There are times when a tripod pan isn’t enough, where you want to show the dimensions of a location in one single take. The best way to do that is with a camera crane or jib. Earlier in the age of filmmaking working with a jib meant having a big budget, a large truck for transportation and a few people to set-up and operate the crane. This has changed over the last couple of years. Cameras got smaller and cheaper as well tripods, sliders and jibs. Now you can almost carry, set-up and operate a jib all by yourself.
A while back we worked extensively with the K5 slider by Konova. Slider shots really can make a difference especially when filming still life. I was quite interested in the so called Slider Jib when it was announced at NAB this year. As the name suggests, it is a combination of a slider and a camera crane. The slider is part of the jib for constructional reasons but can be used for mounting a second camera as well. As this might sound confusing I recommend watching the 8-minute review – that actually took quite some time to make – below!
The set-up guide that is in the bag is easy to understand and the order in which you mount the Slider Jib doesn’t need to be the same as in the manual. One time I didn’t set up the jib in the “right” order but it still was possible to mount everything without having to do it all over again.
What makes the jib worth mentioning is the portability and the easy setup. Our version of the jib has a weight of only 4.6kg and the camera can weigh up to 6kg. I honestly always avoided jibs because of the huge size and that you can’t set it up all alone as well as the high price. The slider jib (both pieces) cost between 700 and 1.000 US Dollars depending on the size and slider type. If you want to only use a slider you already have one and you can combine it with the jib – I think this really is a creative and good idea.
Below are some pictures of the shoots on which we used the Slider Jib J1.
Konova Slider Jib J1, ein Album auf Flickr.
Written by Moritz Janisch
