polecam experiences?

[Geir Wikse]

Hi

We have talked about trying out the "polecam" in one of our lifestyle-series this spring, and I wonder if someone have tried it out? Is it as easy as it looks? I hope it is not"another-gadget-hype" that sends the awareness of the cameraman to the equipement in stead of where it should be - on the scene/people... <_< How long do you use to assemble it? What kind of recorder do you use? And which camera is recomended?

 

Do you have any positive or negative experiences with it?

 

mvh

g E I R

(norway)

[Bob Hayes]

What do you mean by pole cam?

[Geir Wikse]

www.polecam.com

[Bob Hayes]

I?ll have to check it out. I?ve shot with Cigar cameras on the end of poles and really had great fun. This looks like it could be a blast to shoot with; or a nightmare.

[nchopp]

As someone who's spent his fair share of time on Steadicam work - that thing looks like a nightmare and a half. I can just envision the thing wobbling like crazy in ANY kind of wind, or with just about any kind of movement. No thank you.

 

Vi snakkes. :-)

[Stuart Brereton]

We have talked about trying out the "polecam" in one of our lifestyle-series this spring, and I wonder if someone have tried it out?  Is it as easy as it looks? I hope it is not"another-gadget-hype" that sends the awareness of the cameraman to the equipement in stead of where it should be - on the scene/people... <_<  How long do you use to assemble it?  What kind of recorder do you use? And which camera is recomended?

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

hi,

 

I used a Polecam system for the first time a few weeks ago. We used a Toshiba 3 chip camera recording into a DV-Cam deck. Once you know where all the cables are supposed to go it takes about 15-20 minutes to set up. The remote head has variable pan and tilt speeds and is controlled by a joystick lever that is velcroed on to the jib arm.

 

I believe that it can be slung from a harness worn on the operators body. I used the tripod support. I would definitely NOT want to try using the body harness - This thing is heavy!

 

I found that after about 30 minutes of use, i was able to execute fairly simple shots with a combination of pans,tilts and crane moves. I would say that about 30% of what i shot was usuable. This was fine for what we were doing ( a performance) as we were shooting it 10-12 times from all angles anyway.

 

If you see yourselves using it a lot then get an operator who knows the kit. An experienced PoleCam op will be getting you good footage all the time, not just 30% like me :-)

 

One last thing, if you are using it outside, it does not like wind AT ALL. We took it out into (admittedly) quite strong winds and it was impossible to control. The stronger gusts had me worried that the carbon fibre poles would actually break.

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

Stuart