Proaim Head Review Part 1
 

Just a quick overall review of this head.

Ordering & Shipping

Ok, this is the first portion of my review for the Cinecity Proaim Motorized Pan & Tilt Head Jr. I picked up this head on eBay from Cine City direct for about $465.00 and about $65.00 shipping. I ordered the item and in about 2 days was shipped and a tracking number sent. Shipping was actually very fast, especially coming from India, so this was quite unexpected.

Once the package arrived, I was surprised about how well it was packed. Figuring since it went through customs twice, I was waiting for a box that was all beat up, but it was quite the opposite.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/1.jpg


Packaging

Once I opened up the box, the internal case was visible, which fit inside the box nice and snug.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/2.jpg

In order to get the case out, I had to cut one of the corners of the box, then it slid out nicely. The carry case appears to be very sturdy and a solid material. It has a shoulder strap and smaller handles to carry it around.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/3.jpg

Once open, the first thing you see is the installation and operational guide.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/4.jpg

This manual has everything you need in order to set this rig up. Everything from component descriptions to detailed set up instructions.

The inner case is made of cut foam. Each section is cut perfectly to house each of the rigs components.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/5.jpg

Here are all the main parts for the head.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/6.jpg

So overall, the ordering, shipping and the packaging were very well put together. I had asked the shipper many questions, which were all answered within a few hours each time. So communication was executed well. Packaging was also well put together and sustained virtually no damage to the exterior nor the interior of the box.

PARTS

After inspecting each part of this rig, I am impressed with the design and build quality. I was expecting cheap build due to the price of this rig, but I was wrong. The rig is VERY solid, including the joystick controller.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/7.jpg

The head itself is very solid and appears to be well designed. The head was also wrapped up in plastic which helped protect the finish.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/8.jpg

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/9.jpg

Looking up close, the gears on the head appear to be of sturdy and solid quality. The frame of the head is welded very well. However, aesthetically, there was no attempt to smooth out the weld. But who's looking right?

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/10.jpg

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/12.jpg

So overall, the head frame and gears appear to be very solid. The frame is made of a high grade metal, so there is no worry about it bending or breaking. The XLR cables are built in to the motor and blends well with the rest of the frame.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/11.jpg

The universal adapter is a nice touch. This device has an output for europe, japan and USA. So its a great addition for users all over. This device is actually quite solid.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/13.jpg

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/14.jpg

Hooking everything up was actually quite easy. All the connectors fit perfectly to the components with ease.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/16.jpg

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/17.jpg

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/18.jpg

All the parts back in the carry case.

http://www.skyplexpictures.com/proaim/19.jpg

OVERALL

Simply put, this rig so far is a solid build quality product. It was shipped quickly, packed well and easy to setup. So far this rig is panning out to a positive. The unit itself weighs approximately 6lbs (pounds)

Shipping & Packaging - 5 of 5
Build Quality - 5 of 5

At this point, I need to install a small modification to my jib to allow this unit to operate due to its weight. Once I do this, Ill start taking video of this rig in action. Should be a few days.

Thanks Kevin. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Thank you Kevin for this first detailed report. It sounds promissing!

The production package is on eBay for US$729. Seems like a fair price.

PROAIM 12ft JIB & Jr.Pan tilt head Production Package - eBay (item 170428753233 end time Apr-05-10 23:33:31 PDT)

Or this link if the above is too long:

TinyURL.com - shorten that long URL into a tiny URL

May have to leap on this one.

Thanks for the report Kelvin. Looking forward to some demo video of the unit in action.

no problem. I should be getting some demo footage this weekend. Had a little delay due to getting over nasty cold.

can't wait!
 

Hi kevin

Thanks for the review! I've been looking at these for ages, and can't decide to get it or not.

Can you try and capture the audio of the noise the head makes? If its going to ruin sound for dialogue then its a no no!!

Proaim have useless 'demo' videos on the site, that don't really show us anything.

I'm thinking about getting the 12ft proaim jib as well. Does anyone have any experience with that? I know kesslers etc... but for the money, is it half decent?

I'm only thinking proaim if I go with the pan and tilt jr head. If I go manual tilt, I would probably go Cobracrane 1, or Hague HDV K8.

Any other good jibs in the $600 region?

no problem, Ill try and capture the motor sounds also. Just practicing with the head then ill post the videos.

So how well does it work?
 

Hey Kevin,

I loved your review of its shipping and build quality on March 8. What do you think so far about how it actually works? How about a quick 0-5 rating?

This thing is tempting...

Thanks!

How noisy is it? How is the smoothness of the movement?

Thanks,
Bill

very much!
so how is it on the 1 to 5 scale?
many thanks for the review!

More info re: Cinecity Jr. pan/tilt head
 

Looking for more information about the Jr. head, I found one review that was positive but the reviewer said he had to some some tweaks to make it work for him. Not having the experience to be a electro/metallic tweaker myself, I emailed CineCity and got a prompt reply:

- - - - - - -

We have sold hundreds of this product and do not receive any serious complaint from our valuable customers from worldwide. I think the joystick box is not being operated properly by this customer so he might have faced the problem of drifting. Also the design of the joystick handle, joystick etc... is standard inudstrial design. All Motorized head manufacturers have the same joystick box design. All have almost same plate with four knobs to secure the pan tilt head on tripod or jib. All User fabricate it as per their own requirement to be used on their jib or tripod..

Here is the link which also states positive points of our Jr.Pan Tilt Head : http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/jibs-cra...lt-head-2.html

We back our sales for six months. Our products are fully insured. If you would face any manufacturing or functionality problem, I will provide you replacement or refund for that specific part as per your convenience.

The quality of this product is very good. Buy with confidence.

For any further queries, feel free to contact me.

- - - - - - -


I emailed back to ask if they knew if I would have to make modifications to my particular rig, a Kessler 8/12' crane, and they replied promptly (again) and asked me to send me pictures of my rig so they could check them out and let me know.

So I can't comment on the Jr. head itself, but their responsiveness to customers is great.

as far as my rating, I would say at this point, its a 4 1/2 out of 5. The unit is actually pretty quiet, very little noise while in operation. The movement is also very very smooth. To mount this on the jib I have, I had to manually drill additional holes to line up the areas to connect. I also had to add extra washers on one side since the unit had a little bit of a lean to the left.

Other than this, for the price, this unit works extremely well.

Please note, it takes a while to get use to it. Moving the crane and operating the head at the same time takes a bit of coordination. But well worth the practice for an end result.

Actually that's the way I'd want to see it. and that's looks like a better than average welder. Awesome!

Kevin, does the speed of the motor ramp from full speed down to stop smoothly? Does it jerk at all when stopping or does it settle in smoothly?