of Panther, Fisher, Chapman, or Technocrane having any repeatable and programable motion control setups.

 

[M Harvey]

I'm not finding a good controller setup for the CineShooter. I'd think Kessler would have one, I just not seeing it. Noda Wheels seem a bit pricey but maybe worth it. Think I'd prefer a joy stick for my needs rather than wheels.

For what it's worth, both the Emotimo and the Kessler are controllable with a Playstation 4 wireless controller. The Emotimo ships with one, don't know about the Kessler. I've only used it to program movements on the Emotimo/Dana Dolly kit (e.g. set start/end points), not live operate. It's maybe be a little jerky/mechanical for extensive live operating, but depends what your standard is and what you need it to do. (Maybe fine for a lateral move concert camera, but might be a little jerky on start/stop with a tabletop set-up-- I'd want to preprogram the moves.)
I've used it with an FS7 and a Scarlet W with primes (Ultra Primes and Zeiss standard speeds). Note you can potentially save some weight by removing the battery from the camera and powering from same one powering the Emotimo head-- there's a d-tap on the Emotimo's battery plate.

 

[Eric Coughlin]

The Playstation controller seems like a kind of rudimentary controller that's not designed for camerawork, and doesn't sound like you think it's that good for live operating.

Kessler has a digital controller but I'm not seeing enough buttons or joysticks to be controlling pan, tilt, roll, and a slider motion simultaneously. In their video on it they made it sound like you had to press a button to toggle between them, which I guess could work for programmed sequences, but not for live moves. It's weird that I'm not finding a controller from Kessler that looks like it can effectively handle their own product well. Also, the digital controller says it's compatible with the CineDrive head but not seeing anything that says it's compatible with the CineShooter head. I'd think it would be; maybe they just haven't updated their pages to say it is.

https://kesslercrane.com/products/di...d8057fd4&_ss=r

I wonder if the Alexa Mini can fit on the roll axis add-on of the CineShooter head. Kessler's video show a really small and stripped down Red and a DSLR, which are both smaller than a Mini.