DIY Camera Crane
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The finished crane at it's highest point
Over the past week I have been building a camera crane, or jib. For those of you who do not know what a camera crane is, it is a device that allows you to take video from really high in the air to really low in the air. The one I built costs about $25.00, but if you have an old stand and access to a welder and some scrap metal, you could build it for well under $10.00.
The materials required to build it are:
2 2 by 2′s
various bolts
some scrap metal
a stand from an old utility light.
The two 2×2′s are connected to the pivot, camera end and operator end with 1/4” bolts and nuts. This system is simple yet effective. The brackets on the camera and operator side are exactly the same, and are made of thin sheet metal. I spot-welded the metal together at school. The central pivot point is made out of thick steel bar that has been bent into a rectangle. The two ends were mig welded together. If you do not have access to a welder, you could do the same with pop-rivets or screws. The central pivot point connects to the stand with a 1/4” bolt, as that was what the stand would accept. The stand was from an old utility light.
The LCD monitor is just a portable dvd player. I connected the video output of my video camera to the input of the dvd player. This allows me to see what I am doing. Sometimes the sun is too bright to see the screen, so I added a piece of cardboard to help make the screen viewable in direct sunlight.
Here are some pictures:
The finished crane at it's highest point
The finished crane
A close up of the central pivot point
The operator's end
The camera end
A close up of the pivot point on the ends. Both the operator end and camera end use the same bracket.
This is my temporary counterweight. I usually fill it with various heavy objects from around the garage.
Here is a short video that shows it “swooping”:
Thanks for this DIY. Very simple (if one can weld!)
Great site overall, too. You seem to fill the introductory niche often missing in the DIY community. The CNC and this both give people the low-level tools necessary for larger projects.
Keep up the good work.
I’d love to see video you’ve shot with the crane
Great DIY, it’s a very clever idea. Can you post a demo video to show us how it works from the camera end?
[...] DIY Camera Crane [colvins.ca via Instructables] Tagged:camerasdiyvideo [...]
[...] Se hele projektet på Colvins.ca [...]
[...] DIY Camera Crane [colvins.ca via Instructables] [...]
[...] Well if you are handy with the tools and have $10 dollars to spare why not make your own! This DIY Camera Crane uses two lengths of wood that pivot on the stand which allows the camera mount to stay [...]
[...] Well if you are handy with the tools and have $10 dollars to spare why not make your own! This DIY Camera Crane uses two lengths of wood that pivot on the stand which allows the camera mount to stay [...]
[...] Well if you are handy with the tools and have $10 dollars to spare why not make your own! This DIY Camera Crane uses two lengths of wood that pivot on the stand which allows the camera mount to stay [...]
[...] Well if you are handy with the tools and have $10 dollars to spare why not make your own! This DIY Camera Crane uses two lengths of wood that pivot on the stand which allows the camera mount to stay [...]
This will be very handy indeed.
I have been looking at other DIY sites, looking at how to build a steady cam device. The crane is definitely next on the list. I might not need it yet for my next project, but it will for sure come in handy one of these days.
This is super cool.
[...] Well if you are handy with the tools and have $10 dollars to spare why not make your own! This DIY Camera Crane uses two lengths of wood that pivot on the stand which allows the camera mount to stay [...]
[...] of overspending on new equipment, you can learn to make your own DIY Camera Crane using some wood and a bucket to offset the weight of your [...]
Cool.
I’m part of Meetup group that is trying to make our own movie. This might come in handy.
I really like your blog and i respect your work. I’ll be a frequent visitor.
I love when others come up with ways to upcycle items and this definitely is the coolest.
If you removed the bottom bolt from the pivot wouldn’t it allow you to tilt the camera?
This is great work. I’d also love to see a sample video as a followup.
This is a great project!
I’m really interested in how you disassembled the videocam to place it on both ends. Can you perhaps give some instructions about that as well?
If you make a slit instead of a hole for one beam at the pivot, then you could tilt the camera.
[...] für 20€: das ist doch wieder ein bastelprojekt für @schwan @ifranz und @_refugee_ http://colvins.ca/?p=44 [...]
[...] If you’re looking for a faster build with a bit less functionality you can go for this simple crane. The tutorial is just one of the simplest cranes to build. Instructions here. [...]
[...] lumber, bolts, scrap metal, and the stand from a work light, the folks behind colvins.ca built this DIY Camera Crane. This setup can be used to take video from really high in the air or low to the ground, allowing [...]
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[...] inspired by several things: Chase Jarvis’s “Cameras at Risk” blog entry, and a cheap DIY camera jib/crane at colvins.ca. This week’s project was building my own DIY camera jib/crane for getting interesting shots [...]
Thanks for sharing this!
I just finished building my own, and documented it on my blog. Many thanks for your inspiration!
http://www.chromedecay.org/2010/04/16/1652-diy-camera-jibcrane/
Bill
As a Newbie, I am always searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you
camera system…
My search for camera system led me to your blog and your post regarding DIY Camera Crane ” colvins.ca looked very interesting to me. I have seen many sites before and most of them do not look this good. I cannot wait to let my friends know about this …
This post was very nicely written
Interesting article, i am happy to have stumbled across this while searching on google. Absolutely will bookmark.
Hola
[...] DIY Camera Crane » colvins.ca. [...]
[...] http://colvins.ca/?p=44 Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite Post in Fotografie, Fun, Kurioses, Movies, [...]
[...] DIY Crane [...]
[...] accidentally linked us to his other Camera Crane, taking the same ‘cheap yet effective’ approach as his Cable Cam. Once again, just some [...]
[...] accidentally linked us to his other Camera Crane, taking the same ‘cheap yet effective’ approach as his Cable Cam. Once again, just some [...]
Wow, finally I found a solution for our low budget vidcasts. We have to achieve exactly this effects, but have no budget to rent a camera crane – but this is the proof we can do it – and thanks for the video
what camera do you use?
[...] There are lots of DIY steadicam techniques out there. Here's one example. And here's a crane. ____________________________ Reply With Quote + Reply to Thread [...]
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!
Nice job, way to McGuyver it!