DIY Camera Crane/Jib/Boom

[brayrow]

pretty good design, I might use it, but I'll have to add a mechanism to change the tilt of the camera on the crane.

[csylvester123]

finished my crane...here's some test shots: vimeo(dot)com/30693004

[LOJO5000]

what does the spring do??

[clarkeycooks]

@LOJO5000 The spring keeps tension on the wire so that the end that the camera sits on will be stable and leve

[csylvester123]

Just wondering if you also incorporated a 'pivot' inside the two pieces of plywood providing support for the lazy suzy...and if so, could you explain how you made it?? thanks

[clarkeycooks]

@csylvester123 There is a large bolt connecting the two pieces of plywood between the lazy susan. I put a lot of washers at the bolt top and the nut bottom. I also used a "lock washer" so that I could ensure it stayed in place without tightening it too much. Hope this helps.

[csylvester123]

@clarkeycooks awesome, i think that makes sense...and I'm assuming you used the 6 inch Lazy susan and not 12 inch..? Also, if you could let me know roughly the dimensions of the plywood that sandwiches the L.S that would be extremely helpful. cheers!

[iAmATechGeek]

Seems to me like you don't have enough weights at the end... Great design ideas though!

[clarkeycooks]

@iAmATechGeek Early design. Picked up some more weights down the road.

[ShaunBrownTV]

so the question is..how much did it come too, to make it? :)

[clarkeycooks]

@ShaunBrownTV about $600

[ShaunBrownTV]

@clarkeycooks worth it though, very good crane

[visionprods1]

@clarkeycooks you could have bought yourself one for that amount, no?

[FelipeQQ]

Dundas St., London, Ontario, OOOhhh Yeahhhh

[gatler05]

That is not portable at all haha

[clarkeycooks]

@gatler05 Actually it breaks down into sections no bigger then 7 feet. I was even able to fit it into my Kia Spectra Hatchback.

[rawdealo1]

How high is your center post?

[rawdealo1]

Just wanted to know what size tubing did you use for the tripod leg, or base? Can I use wood instead? What kind of wire did you use for your support? Did you use machine bolts?..Thanks

[cumanagoto]

Awesome!

[pranxter08]

camera?

[sk8ersick666]

dude can you give me the specs for the 3 pieces of tubing that make up the arm? i'm building this jib and i don't wanna buy the wrong one and then they wont slide into each other

[clarkeycooks]

@sk8ersick666 The steel I used for the jib arm was 2" square tubing into 1.5" into 1" Its not a perfect fit, but if you use the double bolt pattern, to attach them together, you should be fine. As for the length, the 2" & 1.5" pieces are each 8' long and the 1" piece is about 1' long.

I hope this helps.

[sk8ersick666]

@clarkeycooks awesome man...that helps a lot...do u by any chance know the thickness of the walls of the sq tubing?

[rawdealo1]

How high is your center post?

[rawdealo1]

What size is the tube of your tripod?

[sonicballer8888]

great footage. The crane looks really heavy though.

[clarkeycooks]

@sonicballer8888 It is heavy, but that helps to keep it in place. It all comes apart for easy transport!

[one234569and10]

Is it wobbly or is that camera/jello action?

[clarkeycooks]

@one234569and10 Some of the test footage is a little wobbly, but that was mainly due to the crane being in the grass. I have also made some improvements to the rig to help it be more stable!

[etanhg]

Whoops. sorry about the dual post.

[etanhg]

I too built a similar crane, but the one thing I can't figure out is how to keep the camera head at 90 degrees (meaning parallel to the ground) the whole time. I originally tried just the cable attached to the fixed point on the tripod (my crane looks almost exactly like yours) but the distance between the head and the tripod changes as you raise the boom. Next I tried adding a spring to the cable, but that didn't work either.

Can anyone please give me any advice?

Thanks!

[AlfrescoProductions]

Have you got the footage that you took f the car at the end> Can we see it?

Also what cable would you use to connect a panasonic DVR-160 to a tv screen or a portable DVD player.

Please help.. Thanks

[clarkeycooks]

the camera to TV, its just a long RCA cable.

[johnsonip]

Hi where did you get your plans? did you just make it all up?

[clarkeycooks]

I tried to copy the crane in the video response above. I made some of my own changes, but kept to it for the most part.

[TakeSomeAdvice]

Umm... you didn't even show the video! We were drooling and were like.. what happened???

[derrick2771]

This jib is the simplest and most usefull of all the DIYS jibs i have seen. Thanks for the veiwing of how the jib records. Derrick M.

[clarkeycooks]

Thanks for the great feedback! The footage I got was a little shaky that day! I have since made a couple more improvements and It works like a charm. Its one of my favorite pieces of equipment!

[qcages]

lol it's a quadpod not a tripod.

[clarkeycooks]

i know!! i wondered how long before someone caught my blooper! lol

[Rechargeable12]

Looks very cool. Nice job. Cool video feed back tv.

[WirrewInc]

Demensions? :)

[clarkeycooks]

The camera extends 12' from the stand. The overall lenght is 18' and the base is about 5' tall. I am going to make it bigger next year. Maybe 16'!!

[WirrewInc]

Okey, thanks :) working on one now :)

[clarkeycooks]

Very cool, send me some pics when you are done! It was alot of fun making mine, and I have had alot of great comments on it. Definatly make your shoots look pro!

[WirrewInc]

Okey :) i will make a video on it when it´s done :)

[WirrewInc]

Coolest Crane/Jib :D

[ddfilm92]

that looks good. nice job.