im interested in to see the start and stop jerkiness also..

They said my Kessler Crane won't ship until Friday! Wahhh!

Mike,

Which Pan/Tilt did you order?

Bill

The CineCity Gold:

PROAIM™ GOLD PAN TILT HEAD + 24V Joystick Control Box

I didn't want to buy the Junior because it was too limiting. The price difference between the Sr and the Gold was ~$100, and I would just hate to spend the next five years wishing that I'd bought the $900 one rather than the $800 one. Also, I would like to at least occasionally rent the thing out to friends with broadcast cameras, or put a HDCam on it if the occasion arises.

I chose the same model for basically the same reasons plus I think the larger weight capacity will make for a smoother pan/tilt with my cameras.

Bill,

When is yours scheduled to arrive? Mine left India via FedEx two days ago, should be here Monday morning before 10:30a. The Kessler comes Wednesday. I can hardly sit still.

Mike,

They said it will ship tomorrow I will get a tracking number on Monday. They also said it would take 3-4 days in shipment. So I am hoping for Thursday-Friday delivery. I already have a Kessler 8/12, I ordered the V3 plate and once that is installed I will get the 18' upgrade.

Mine arrived today, earlier than expected. (Predicted arrival date according to FedEx was Monday.) I ordered it around midnight Sunday night USA time, it shipped late Tuesday night USA time, and arrived mid-day today.

Overall quality is close to what you would expect for something 25% of standard prices. The problem where the motors creep is present in mine, I will have to crack it open to see if I can fix it as described elsewhere.

Start/stop is relatively smooth - obviously haven't had the camera on it yet to tell for sure. I think once I fix the creeping problem, it'll be better.

It's really sturdy. The frame looks like it would hold the 50lb SVHS camera I used in the 90's. Wouldn't know if the motors would handle that or not, but as far as frame goes, I have no concerns.

Power supply looks like something out of Frankenstine's bride - I will be replacing it before even using it on a shoot. I don't understand how they can charge $1k for it and send a crappy $10 power supply instead of a nice $20 power supply.

All the power is run on 3-pin XLRs - same as audio. I thought industry standard was that power was only ever on 4 or 5-pin XLRs, so as to avoid confusion. I sometimes get grips that are pretty green, and while it's hard to imagine how they could get stuff so wrong that 24V could be going into the XLRs on the camera - I just don't like the idea of a 3-pin XLR on the end of a power supply.

The box came with a declard value of $37 and marked as a "gift". I don't mind when I buy something worthless off some ebay seller and they express some creativity in their customs declaration, but I feel like spending $1k should buy some legitimacy.

More as it comes.

Mike,

Does the manual give the pinning of the 3 pin xlr? I did a search on power supplies and found some 15-24 volt switching power supplies, This might be good for better control since the unit will take less than 24 volts.

Industry standards mean nothing in other countries. Whenever I buy anthing from overseas I consider it a "kit" to be built to my liking.

Not only do they include the pinout for the XLR, they include a spare XLR with pigtails for you to wire in another power supply.

I'm thinking one of these two power supplies, what are you considering?

E-Tech eStore : Switching Mode Regulated Power Supply PSSMV6U :: 15-24V

E-Tech eStore : Universal SP-11 AC/DC POWER SUPPLY ::15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/24V

I do have a mil spec 24volt supply for a radio however that is diffently over kill for this unit. :)

Is the manual printed or PDF? If it is PDF would you email it to me?

Hi Mike.. thanks for the info... please keep it coming, im interested to hear more on what you think.. i was wondering, what is the creeping problem with the motors ? Is that where they keep moving slowly when they should be totally stopped ?

Also have you had a chance to test with your camera yet ? im really interested to know how smooth the movement is..jerkiness is the thing im most concerned about.. Would love to see some clips if you get a chance also..

Re: cine city proaim pan tilt head??
 

Well Randy, I guess Mike is off playing with his new toy! :)

FedEx says mine arives on Friday! Hope so!

Re: cine city proaim pan tilt head??
 

cool.. look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Re: cine city proaim pan tilt head??
 

Gentlemen, I just don't have much to say. I have a jib head and no jib on which to hang it. I can't tell start/stop jerkiness because even if I mounted a camera to it, I'm holding the head in my hands and wouldn't be able to tell smoothness.

Jib should arrive tomorrow. Maybe video soon!