13Jun The Aviator Travel Jib Camera Crane Kickstarter project
The Aviator Travel Jib is basically a collapsible, light weight mini crane. It has a maximum length of 6 feet and a load capacity of 6lbs, yet when Folded up the Aviator Travel Jib is only 24 inches long. Designed with light weight cameras in mind, It’s basically the crane equivalent of the Konova slider, small, simple, and a handy way to add the production value of motion to your shoot.
Because I do most of my traveling in a compact car I’ve held off on buying a large camera crane. If it’s longer then 4 feet I don’t really have room for it. Sure I could upgrade to a conversion van, or drive around a hearse but frankly, my little Nissan Versa is the right combination of economy and subtlety when traveling with large amounts of camera gear.
With a starting pledge of $299 the Aviator Travel Jib is a little more then the price of some large camera cranes. But if you’ve ever gone shopping for tripods you know that lighter, more compact units are always more expensive then larger heavier units. I think that’s the trade off here. If you have 8 or 16 feet of space and don’t mind carrying around 24 pounds of crane parts, then your money might be better spent on a larger heavy duty jib. On the other hand if you need something that’s light weight, compact and easily portable, then the Aviator Travel Jib is defiantly something to check out.
The $299 backing level will get you the crane only, but for an extra $100 (the next backing level) the kit includes the Aviator Travel Jib with fluid pan base, padded bag, mounting hardware, bubble levels, and ballast bag. I liked the idea enough that I backed the kickstarter project last night. Hopefully there are enough people like me in need of a light weight crane option to get the project fully funded. As of this writing the project is nearly halfway funded, so there is a pretty good chance the Aviator Travel Jib will meet it’s goal.
For more info on the Aviator Travel Jib check out the kick starter page.
June 14th, 2012 at 1:02 am
It seems like they funded their goal. I want to see your review on this one when you get it Deejay. Shipping time on Kickstarter page says August so we have to wait a bit.
June 20th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
what do you think about the aviator vs the dslr devices mk3 model?http://dslrdevices2.dslr-devices.com/crane-mk-3/
June 20th, 2012 at 6:02 pm
The Aviator comes with a fluid pan base, has telescoping extensions with a twist release, and has a larger mounting base. The MK3 doesn’t have a fluid pan base, uses click in holes for adjustment, and has a very small mounting base.
Weight, capacity, and length are ruffly the same, though the Aviator folds up to 25 inches instead of 35 inches. But you can order the MK3 today, while the Aviator will probably take a month or more to get.
June 21st, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Ah, thanks man. I don’t know these things too well. I should’ve read more into it ha…they got the MK3 on sale but eh. I guess I can wait a little bit. Get something better. Thanks!
December 11th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
[…] still waiting on the last two kick starter projects I’ve funded (cameramator and the Aviator pocket jib). […]