Motorizing the Kessler Pocket Dolly on the Cheap

This is a quick and dirty video on motorizing your pocket dolly for around $35 bucks. It was somewhat impromptu so forgive the shaky iphone video. To do this you will need a pocket dolly, an equatorial telescope motor, gaff tape and a rubber band. The motor I'm using is pretty much identical to this one sold at B&H: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=546195&is=REG&...

At maximum speed the motor will push the cart 23in/hr.
At minimum speed the motor pushes the cart at 6in/hr.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Pocket Dolly
• Kessler Crane
• Timelapse
• Canon 7D
• Washington
• New Sky
• timelapse motor
• camera
• digital
• motion control

[oxygen83]

Awesome! What about moving camera vertical on this motor? ;)

[vizjournalist]

@oxygen83 I haven't tried that yet but I kind of doubt the motor will be strong enough to pull the camera up the rails.

[harper01]

Great Idea! Can I ask how you managed to attach the motor itself to the slider? Did you have to remove any parts? Add anything?

[vizjournalist]

@harper01 All I used to secure the motor to the dolly was good ol' fashioned gaff tape.  Easy on, easy off.

[wing70301]

Hi,

First of all, thanks so much for the awesome video! I do not have any experience with these telescope motors, nor have I seen them in person. Before I buy one of these, I have a few questions that I hope you can answer. 1) How is the motor powered? Can I use regular batteries or does it use a special powering solution? 2) You mentioned that you "took the motor" off of your mount. What was the purpose of doing so? How difficult was it to remove? Thanks for everything!

[vizjournalist]

@wing70301 Hi Wing. The motor is powered with a 9v battery. This is actually one of the benefits of the system as you dont have to lug a huge battery system around. The motor was originally mounted to an orion EQ telescope mount and was a matter of removing a few screws to take it off. You don't really have to worry about this as most people will just by the motor itself. I'd be happy to answer any other questions.

[hezekla1]

@vizjournalist I just purchased the motor. Took off the mount and casing. Installed the battery. When I cut it on I can hear the motor rotaing but the shaft doesnt move. Did I receive a dud or am missing something.

[85sunnyj]

will this motor work on the kessler cineslider?

[SunsetRC]

So, you just take a bunch of pictures at different intervals and then places them in a row in post? Comes out pretty smooth looks like.

[mcgervase]

I enjoyed your video, I wish your final sample had been longer. How do you like the kessler pocket dolly? I've been researching. I think your rig is the way to go. heavy duty.

[TheLilpg3]

this is probably a stupid question... i see you have the motor, but what else did you do to make it actually move the camera? i see that there seems to be some type of band and something on the opposite end of from the motor. any type of video that shows how you put this together? thanks

[FranzAndrew]

Awesome results, this might be the route I go for my entirely DIY moco slider! Is the motor powerful enough to do vertical and semi-vertical slides if the track is set up on a slope?

[gambitrocks]

649$ hahahahaa that's insanely expensive.