05Feb Varavon Tilt Jib T3 PreSale Discount
Unlike many portable jibs, the new Varavon Tilt Jibs can actually tilt the camera when performing vertical movements to keep your subject in frame. This all accounts to a slightly heavier setup than the other Carbon Fiber Mini Cranes shown recently (here), but the Varavon Tilt Jib is strong enough and long enough to support Motorized Pan / Tilt heads like the one I showed off earlier this week (seen here).
The Varavon Tilt Jib is available in a variety of sizes from 3.3ft-12.5ft, and currently the T3 version (9.5ft) is discounted down to $299 for preorders. Not a bad deal at this price. Check out more information following the banner (below)
Varavon PreSale Tilt Jib Discount $299
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February 5th, 2013 at 11:18 am
It’s almost exactly the same concept as the CobraCrane, especially the pan and tilt part. I never liked those cables and the tightening mechanism. Too troublesome to setup, and single bar system will still be woobly.
The “promotion/preorder” price sounds about right for something like this, because it’s overpriced. Take a look at what CobraCrane offers – http://www.cobracraneusa.com/cobracrane.html – and I think most of you would agree with me.
Not great in terms of portability and also not great for stable, non-woobly shots. I’ll make do with lightweight carbon fiber jibs instead.
February 5th, 2013 at 12:25 pm
Their only real “Big Feature” with this jib is the tilt functionality, and what a lot of people don’t seem to realize is that the same functionality can be achieved through some very simple DIY work with almost any existing jib. In fact, I just built an entirely DIY jib with the same style of tilt functionality last week, for under $20 in parts from Home Depot, and an old broken tripod.
The trick is just mounting the arm of the crane off to the side and lowered, so that the central point of rotation is close to the center of your tripod head’s tilt mechanism.
February 5th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
@Benjamin – We’re waiting for the How-to instructional video for your DIY Jib. Given the turnkey hardware, preorder price and not seeing any woobly shots from Olivia, I’d think this jib is a good deal-to-performance.
February 5th, 2013 at 3:16 pm
Emm, do you recon this would be good on the Manfrotto 701 head with canon 60d? It’s almost 6 kgs… what happens when you overload it a bit occasionally?
February 5th, 2013 at 3:21 pm
…or one of these?
http://cheesycam.com/the-fancier-fc-270a-bowl-mount-tripod-review/
February 5th, 2013 at 3:27 pm
@TikTak – You will need something bigger and comparable to a manfrotto 501.
February 5th, 2013 at 8:18 pm
@Tony – Yeah I actually agree with you, compared to others, this does seem like a pretty good deal for the money and the portability, and despite being a DIY enthusiastic at heart, even I can admit that if you have the money, turnkey hardware is ALMOST always better.
Thanks for the interest, I’m actually getting some pictures of the project together now so I can post it somewhere online. I’ll let you know when it’s up.
February 6th, 2013 at 1:38 am
@Tony – Here, I put together a tumblr post of some photos and details of my DIY jib that I mentioned earlier.
http://chaifilms.tumblr.com/post/42420325313/diy-portable-camera-jib
For anyone else interested, this is a jib I built earlier this week, that is capable of a similar style of tilt control to that of the Varavon Tilt Jib.
Check it out and let me know what you think!
February 6th, 2013 at 7:24 am
I just know that it’s been a pain with Varavon.
Ordered a focus sling a month ago & now they say its finally on the way. We’ll have to see about that.
February 6th, 2013 at 7:42 am
i got a cobracrane with extension and it has served me well from using XL1 to Z1U to finally a caged DSLR
i like how much more portable this varavon is than mine but back when i bought it, it was still cheaper than this and still works so i cannot yet justify the purchase…
what i NEED to do is knock the dust off it and get back to shootin with it
February 6th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Sweet review, thanks..goes on my want list!
February 6th, 2013 at 8:10 pm
This looks exactly like the CobraCrane that I have, that is now for sale because its been replaced with the tiny carbon fiber jib that was recently reviewed. Honestly, there’s nothing that I like about the CobraCrane – parts came damaged and bent, the pully system nearly cost me a client because it went out on me while I was shooting on a cruise ship last year, its actually quite heavy and very bulky/awkward to pack. And, most importantly, I found it absolutely impossible to level and get steady shots. The carbon fiber one is a dream and is so small and lightweight that I use it with a tiny tripod and it works great.
February 7th, 2013 at 10:29 am
@Benjamin, great DIY jib. I have a broken tripod kicking around too… hmm…
Thanks for posting it!
February 10th, 2013 at 9:46 pm
@Benjamin, great DIY jib. clever!