16Jan Carbon Fiber Portable 4ft. Mini Crane / Jib
Here’s a quick look at one of the lightest and most portable jibs on the market. This new Carbon Fiber Telescoping Mini Jib/Crane breaks down to fit a 32″ travel bag (less than 3ft.). It’s extremely lightweight with a high quality build and finish. Very smooth operation for any lightweight camera setup, and all parts with anodized coating (not cheap paint).
YES I have had this crane for over a month, and have even been flying the BlackMagic Cinema Camera at full extension. This crane works great for DSLR Video shooters on the run. I will try to get a short video out this week.
Carbon Fiber Telescoping Mini Video Crane/Jib
The Carbon Fiber Telescoping Mini Crane/Jib comes fully assembled except for the rear counterweight rod. Telescoping poles slide out very easily and are locked in place with large metal knurled textured collars. The rear counterweight rod can be adjusted in or outwards to fine tune balance. A sliding ring can be used to hang other types of weight if you don’t want to travel with the gym style weights.
The benefit to this crane is it’s extended counterweight section that allows you to use ‘less weights’ than other cranes that have a short rear arm requiring a 3:1 counterweight setup. I’m able to fly my Canon 5D Mark III with just a single 5lb + 2.5lb counterweight. The other cranes i’ve used required up to 20-25lbs of counterweight.
Carbon Fiber Telescoping MIni Crane/Jib
Other small 4ft cranes which do not telescope use 3ft up front, and 1ft towards the rear. Since these cranes actually telescope, it can extend up to 4ft up front, and 2ft to the rear – thus requiring less counterweight. When this crane is mounted to my Manfrotto Carbon Fiber Tripod (without center column extended), I can reach approx 9ft in height. Since the crane is adjustable, it’s not always required to use it at full length when working in smaller spaces.
I have seen, tested, and owned other small portable cranes. This new Carbon Fiber Telescoping Portable Mini Crane / Jib is an amazing portable lightweight tool for DSLR Videographers and can be found under $380 eBay (click here).
Carbon Fiber Telescoping MIni Crane/Jib
There is also a (more expensive) aluminum version of this ‘Telescoping’ Mini Crane/Jib design which can also be found via eBay (Click Here)
Aluminum Telescoping Mini Jib / Crane
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January 16th, 2013 at 1:31 am
Very interesting! How stable/solid would you say this crane is in operation? Does it wobble at all? Is it worth the $380. vs spending a bit more for a Zolinger or Kessler?
January 16th, 2013 at 1:34 am
how this compared to aviator and trapezist? can u please do a review for this 3
love this website =)
January 16th, 2013 at 2:52 am
Emm, would be interesting if you could compare this to the Aviator. I haven’t received my CF Aviator yet but just checked that it is still stuck at customs:)
January 16th, 2013 at 3:58 am
followed the link and found another listing with a very similar looking jib for an even better price. got the last one! can’t wait to see the review.
used a full crane before, but it’ll be nice to have a smaller one for indoor use.
January 16th, 2013 at 4:26 am
Wow that sounds really good. By the way, the aluminum one is not more expensive. The shipping price of the carbon fiber one makes it cost the same as the aluminum one.
January 16th, 2013 at 4:35 am
how is this compared to the dslr-devices.com mini crane?
I have their mk1 for close to 8 months now and although reliable, it just doesnt like the weight of a 5dmkIII with 24-70 and i have to counter weight it with about 16.5 pounds of gym weight at full extension. I can tell you lugging +16 pounds around gets extremely tiresome that i dont even want to use that crane at weddings anymore :p
What is the counterweight total at full extension for this CF crane?
thanks
January 16th, 2013 at 7:08 am
Sold. Emm, my GF is going to hate you.
What tripod are you using here?
January 16th, 2013 at 7:33 am
@Emm
Can you recommend me a good tripod to use with this jib?
Maybe from low,mid to high end?
I bought in the past the fancier tripod but after a year of use they have not taken outdoor work abuse to good. The leg spreader on one got damaged and on another one I had one of the legs got bent when the tripod got knocked over and basically is now useless.
I am possibly looking for a better tripod than the fancier that will hopefully not break the bank. As always thank you for this amazing site and what you have done for the community
Thanks!
January 16th, 2013 at 7:41 am
@Andy I – As with anything, you should use it for what is was designed to do. This is for DSLR weight cameras, not for a fully built RED EPIC. This is a lightweight crane for lightweight shooting.
January 16th, 2013 at 7:43 am
@jonty – This crane is a 2:1 ratio because you have 4ft up front / 2ft Rear. So if you put a 4lbs camera up front, you would use only 8lbs in the rear. Most DSLR cameras with a prime lens may sit under 4lbs.
January 16th, 2013 at 7:46 am
@Dean – Actually I’ve used my lightest 701HDV fluid head with my Manfrotto Carbon Fiber 190CX3 sticks. Keep in mind this is for DSLR to BMCC weighted cameras. Use it for what it is designed to do and you’ll be very happy.
January 16th, 2013 at 7:49 am
@getem – Hmm, i’m not sure what type of outdoor use you’re putting your tripods through. I’m always thinking about weight and the tripod I most often use is the Manfrotto 190CX3 Carbon Sticks. This crane will work on that tripod, but perhaps you might want to look at this manfrotto setup: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/859138-REG/Manfrotto_701HDV_MVT502AM_701HDV_TRIPOD_System_with.html
January 16th, 2013 at 8:35 am
@jayhas – I have not had the chance to see the Aviator, but it looks like a very well made product. Hopefully they will contact me with a chance to try it out.
