Should I buy a Skate Dolly or Slider?
 

I have an Advanta-Jib Lite with pan capability and underslung head.....I want to ramp up the professionalism of some of the stuff I shoot, so if one had the choice between adding a skater dolly or a slider to the jib I already have, which would you pick and why?

Sliders are very portable and quick to set up.

I find that I don't use my jib much these days, the sliders are much faster and lighter.

Dollys are great but you need reasonable flat ground and they are bigger to carry around.

There are many choices in sliders.

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www.pstechnik.de


has some used stuff for sale on their site right niow at considerable discounts.

I've been crying in my cups over the price of a fully fitted SI2K package at about the price of what I got the demo camera sans most of everything about a year and a half ago.

I think I saw some mini-skaters there. Those I think have the fixed two wheels and the steerable thrid wheel.

What will decide what you buy will not be the versatility of it or what is on sale; it will be which one makes the move(s) you want. Determine that and your choice will be clear.

I like the idea of having something like food dishes where I can use a skate dolly in a circular fashion to shoot clips, but then again sliders make for some interesting footage too.

Maybe I need both!

Over here, we adapted P+S Technik's full Skater Dolly with its three adjustable wheels for carrying a full tripod with added sockets on the wheel mounts and a centre tiedown.

This is no substitute for a full sized dolly or steadycam. The tripod foot spacing is narrow but with care can also work really well on a good floor surface for circling a subject if you have to keep your kit and budget minimal.

I think they're totally different tools. The skater is excellent for food shots and product shots. Slider won't work nearly as well for those applications for several reasons, not the least of which being that skaters can't move in an arc, which is nice for product shots. But a slider is much easier and faster and better for narrative applications.

Previous post should read skaters CAN move in an arc.

they are different tools, but if I need to choose I would, and I did pick a slider, well I got a few of different sizes and have no regrets; slider is my favourite tool
after steadicam,
why, because it is less demanding setup wise, does not need a perfectly flat surface, and can be used anywhere; I use my 2ft slider that mounts on one tripod everywhere, slider almost always can imitate dolly shots, and i think dolly is the most (except for tripod) used tool in cinematography.

Hi Dave,

With Cinevate's Pegasus Carbon system you can have both. Take it off the rails and you have a great table dolly. Being able to run upside down or on cables if needed is also nice.

They have a video showing it in action.
cheers

Morton

Skater dolly:
- Needs flat surface
- Can move both straight and in an arc
- Not restricted by own rail/track/length (but by surface)
- Height depending on surface
- Skater dolly can be a bit too narrow to be really stable when mounting a tripod/jib on it (but it can be done according to another poster in this thread: he can fill you in.)

Slider:
- Doesn't need flat surface (just solid ground)
- Can only move in straight lines
- Restricted by length
- Height adjustable if tripods are adjustable in height
- Too heavy loaded tracks can flex a little bit


A few pro's and con's.
Hopefully this will help sorting out your decision.
Other's are welcome to add to the lists.

Re: Should I buy a Skate Dolly or Slider?
 

Are there any dollies with a half circle track or arc?
The problem with the 3-wheel dollies is that it can be hard to go around an object (like for a product video etc) in a nice even circle perfectly....

The Slider is great for adding some motion to shots but it can't circle anything.