Raj Bhatnagar

You might have issues running a Matthews on flextrack. I don't know what the weight load capacity is on flex but MSE dollies are pretty heavy. You may also run into issues with leveling. There's no good way to level flextrack that I know of so you're stuck using it on level ground which usually means indoors on floors. At that point, you're usually better off using the pneumatic dolly wheels. I'm sure you've probably thought about these issues in advance but just in case, I thought I'd offer up my thoughts.

My experience is that building your own equipment works well if you're building SIMPLE stuff but when you start wanting to get more complicated moves/features from your equipment, you'll probably end up spending near the same amount you'd spend to buy something that's already out there and end up with equipment that doesn't work as well. There's a lot of info on diy projects out there and it always seems to me that the "build" price is low balled. Maybe if you have a lot of experience in engineering and manufacturing but for most people it's kind of tough. That being said, I've seen some great simple jib designs that are diy.

For a budget-minded approach, I'd say memory foam over bungee. You get A LOT of movement from bungees rather than just dampening the vibration. Perhaps something like a memory foam casing for the camera with a base mounted on shocks. There's nothing better than gyroscopic stabilization but it seems like we're talking about as low budget as possible.

I was just talking to a guy that owns a small rental company in town. He was saying how slow business has been for traditional grip equipment. Specifically, he was saying he can't rent his Fishers to save his life. Got me thinking when I saw your post so I thought I'd share some business related thoughts: 1. In NYC there are tons of established companies with well outfitted grip trucks. Competing with them will be difficult because they already have their name/image out there and they likely have way more equipment than you'll be able to get as a startup. 2. Check out what the market will bear as far as grip equipment. Are the companies in NYC so busy they can't keep up? Or is business slow? If it's busy, that might be your opportunity to cater to those who can't get equipment from the established companies because they're so busy. If they're slow, you might be getting involved in a business that doesn't have enough customers/demand. I'd say differentiate yourself by having traditional grip equipment PLUS a whole lot of indie type equipment for the smaller guys. That might be a great way to make a name for your company and ensure you're not relying solely on one customer base that is already being served by a large number of established companies.