Gettin' Jibby Wit It

I took my 4 foot jib out for a first real spin and it was a blast! As opposed to the steadicam devices I have tried, this will get you smooth, professional looking shots the very first time you use it. This is so much fun to work with and this jib is a real solid product.
The portable side to it is very relative, if you consider the heavy duty tripod and weights you have to bring along... Moving the whole setup is a pain and you ought to take the camera and jib off the tripod before setting up somewhere else, even 100 meters down the road. I picked up the whole thing and walked 50 meters, risking tripping or crashing in the process. I would strongly suggest not doing that...
Leveling is a bitch, too, you need 4 hands and a heavy duty tripod head to hold all that weight. And you need a heavy tripod: my Manfrotto 503 fluidhead performed great.

I had my Sony EX1R still set to DVCAM from a prior shoot and I forgot to set it to HD. That's too bad but the action is just as smooth in SD as in HD :-)

Portable, more portable, portablest jib...

I have written about my portable jib which arrived just over a month ago. It's light and well-made and portable. There's another kid on the block that claims to do the same while being even lighter and more portable. The downside is that it costs twice as much and that it will only hold DSLR's.
Well, it just happens to be that today for the first time I took along my jib to a paid gig and mounted my EX1R to it. It took the weight effortlessly. (even though I need some more counterweight) Anyway, check out this ultraportable jib and tell me how you like it if you happen to own one.

Mailbox: portable jib

JIB INSTALLS IN A MINUTE

Got my portable jib in today from Glidecam Industries, after 2,5 months... Actually, got two portable jibs. (One for me and one for fellow gearhead, 'Soundman Neal' here in the Netherlands.) We got a little discount on the shipping when ordering two... (Dutch buyers, by the way, get slapped by all sorts of taxes. For the two jibs it added up to €78,-) The goods arrived scratch-free, wrapped in bubble plastic and shipped in a cardboard box.

The jib feels solid- as it should because there's not that much to it. Black finish feels good, welding is rough but fine. The system is indeed portable because it's light, lighter than what you'd think by looking at it. (That's of course without the weights) I mounted it on my tripod, screwed my GH2 onto the jib and played with it a little. Even without counterweights (not included, have to find some...) it feels very solid, smooth and professional. No vibrations, no rattling, no slack. We'll have to find out if that stays that way when adding weights and other stuff...

Without a monitor there's no way to frame the shot and when I ordered the jib I didn't have a monitor. But now I do. I just noticed they're selling a 'jib monitor mount bracket' and at $15,- that is a no-brainer if you want to do more than landscapes and wide shots. Sorry, Neal, looks like this story isn't over yet...

SILVER BAR FOR HOLDING WEIGHTS

PINS FOR SECURING WEIGHTS

SIMPLE... BUT EFFECTIVE

MOUNTING PLATE WITH SCREW (SUPPLIED)

Where's my jib?

If there's one thing I hate it's waiting. Especially if things keep being moved forward without obvious reason and you're not being informed. No, I'm not talking about your average video assignment where appointments and dates fly around like leaves in the wind- I'm talking about something I paid for over 2 months ago and that should have been delivered one month back...
Now 'things' happen and we all understand that, but rule number one in this -and any- business is to communicate to your customers what's going on. People will put up with a lot if only you will keep them informed. But that is not happening with my order from Glideshot Industries. I made special arrangements because I expected my jib to arrive at a certain time. But for no apparent reason that's all changed and I'm being kept in the dark. I'm afraid those high tilt shots won't be part of my shoot next week. And that s*cks. Just because it's a budget jib I shouldn't be getting 'budget service'..?

Budget portable jib

This looks like a great jib at a very reasonable price. I just asked about their shipping costs to Amsterdam but if it's too much I may add it to my 'US gear shopping list' when I visit the East Coast this summer!

Portable 4' Video Crane Samples from Olivia Speranza on Vimeo.