Remote Camera Pan Tilt Head

A lot depends on how you are going to use such a head.

If you want to use it to get the camera to a position, and only then use the shot then it should be all you need - but the Hague head will do most of what this head will do - and at much less cost.

If you want to use it on shot from beginning to end, then a sudden start and stop with a fixed speed in between will look pretty naff. The joystick does not give proportional control so it becomes a two-handed operation to increase speed from zero as you move the joystick- and it's a very small joystick so avoiding lurches may be difficult. There is only one speed control, so speed of pan and speed of tilt are tied together, which may not be what you want

Fully pro heads have got proportional control on the joystick (and it's often a bigger joystick) which is what you want for intuitive movement.

I bought the first of my remote heads in 1990 (they were sold by Jessops in those days) and devised an electronic unit which allows the head to be operated over 50 yards or more of single-core coax cable. I now have four remote head sets whcih enables me to do multicamera shoots in situations where a manned camera is not an option. For example, I can install a remote camera in a single seat in the middle of the stalls in a theatre to give a 'best seat in the house' shot. Is your requirement simply to pan and tilt the camera on a crane with the operator close, or do you need to operate the camera from a distance?

If possible, try before you buy!

Ray L

thanks for your reply.

i want a head i can use throughout shots, rather than just to position the camera.

You mentioned about the proportional control on the joystick, the following is taken from the description -

This Head pans and tilts the cameras smoothly and accurately with precise, proportional joystick control.

so maybe it does have it?

anyway i will keep looking about and reading up on them!

Like Ray I have a Hague head:
http://www.b-hague.co.uk/hague_underslung_pan_and_tilt_powerhead_uph.htm
And I have been forced to use it throughout shots on occasion, and as Ray says it really doesn't do that well.
But Ray, can I just ask, which controller(s) do you have for yours?
This one?
http://www.b-hague.co.uk/hague_joystick_pan_and_tilt_control_phj.htm
or this one?
[url]http://www.b-hague.co.uk/Power Heads/phr_small.jpg[/url]
Which is what mine came with and that I'm using....
You can see that I'm wondering if the joystick model gives smooth-enough movement, since it seems to imply it's proportional.
Maybe I'll ask them to bring one to demo at BVE...

Mark,

In the head, Pan L, Pan R, Tilt Up and Tilt Down are switched via the multi-pin DIN socket.

My setup replaces the simple hand controller with two units, a box of relays close to the camera and a control box at the base. These are linked using a single-core coax. The control signals are multiplexed down the coax using a two-part Maplin kit which may or may not still be available. Rather than a joystick, my control box uses push buttons - it's more comfortable over long periods to have the palm and fingers in line with the arm than to have the palm at right angles to the arm as it tends to be with a joystick.

With my early analogue camcorderss, the control of zoom and pause on/off was also multiplexed down to the remote end. (these days I use a separate LANC control wire).

An article describing my design was published in 'Camcorder User' about 10 years ago.

Ray

one thing to consider is noise.

I've heard some power heads that sound as if a battery operated drill is the source.

The Hague is ok for positioning - I have 3 and they're not loud.

I'd be reluctant to buiy from overseas as you need to see and feel (and hear) the kit. How are repairs carried out?

Sorry for a late reply.

That head looks like a bad Varizoom MC100 knockoff. The difference being the cabling doesn't look like it goes through the head so the cabling will tangle much quicker.

Cinecity do make a lot of iffy knock off kit, using stolen ideas from 'proper' companies. I bought some odds and ends from them, nothing special.

I own the Varizoom: http://www.varizoom.com/products/motion/vzmc100.html
Great kit, really well made. Fast, but proportional joystick and motors. Bloody great big flightcase.

If you're coming past Leeds I'll give you a demo.

Cheers, Duncan.