ProAm USA DVC210 Orion DSLR Video Camera Jib Crane Tilt - Aircraft Aluminum Camera Crane with Top-Mounting Bracket - Extendable Filmmaking Camera Stand with Auto-Tilt - 8 ft

Coupled with the external monitor bracket, tilt brake, carrying case and a sturdy tripod (I use a Ravelli), this works very well with my Sony slt-a99 and a medium zoom lens. I use about 10 lbs of counterweights, with a stack of 1/4 lb washers that Pro Am sells separately for fine adjustment.. The balance is perfect and the panning and tilting action with constant title angle is very smooth. The only flaw so far in my three weeks of using it is that the paint on the 1" vertical weight plate bar is chipping due to frequent use of the plate hold-down spring collar, so I hope the exposed steel doesn't corrode over time. The crane is fairly heavy and while one strong person can assemble it and break it down, in the field it's better to use a production assistant. Plus it helps to have an assistant guard against the boom's camera end striking people who come too close when the device is being swung at low elevations. Other accessories: to monitor the camera's view, I use a 7" external Marshall HDMI monitor and some Velcro straps to hold the 10 foot HDMI cable down to the boom; this is essential.

I bought the crane, jib, and stand together and can't speak more highly of this product. It's very stout, well built, and easy to set-up and take-down. After a few times assembling the crane/jib I can have it up and running in 15 minutes. The only downside is, if you have to move it, it can be a bit cumbersome. But for this price that's not a problem. If you take the time to counter weight it properly this thing is smooth as silk. I had considered buying the bearing kit sold as an option but right now I can't see a reason to. If you're a budget shooter this crane will add some amazing production value to your scenes.

In this price class, the ProAm is really the only choice. I tried one of the cheaper carbon-fiber extendable jibs and it was ok, but doesn't allow you to get high enough for the big swooping shots. It also had lots of problems with bounce and wobble. Not so with the ProAm. It's very stable and solid and I've gotten some terrific super-smooth crane shots with it. As with any kind of camera gear, some practice is required to get professional results. The secret to the ProAm is that it must be properly balanced. You must have the right amount of weight on it so that the jib arm stops when you let go of it, otherwise you will get some "bounce" in your shot. I found that I had to use a little weight bag with some tiny weights in it in addition to the bigger weights to get proper balance.My only complaint is that at this price it really should come with a carrying bag. ProAm sells one separately, but it's pricey at $60. Since the jib comes apart into multiple large pieces, it's pretty unwieldy to carry it and not fun to lug to a shoot without a cart or something. Also, it's fairly heavy (which is a good thing because heavy = stable) so unless you have a beefy tripod and a pro head that you can really lock down on the vertical axis, you must buy their tripod and bearings. This thing will crush a flimsy tripod. So the price can easily double when you add all that in.Overall though, this is a great choice for crane shots on a budget.

We just got back from a shoot. The crane works magnificently. Very smooth. You just have to add things like a crane jib stand. Having read the reviews the stand doesn't pan and the panning bearing sold by proam doesn't fit the stand that they sell. My plan is to use my heavy Ravelli tripod with a manfrotto half 75mm bowl and mount the panning bearing and then mount the crane to the panning bearing.For this shoot I mounted the crane to a heavy duty tripod and head. But the issue with this, is the plate... in my opinion, the tilt doesn't lock because the crane is too heavy for it to hold.

This jib is a wobble looking for a place to happen but does have some redeemable features.The good: Once you figure out the counterbalancing the jib does move super easy and quite smoothly in vertical directions. Packaging was excellent with the major components all bubble wrapped. Box was undamagedThe not so good: Construction seems cheap and looks like it definitely came from China but could not find a country of origin mark anywhereThe ugly: WOBBLE WOBBLE WOBBLE. Camera won't even sit straight on the mounting plate since the jib wants to cock to the right. The only way to adjust is by adding more weight to the left bar. When panning, there's two inches of free play slop at the camera before the jib catches up to itself.I knew we weren't buying a high end unit but thought based on the reviews it would be better than it is. We're waiting to receive their heavy duty tripod, bearing plate and cable system. I don't think these items are going to address the wobble.UPDATE: SAVE YOUR MONEY!

This crane is awesome.There's only 1 thing that bothers me about the design and that's the way that the two crane arm pieces connect to each other. They are only secured by two screws which don't even screw into the corresponding arm, rather they just kinda press into it.... With that being said/typed, it still appears rather sturdy however I did make a minor modification.A quick trip to hardware store to get a bracket, a few screws and that's all it took. Just had to drill and tap.Regardless, awesome crane for an awesome price. Will definitely buy another one if I need a second unit.

WARNING!! PIC IS WRONG!!! The photo shows a tripod, the tripod isn't included. If you read the fine print you'll see it, I didn't, I looked at the photo, ordered then went to set it up and discovered no tripod! I can't give another opinion, since I haven't been able to use it. Stands cost another $60.