_ I absolutely love DSLRs, their size and portability. In last few years we saw loads of products being specifically designed for them to enhance the wonderful video features they have.  I invested in a lot of these accessories myself including some really cool dolly sliders. These are basically short (usually around 1m) metal rails, that allow one to recreate a sweeping action usually crated by dolly. I love these things and I used to have 2, but I always loved the proper long dolly motion that couldn’t be recreated by a slider, so about half a year ago, after a lot of research, I bought myself a Swift Dolly.  Around 6 months later I finally got around to doing a review (above).  The review is quite long and I’m not going to repeat everything in the video.  I just want to go through a few points that stand out to me.

Weight & Portability:  I used to associate dolly with something  that is only used on bigger shoots with loads of people handling large, heavy equipment. One of the main reasons I went for this particular dolly, is it’s portability and very low weight. All the bags have handles so the can be carried around without much trouble.  The Swift Dolly not that cheap, considering that there are plenty of DIY tutorials on Youtube that will help you build a dolly at a fraction of the price, but what I hate about DIY stuff is that it’s usually not portable at all.  That is why I usually try to but as cheap as I could but a proper product that is well designed and can be taken anywhere, not only because of the portability, but also because it actually looks like a proper equipment unlike some DIY stuff. Of course if you don’t have any money at all and you shoot only personal projects than DIY is your only and probably a decent choice. 

Value For Money: This is very much connected the stuff above. DIY will always be cheaper, but not necessarily better value for money in a long run.  I’ve used my quite a few times now and thanks to its great packaging it’s still like new, so it holds its value really well. If I would have decided to sell it now, I’m sure I would get a lot of my money back, not that I want to just yet; this thing is essential for some of my shoots, like the low budget feature I’m currently working on (some footage is in the review).  A Dolly adds a lot of production value to the shots so it is a great investment even for a DSLR user like myself. There aren’t many cheaper dolly options out there, especially with a track, so the Swift Dolly offers a great value for money.

Conclusion: If you can afford a dolly, this or any other decent one, go for it. Treat it as a long term investment, because unlike cameras that chance ever year, dollies stay pretty much the same and you will be able to use it for many years to come. Over the years it will definitely pay itself off by helping you produce great shots which will hopefully earn you some money along the way.

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Just a quick video I’ve done while on a day out in Painshill Park, Surrey, UK. Shot on Canon 550D/T2i at 60fps and then converted to 25fps for smooth slow motion.  Full Review of Camtree Micro Dolly can be found here.

At the time when I reviewed it I didn’t know anything about Kessler Crane Pocket Dolly; no surprise, I buy most of my gear on eBay :-)  Turns out is very similar to Pocket Dolly, but much cheaper, which what I’m always after.  Great slider at a very good price. The main advantage of this dolly over many other Igus Rail based sliders\dollies is the crank and belt drive system it has. I’ve seen people on Youtube modifying their sliders with similar belt drive systems, but as mentioned before, I’m not the DIY guy, so try to buy the best I can at a reasonable price. The crank and belt drive system opens up a great potential for a motor. Unfortunately that is where DIY comes in again and I’ve been struggling to add a motor myself. I bought one of these and haven’t really got around to attaching it, too much work. I’ve seen one of these being used on a similar dolly, but I wanted more control over speed so picked up the more complicated one (probably should have gone for a simple option).  Unfortunately neither of them would provide enough power for using it in real time video mode, they would only be powerful enough for time-lapse videos. That is one of the reasons I’ve decided not to bother with the Telescope Motor, although I’m not saying it is a bad option to have, especially if you are into time-lapse photography.  It is certainly the cheapest option for motorizing your slider. I still haven’t found a more powerful motor that would allow me to control the speed and that wouldn’t be too complicated to fit.  If anyone has any good advise on this matter, please share it.

P.S.  I’ve seen all the Youtube videos of DIY geniuses making great motorized dollies, unfortunately I’m not one of them, so need a more straight forward solution, like Kessler Crane’s elektraDRIVE motor’s but much cheaper to fit into my Budget Filmmaker bracket :)