The weight of a tripod dolly is also extremely important. If it’s too heavy, it’ll be tough to move and a pain to transport. If it’s too light, it won’t provide you with enough stability to keep your movements as smooth as they should be. Ideally, you can find something that’s light enough to carry around, and that also has a large enough center plate that you can easily lay a sandbag on it to add weight and stability to your shot. Motivate Your Movement Materials - Approximately 3m of 45x45mm construction timber, 1,200x600mm sheet of 9mm plywood, length of suitable timber or rope for the handle. While the tripod does feature a built-in bubble level indicator it isn’t illuminated so you can’t see it in darker conditions.

Tying your tripod down with straps or bungees is also a good idea, in case you bump against something or have to stop suddenly. Adjustable: The legs of a tripod dolly should be adjustable; the greater the range, the more tripods the dolly can work with.The overall operation of the tripod is good considering its price point. The pan and tilt adjustment knobs don’t offer a lot of finite adjustment. There are no counterbalance steps or setting adjustments. Size: Because the legs adjust, tripod size generally isn’t a huge consideration for dollies. See the FAQ section for more on this. Too often the camera moves for the sake of moving. Two characters sit at a table having a relatively banal conversation that’s more setup for the next few scenes than anything else, and the camera spins around them. Sure, this does make the scene a little less visually boring, but it’s also the kind of thing that critics and festival judges hate. Wheels – Possibly the most important feature of tripod dollies are the wheels. The wheels need to be sturdy and hopefully made of rubber which is less likely to jump over small stones, twigs, or other organic matter usually found on the ground. To ensure the wheels turn smoothly, look for those with ball-bearing. Once you get your tripod dolly all set up and ready to roll, you’re going to be tempted to add a little bit of movement to pretty much every shot you compose. I’m here to warn you that that is not a good idea. If you dissect a lot of modern big budget movies and television, the camera does a lot of moving. Dollies, booms, cranes, jibs, and a dozen other tools are employed in the service of moving the camera, but often for the wrong reasons.

SmallRig also advertises that it comes with an anti-slip carry handle. While it does have three of these on the tripod legs, you can only fit three fingers inside and I personally found that it wasn’t that comfortable or easy to use. How is it to use with a Digital Cinema Camera? Allow enough for a nut and washer either side of the wheel, plus about 50mm to be glued inside the wood.

Buy the best quality dolly you can. If you have the budget for it, consider spending more for a better tripod dolly. It will do a better job of protecting your expensive equipment, provide smoother shots, and last far longer than a cheap tripod dolly. Though there are some exceptions – like the the Neewer 3-Wheels Motorized – note that most models on this list won’t do you much good unless they’re paired with a serviceable tripod.

But if your rig is big enough that it needs to be on a good tripod for stability, and if your move is long enough or complicated enough that you need something with more reach than a slider, then you have to have a dolly. Rails systems by companies like Keiser can be relatively affordable, compared to professional, platform-boom dollies — which tend to be more costly. That’s why the tripod dolly is so useful: it’s a much less expensive way to achieve very comparable results. We chose ‘prepared’ (planed) 45x45mm timber because it is nice to handle and can be painted to match your other equipment. The head plate slot has built-in screw holes and the bowl base comes with 1/4”-20 threaded holes for accessory attachment. The built-in damping and balancing system enables 360° horizontal and +90°/-75° vertical movements. There are also 3/8″-16 threaded holes in the head base to support most tripods, arms, sliders, and other accessories with 3/8″-16 screws. A: Not necessarily. Many professional photographers already have high-quality tripods, but sometime during their careers decided to add a tripod dolly to their collection of equipment. In this scenario, getting a new tripod is somewhat pointless, especially if their current tripod is still in good condition. However, if you don’t have either a tripod or tripod dolly, then it is definitely worthwhile looking at both in a set. Q: Are tripod dollies only for cameras? Sundries - Four 150mm-diameter wheels with rubber tyres, 1m of M12 studding (diameter to suit wheels) with nuts and washers, six M8x75 bolts, 75mm butt hinge, epoxy resin glue, 25mm woodscrews.On television in particular, static shots are often avoided for fear of losing the attention span of viewers. In independent films, camera moves are often employed as a plea to the audience to accept their work as professional. Both of these approaches are rife with folly. For the most part, tripod dollies are pretty universal. They consist of telescoping arms with wheels mounted on the underside, and a set of clamps at the end of each arm to secure your tripod's feet in place. Figuring out which model is right for you is mostly a balancing act between the quality of each of those features and the amount of money you want to spend.

Materials - Video and still cameras may not seem like very heavy pieces of equipment but hold them upright for a few hours and you may be feeling very differently. Then there are other items like various camera lenses and other pieces of equipment. Most likely, you will have one or more cases to house all of your equipment and when you put it all together, you've got a lot of heavy equipment to carry. The last thing you need is your tripod dolly to be made of heavy materials that will add excessive weight to your collection of equipment. Look for materials that are lightweight yet very sturdy such as aluminum alloy or any other metal that is lightweight yet durable. Buy a lightweight dolly. Unless you have a clear reason for buying a heavier dolly, select one that is lightweight. It will be easier to carry and maneuver as you set up different shots. A tripod can have decent enough build quality and good features, but if it doesn’t actually perform well then none of that really matters.You should put some thought into the wheels on your tripod dolly, particularly if you want to shoot professional-quality video. In independent films, camera moves are often employed as a plea to the audience to accept their work as professional. Panning and tilting are a little easier because you can use the momentum of the pan to help with the tilt. While there is still some rebound effect it isn’t as noticeable as when you are just tilting. SmallRig Universal Tripod Dolly 3986 If you have both stages of the legs adjusted and use the tripod at height then there is certainly a lot more flex, especially towards the bottom of the legs.