Dolly recommendations requested

S

Stephen Best

I'm in the market for a dolly system costing < $2,500 for a feature (see Saving Dinah). We're using a GH2 in a cage for most of the shots, but also a Sony EX1. There's a number of products available from Kessler Flex Track, Indie Dolly Systems, Merlin Video which fit the budget. A flex track system seems a good way to go.

So, looking for recommendations from folks who might have some experience with the products on the market.

Thanks.
 
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I have this: http://www.digitaljuice.com/djtv/detail.aspx?sid=144

Use thick wood (or 2 layers), make sure the wheels are at the very corners, add a seat and make sure it fits through a doorway. I also found that using thicker PVC gives a better ride... use wheels from rollerblades rather than a skateboard to increase the radius of the tire for a smoother ride. Then find PVC that almost fits into the larger track, cut the ends to look like tinker toy connectors almost half way down (so there's still a solid ring in the middle of the connector) at 90 degrees from one another (so the slits don't actually meet). Now it'll connect into a seamless track as long as you'd like it... I have ~50' of seamless track that breaks down into 4' sections. The best part is that you can go to the hardware store and spend a couple of bucks if you need more track.

Mine holds a crane and operator equalling around 350 pounds for the crane + counter weights and a 200ish pound operator. Then rolls without any resistance... great setup.
 
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knightly said:
I have this: http://www.digitaljuice.com/djtv/detail.aspx?sid=144

Use thick wood (or 2 layers), make sure the wheels are at the very corners, add a seat and make sure it fits through a doorway. I also found that using thicker PVC gives a better ride... use wheels from rollerblades rather than a skateboard to increase the radius of the tire for a smoother ride. Then find PVC that almost fits into the larger track, cut the ends to look like tinker toy connectors almost half way down (so there's still a solid ring in the middle of the connector) at 90 degrees from one another (so the slits don't actually meet). Now it'll connect into a seamless track as long as you'd like it... I have ~50' of seamless track that breaks down into 4' sections. The best part is that you can go to the hardware store and spend a couple of bucks if you need more track.

Mine holds a crane and operator equalling around 350 pounds for the crane + counter weights and a 200ish pound operator. Then rolls without any resistance... great setup.
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that it awesome! im gonna hit the charity shops for some skates on monday :cool:
 
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dr stilly said:
that it awesome! im gonna hit the charity shops for some skates on monday :cool:
Click to expand...

Actually, I wouldn't do that. It's pretty important that your wheels are all the same size and all in perfect working order. I think ebay is a much better way to go.

I have a similar setup, except mine was built entirely from PVC pipes. Downside is that it holds nothing but the tripod and camera. Upside is that it's VERY portable (comes apart and puts back together in seconds).
 
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1 set of rollerblades = 8 wheels (4 per skate) and they're all the same size... 4 staggered per side (outer ones farther out than the inner ones)... good to go :) If you can get 2 pair of skates, you can to 4/corner (perhaps on a swivel mount so you could curve your track if needed), just make sure that the wheel size is the same (they should be marked in mm right on the wheels).

I paid $2 for a pair rather than the $20 + shipping for wheels on ebay (I did look there first, but was randomly in "Savers" - a second hand store)... it worked like a champ and they had decent quality bearings, just make sure the wheels spin freely.
 
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knightly said:
(perhaps on a swivel mount so you could curve your track if needed), just make sure that the wheel size is the same (they should be marked in mm right on the wheels).
Click to expand...

Do you have a swivel mount? if so how did you put that together?

I was thinking that maybe a gradual curve in the track would still get the dolly to turn, especially if you leave some wiggle room for the wheels to bend a touch.
 
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I don't, but you can make a swivel by sticking a bolt through dead center on a shorter piece of angle iron which has 4 wheels on it. The bolt will be the pivot for the wheel assembly so they can turn independently. It'll potentially have alot of weight on it, so buy steel rather than aluminum and use Grade 8 bolts so they don't shear... always overbuild!

You'll still want a full piece down the center for strength though.
 
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Well i used a nice thick slab of white shelving cost me 20squid so has a nice white finish. I'm going to test with different sized pvc piping to see which works best (i think bigger pipes could be best). I was thinking some velcro to secure the pipes to the floor. It also holds my weight which is good so im going to test a few stools on it too. I'll keep looking for slicker wheels - im thinking the better the BB's the smoother the run. All in all though I have run some tests and it works a charm and i think it cost me like 50bucks in total! Amazing. maybe i'll get a picture up when its all done.
 
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Love to see it... matte black is the general finish of things that you'll have on set so they don't reflect any light and mess with your lighting setups. What kind of wood is the shelving? If it's particle board shelving, you may need to run a rail of angle iron down the middle for support there or the unit may bow after some use as the adhesive resin that holds the particles together can soften over time.
 
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Ran a few tests today with bigger piping which fits better between the wheels but there is still a slight jitter which is due to the wheels (charity shop inline skates bargain??) so I'm going to get some better softer ones, when i do I will disemble it, put the new wheels on, spray it black as you suggested, reasemble and get a picture up of it.

I'm not sure what wood it is but just instict tells me it's strong enough to last. It's really thick and heavy and doesn't even break a sweat when I'm on it with the camera and tripod. I'm also thinking of attaching a push handle...
 
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I put some new wheels on and man oh man this is sooooo slick, a single finger can make this thing glide. I'm super impressed. I'm using thin PVC and thick, I find the thick stuff can be used on floors like grass and mud.

I think I've spent like 80 bucks on it. Knightly thanks so much for sharing that video, you are a legend man!
 
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I took a look at the crane and I don't think I'm going to need such a large one for my next project but maybe in the future. Right now I'm just going to get a long piece of metal, drill some holes, attach to my tripod, camera head one end, counter wieghts the other. It should get mme to cieling hight which is all I need at the mo.
 
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Honestly, at that point, you're a cable away from having a crane... just extend the tripod mount upward, and extend the camera mount upward with a pivot on the long arm... then connect the cable on the "Mast" and the top of the camera mount exactly the same distance up from the pivots... you've got a crane (no pan and tilt head, but you can add that later).

It's just a parallelogram.
 
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