Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • 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 :)

Skaterail slider or Dana dolly?

How would the Dana Dolly Junior work with Scarlet? It can hold 25lbs and must be easier to carry too. Also, easier to get smaller pipes as tracks.
 
Trevor Meeks said:
Dana Dolly, hands down. The Skaterail is basically a lighter-weight take on the Dana Dolly, but the Dana has a great weight and just the right amount of resistance to it. Honestly you'd have to go pretty light on a Scarlet/EPIC build to have it work well on the Skaterail. The Dana Dolly is an incredible value and I'm REALLY happy with mine.

Yes, you need to use a ball-mount tripod head. This is so you can level the head etc. You can get 150, 100 or 75mm ball mounts for the Dana Dolly. They're just basically adapter rings that sit in a grooved hole in the main plate of the unit. Really solid construction, great quality wheels and bearings and a nice unit overall. Hopefully not sounding like too much of a fanboy, I'll just say again that I am really content with my Dana Dolly. It was a great investment.
Click to expand...

+1 Dana Dolly is a great investment.. I love mine!
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    44.2 KB · Views: 0
swan n said:
How would the Dana Dolly Junior work with Scarlet? It can hold 25lbs and must be easier to carry too. Also, easier to get smaller pipes as tracks.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I wouldn't skimp. The Junior is a lot smaller/narrower and thus could become a lot less stable with the weight of a camera like the Scarlet on it. It's no easier to get 1" pipe than it is to get 1-1/4" pipe. Also, 1-1/4" pipe is much sturdier and won't "wobble" like 1" will in most cases. The Dana Dolly is incredibly affordable and a great value. I would maybe suggest the Junior for DSLRs, but not for the RED.
 
Adam Beck said:
You're not saving that much by going with a junior. Go with the original, you won't regret it.
Click to expand...

I was looking for space saving than money saving. Junior is easier to carry but it's fine. I'll go with the original one.
 
I have seen a few home made versions but I like this set up. Is it possible to add resistance to the wheels or is it necessary ? Is there a breaking or locking system?
 
Ted Parkes said:
I have seen a few home made versions but I like this set up. Is it possible to add resistance to the wheels or is it necessary ? Is there a breaking or locking system?
Click to expand...

No breaking or locking system on the Dana Dolly. The only resistance is the weight of the platform and camera system. The platform has got some good weight, I think it's 10.lbs or so.
 
I have been interested in this for quite some time. I was just wondering how you would do angled shots. How would you mount the ends?

Also, what if you want various length of track? Once you want a 4ft piece. Another time you want a 8ft piece. You would need several pipes at those lengths. Problem is, you'd need a big car/van to carry those pipes. If only there was a way to attach several 4ft sections together instead of having one long one, which probably wont fit in my car.

Is it worth it over the Kessler Shuttle Pod?
 
Trevor Meeks said:
Honestly, I wouldn't skimp. The Junior is a lot smaller/narrower and thus could become a lot less stable with the weight of a camera like the Scarlet on it. It's no easier to get 1" pipe than it is to get 1-1/4" pipe. Also, 1-1/4" pipe is much sturdier and won't "wobble" like 1" will in most cases. The Dana Dolly is incredibly affordable and a great value. I would maybe suggest the Junior for DSLRs, but not for the RED.
Click to expand...


Trevor,

You want to hear something crazy? BOTH the Dana Dolly and the Cam Tram system were invented in Phoenix! Dana Dolly is by Mike Hall, a Key Grip/Grip/Gaffer. The Cam Tram system was designed by Ned Traver, a field sound mixer. Both are great in different respects. I will say this... having used both... in my opinion, the CTS is WAY OVER ENGINEERED! In my experience, wanting to support Ned with his product, as it was out before Mike's... it is hard to set up. If the track you make/use isn't 100% perfectly square the thing binds up. (To Ned's credit, he designed it to be used with extension ladders! Most buildings have one somewhere, so he thought production crews wouldn't need to transport "track..." Just use a ladder on site.) We used one on the road once, and it was a disaster. I'm sure it was our fault... we went to Home Depot and bought steel pipes, put elbows on them and tried to go... however, it was NOT perfectly square. The CTS would then STOP ROLLING due to the side wheels hitting the sides of the track, not having enough room and binding up. It slowed us down to the point that we just had to abandon using it altogether. (It's been a while since I used it, but I think there are wheels on the top, bottom and outside the track... when the track isn't perfectly square (and we were somewhat close) the wheel system, pushes the unit into the other side, as they don't flex or move, thus creating the binding situation) Thus, I opted NOT to buy it! That was before he had representation, and believe it or not, it was much cheaper!

If you have the time and the money, the CTS is wonderful. I'm sure with the right amount of time, practice and training, anyone can make it work. I wasn't that patient. In my world, speed is everything. Yes, Ned did think of everything when designing and manufacturing the unit, but it's somewhat complicated to set up. You're right... it's VERY expensive too. For that money? I'm getting a MYT Slider! That's a work of art too! Again, different applications, but I've been so impressed with the MYT! Truly awesome device.

The reason Mike is selling SO MANY Dana Dollies? It's just simple! It works! It's fast! It's versatile! Most importantly.... ANYONE CAN SET IT UP! I've had PA's who have NEVER seen it before, figure it out in seconds! That's what you need on set!

