This works great, smooth as glass, if you mount your dslr to it using a rigid mono stem. If you mount a dslr to this using an jointed piece, the camera will be too heavy and your footage will have a lot of bouncing in it.
If you want to make it even better, get two pieces of shelving mounters from home depot and drill them to a six foot long piece of finished poplar. Then you'll have a sort of rail system for it that you can put on rough surfaces or mount on a couple light stands.
I've added a photo to show the dolly system I built!
Excellent, inexpensive slider! I got the one with the black/clear wheels which makes my production look more professional. I had dreaded getting the one with blue wheels, because I would've at that point replaced the wheels.
The rolling action is smooth! Glides across a table top easily, even with a heavy weight on it like a DSLR and lens setup.
The adjustments were easy to track around whatever object you are filming. The wing-nuts on the axles are easy to adjust. I will say that the pivot-markings on the base plate are sort of useless and aren't alighted perfectly.
And now on to the gripes.
1) This is a small unit. No known DSLR will fit on this unit right out of the box. Most Camcorders will not fit on this unit out of the box. The wheels are too close together. Very short wheelbase inhibits mounting flush with the mounting plate (the most stable way to mount, of course). You will need a spacer, quick dismount, ball-head, magic arm or something else to give your camera enough clearance away from the wheels.
2) The 1/4" bolt for mounting your camera equipment requires an allen wrench to remove and turn to mount your stuff. This makes it inconvenient to change out accessories. It has a notched surface for "finger turning", but the screw was really tight in the hole making it almost impossible to mount correctly the first time.
3) My mounting bracket is slightly bent, making two wheels on the diagonal corners up in the air. This does give some slight wobble issues, but nothing the in-lens stabilization cannot correct.
These last three things are sort of petty of me, which is why they only got one star knocked off. But this is a great roller for what it is!
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To mount my DSLR, I purcahsed the EzFoto Arca Swiss Type Compatible Ball Head, with Quick Release Plate. It was about 30 bucks, and is fantastic for this dolly. You will not need any additional parts to get going.
The dolly is smooth, and is well constructed. I have no complaints about the build or function, and have been having a lot of fun making slide shots.
Please know that the dolly does exaggerate any irregularities on the surface that it rolls on while shooting. For example, I shot some basketball players from the gym floor. Dust and debris from the floor quickly accumulated on the rubber wheels and created jitter while rolling. I was surprised at how problematic this was, and due to the "sticky" nature of the rollerblade type wheels, getting and keeping them clean was a challenge. Later I shot from an old science table with lots of irregularities on the surface (scratches and nicks). Again problems, although not as bad. But when rolling on a smooth clean surface the dolly is wonderful. I have begun carting around a table to use as part of the mount.
I guess if was really picky, I'd want the way that the axles are mounted to the plate to be better. They have tightening screws, which allow you to change the angle for arced paths. This is a key feature, but the actual screws are not that great. A rubber or plastic washer would improving things here, and I suspect I'll be adding one to each axle soon.
Very pleased over all especially for the price.
UPDATE: I bought 4 nylon washers (1/4 inch hole). I put them on either side of the axle bolts, and now the tightening screws sit much nicer. I remain very pleased with the dolly. The ball head that I bough is key. Great value great mount.
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I found this dolly to be well made but there are a few gripes:
1 it's small. I planned to use it with a DSLR with a battery grip (Nikon D7000). This camera will not fit directly onto the dolly unless you use a friction arm or a ball head or something of the sort.
2 the markings, while there, are almost useless. Since there are no numbers, you have to visually identify that you're sort of at the same marking on both axles in order to do a proper setup for a circular move. It's not impossible, but less than precise. The other problem here is that the axles are hexagonal and thus the marking are sort of under and less than visible you can see this in the photos of the item.
3 prone to irregular movement due to small size. Just like a car with a small wheel base, small disturbance in the surface on which this rolls will be amplified. Again, usually these kinds of dollies are used on a smooth surface, but something like a hardwood floor might be enough to upset it due to the joints between the boards.
4 another reviewer mentioned this if using a friction arm with a heavy camera, there is a LOT of shake when moving. I suppose this is not a problem with this specific dolly but something to think about.
I tried this dolly with a Canon S110 (point and shoot) and the results were a lot better. This dolly is made for lighter cameras. I would imagine 4/3's sensor devices with smaller lenses will be fine also, and in a pinch you can make it work with a dslr by having a steady hand and supporting the camera to eliminate shake but personally, I'll be trying a larger unit to see if it resolves some of these issues.
UPDATE:
I ended up purchasing the larger version (Large Table Flex Dolly Video Stabilization System for DSLR Cameras & Camcorders) of this dolly and it's MUCH better (see picture and review in the link). If you have a DSLR or a heavier/bigger rig, get the large or extra-large version.
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Received our dolly today. Two things disappointed me because they weren't advertised correctly.
First, the picture for this item clearly shows angle markings on the base plate, so as to accurately place both axels for a uniform curve. Our model does not have angle markings. This was something we were looking for, as a feature.
Second, the center screw post is not sized to receive a tripod head. It is sized as though it were a quick-release plate. The camera must be mounted directly to the base plate. This is not advertised on the item page, or we would have chosen another model.
The construction is fine, wheels work well, etc. These limitations may prove enough for me to return this one and look for another model.
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