pan/tilt crane question
 

Hello folks.

I'm going to be purchasing a crane and a motorzied pan/tilt head for my XL2 in the next few days. I am leaning toward the Glidecam Camcrane 200 ($425) and their vista pan and tilt head ($1,800). While searching the internet, I ran across Camera Turret Company http://www.cameraturret.com/. Their PT20 seems to be an exact replica of the Glidecam head for $300 less. It appears they may even both be made by the same manufactuer, only with different brand names on them. Does anyone know if Camera Turret is a reputable company? I've searched this forum for Camera Turret Company and only found one post with no real information.

I checked out Varizoom, but their heads are at least $2000 more for a very similar product. I don't want to make a mistake, but I also don't want to spend money I don't need to.

I am open to any thoughts about what to purchase and why.

Thanks,

Vence Vida

Pan/Tilt Crane question
 

Vence,

One thing to consider when it comes to a remote head. Any motorized head you get can come with problems. They can be noisy, weather conditions can cause problems, and if you ever mount it to a car the g-forces can affect them because they usually have a very light horsepower motor.

When it comes to a good remote head, one that gives you good range and smooth and silent motion, you might need to spend a bit more.

Also, check out the crane's weight capacity. When you've got a remote head on it, with your camera, and the counterweight, you might just get what you paid for...

I use the Glidecam crane. its great. no complaints from me.