I have one of the first he made... it's several years old. It's been around the world. It can take a beating and keep on rollin'! You can use it on stands, apple boxes, cases, the ground! It works on uneven terrain! If you "shore up the center" with the Dana Dolly brace and a stand (you're right, about every 5 feet or so), you can continue to elongate your track too! Mine will go out to 16' in four foot sections. I bought "Track Connectors" from Modern Grip for about $17 per unit. Add a Pelican case, 16' of track, and I have a road worthy dolly, at a fairly inexpensive price!

I worked with Mike the owner of Dana Dolly for the past few days... get ready! He has his OWN TRACK nearly ready to release! It is in a triangle shape, and is 41" long! It slips together kind of like a Jimmy Jib Triangle! Four pieces of 41" track nearly give you 8' on each side, and they stack into a square for easy shipping! I can't wait until he actually releases this!
 
swan n said:
I was looking for space saving than money saving. Junior is easier to carry but it's fine. I'll go with the original one.
Click to expand...


I bought Mathews Juniors.... why? Because when you need to? You can get LOWER! That's a big plus for us! They go about 6' tall... I've never had to go taller. It's the lower portion that gets tough with Combos! Add some wheels to roll the entire set up around too! Yup, more expensive. The wheels will cost more than the stands, but they can really speed things up on a long day... just roll the camera from location to location. I would opt NOT to get stands with wheels already on them... if you want or need to, typically they can't be removed... like if you need a shot on uneven terrain outdoors...

Just my opinion... Hopefully a different approach helps you make your decision.
 
Michael Frymus said:
I have been interested in this for quite some time. I was just wondering how you would do angled shots. How would you mount the ends?

Also, what if you want various length of track? Once you want a 4ft piece. Another time you want a 8ft piece. You would need several pipes at those lengths. Problem is, you'd need a big car/van to carry those pipes. If only there was a way to attach several 4ft sections together instead of having one long one, which probably wont fit in my car.

Is it worth it over the Kessler Shuttle Pod?
Click to expand...


I don't have any, but if you want... I can take some photos... I did just what you're talking about! FOUR FOOT sections! I bought "track connectors" from Modern Grip! If I could... I would get NEW pipe and do it all over... Mike, (Dana Dolly creator) gave me a HUGE tip (after I did it of course) for joining track! The Modern Grip connector is brass, or at least gold in color... it goes into BOTH pipes and then has a set screw that expands the connector. You have to DRILL a hole in the pipe! It's pretty darned hard to do once the pipe is cut! Take that to heart! Mike suggested measuring the pipe to size, DRILLING THE HOLE OUT BIGGER THAN WHAT YOU WANT... say 5/8"... THEN cutting the track. MARK both pieces so you know they go together! This way, they will ALWAYS fit perfectly together!

I wish I would have done that to begin with! I had a machine shop make me these solid aluminum things similar to your picture in the first post, and honestly? The seams always had a little gap... you could see it in the moves... it sucked. Once I went to the Modern Grip connectors... no more gap... no more seam... smooth as glass.... I got lucky.... but I do see the value in ensuring your track fits perfectly together too! If I had the opportunity, I'd buy new track and do it "Mike's" way....

I had a friend in LA who bought a DD off my recommendation... did the Modern route, drilled holes FIRST... then cut. LOVES the results. He swears you can't tell the track was ever cut when it's all said and done! (you can't on mine either... but again, I think I got lucky).
 
I just shot today with the Dana Dolly in a 500,000 sq ft warehouse. What made it easy was putting the dolly on low boy stands that we attached caster to and it was easy to move from one location to another. Oh.......and the shots look amazing.
 
Make your own rail dolly!

Make your own rail dolly!

About 18 years ago I made my first rail dolly and have used it on many productions. A couple of years ago I updated it
with speed rail ends bolted to 1/4" aluminum plate. I can use 1 1/2" speed rail from four to twenty feet in length. The
actual dolly is 1/4" aluminum but it can also be made of plywood. I use cheap Bogen tripods rather than light stands
because the tripods can be placed just about anywhere and leveled. Here's a link to an old website showing a movie on
how it works. I've used all kinds of cameras on it such as a RED One, BetaCams, and small HDSLRs. I decided a while
back I do not want to be in manufacturing! I don't sell these. You can buy most of the parts including the wheel trucks
online if you look around. When you shoot in slow mo you can get very cool results.
http://www.camhandle.com/Mark_II_rail.html
 
The Dana Dolly is a banging piece of kit. I was on the fence for a while but finally bought one this summer. Now I take it everywhere! The shots are so smooth. Just looking for a good way to splice 10 rails together.
 
I just finished my review of the Trost Slider. I'll get it up today or tomorrow. It's one impressive slider!

TrostSlider.jpg
 
No decision here......Dana dolly kills it.

I bought it for a job i'm on right now, shot over uneven terrain, easy fast set ups no f....ing around with wedges & blah, blah. Was intending to off load after the job. Not so sure now .

Sliders fine for hdlsr's IMO but anything with bigger payloads def. not for me.

P.S. the only thing I'd say using dana in Aus. we don't have access to speed rail (not in my area anyway, I assume because we're metric). But there is an equivalent about 1mm in diameter smaller and comes in 6m lengths. which works fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top