January 16th, 2013 at 8:45 am
@ajay – I have not had the chance to use the Aviator, but it looks like a high quality product. Hopefully they will reach out to me about their product, but I hear they have been busy with orders.
January 16th, 2013 at 10:49 am
Hi Emm,
I’ll send you an Aviator today. I think you’ll be impressed. Check your email.
Cheers,
Zeke
January 16th, 2013 at 11:03 am
@Zeke – From the comments about the Aviator, i’m sure i will be impressed. Looking forward to trying it out, thanks.
January 16th, 2013 at 1:45 pm
I own an Aviator (the aluminum version). And it is an excellent piece of hardware. It’s similar to this (and the Trapezist) except for two differences, one of them rather big (IMO). First, the Aviator has bearings at all tilt axes points. Both the Trapezist and this one on ebay use bolts. Those bolts will cause wear over time, especially with heavier loads.
Second, the Aviator uses bearings in its pan base. Neither the Trapezist nor the ebay one have a pan base, which means you’ll need to use your tripod head. That’s a pretty big deal because it means extra weight when hiking. With the Aviator you can either leave the head at home or bring it and move the head to the camera end of the jib for panning (you’ll need two 2 heads on the other jibs).
Finally, the ebay carbon fiber jib weighs in at 4lbs. The Aviator aluminum jib is 3.5lbs.
January 16th, 2013 at 2:05 pm
@Zeke – I’ll happily try out your product if you want to send me one for free too
Same goes for you Jim Jennard. Send me a RED Epic to play with? lol
January 16th, 2013 at 2:35 pm
Hey Emm
Will the camera with the M1 stay still if you want it to (if it’s balanced properly)? i.e. can you use it to get static/”locked off” shots at any height/extension?
Thanks
Robert
January 17th, 2013 at 10:21 pm
I researched every small jib on the market before I bought this one. This one totally rocks. No comparison to the others. Build quality is great, service great, people are nice, there’s no sway in the movements, its so lightweight that I thought they forgot to put the jib in the box when it first arrived. Love it! Alex
January 18th, 2013 at 8:01 am
waiting for the kessler traveler jib to be out on Feb.
January 19th, 2013 at 5:28 pm
I tried to tell the difference between the two carbon jibs. Is it just weights and brand/marks the only difference? Obviously, the cheaper priced one is appealing.
January 20th, 2013 at 5:29 pm
@Alex – Did you order from the ebay supplier Gearcontact? I’m getting ready to order one. How long did it take to get to you? Thanks.
January 21st, 2013 at 7:45 am
I bought the cheaper one (280 + shipping) from ebay member photolight… looks to have gone up in price now.
January 24th, 2013 at 9:35 pm
I got mine in Monday & I placed the order the day of this post. It beat something else I ordered 10 days before this, both coming from China.
Tonight I had some time to open up the box.
I have no previous experience with a jib to compare it to but it seems solid. Definitely looks pro. The branding that arrived with mine is more subtle.
@Emm, any videos to reference to get a creative perspective on using this thing?
January 24th, 2013 at 9:41 pm
@Dean – Still working on something for this, i’ll post soon.
January 24th, 2013 at 10:20 pm
Does anyone know what size thread is on the camera mount? It looks like a 1/4-20 but a 3/8s would be ideal to attach my manfrotto 055 ball head to.
January 26th, 2013 at 7:07 am
@Ryan – It is a 1/4-20 but it says it comes with a 3/8 adapter, but mine did not. It’s a good thing to have a handful of those things anyways
January 27th, 2013 at 4:49 pm
Thanks @dean it sure is useful to have a grab bag of little odds and ends like that.
January 31st, 2013 at 7:41 am
Emm, can the jib come to a stop smoothly. Would love to see your video first before ordering. Thanks!
January 31st, 2013 at 7:55 am
@pixcanfly – Yes, it’s all on how well you balance your jib. Will have some samples soon as i’m working with three different jibs that were recently released.
February 10th, 2013 at 9:40 am
Do you use the 701HDV fluid head on to the tripod, jib mounted to the fluid head or are you using the fluid head at the end of the jib?
February 10th, 2013 at 11:54 am
@Don – For Carbon fiber many cranes I don’t use a fluid head at the end of it I only use it under the crane.
February 11th, 2013 at 1:50 pm
Mine arrived last week . Still not tested , but im very impressed with quality of it .
Im thinking about custom support cables
February 15th, 2013 at 11:11 am
Thanks Emm for this post (and all your work on this website in general) — I’m definitely in the market for a small 4-foot crane before the summer, and have it narrowed down to this one and the Trapezist. Can you (or anyone else here) confirm whether the Trapezist is built in a 3-to-1 ratio? The benefit of having to lug around less weight is a big plus for me as an event videographer, so the 2-to-1 ratio is a big selling feature.
March 15th, 2013 at 11:03 am
Hey Em,
How do you feel about this jib having more than one telescoping sections like on the Trapezist & Aviator, do you think it would flex more?
March 29th, 2013 at 5:51 pm
Hi there,
Any idea if the cheaper version of the iFootage crane sold by Photolight is the same/ just as well made? Emm, I’m assuming your gleaming review of this carbon jib is for the iFootage version?
Thanks
March 29th, 2013 at 7:12 pm
@Anthony – From what I know, they are the same.
March 29th, 2013 at 10:16 pm
Thanks Emm, keep up the great work.
April 6th, 2013 at 5:15 pm
I have this set. but I confused about how much limit/total weight this crane can handle before broken ?!
no manual on they package. please help :S