Prior to 2015, most of my timelapse videos lacked lateral and panning motion in them - i.e. I shot them with the camera on a single tripod. It was only around five years ago when I seriously considered bringing in the element of motion into my video production hobby that was growing fast, gaining ground over a dying commercial photography business. Back then I anticipated some day will launch a full fledged production company but it never took off past creating portfolio content. Nevertheless I used several motion rigs from various manufacturers over time, formed strong opinions on what works and what does not, and I’d like to share my experience in this blog post.
Disclaimer: I neither represent nor sponsored by any of the manufacturers mentioned in this blog. Everything I have written in this post represents my and only my opinion.
Homebrew motion rig using Arduino and CNC parts
The first rig I ever owned was built my me. While I wouldn’t claim the design was created by me, I worked on extending a few ideas from the internet into a hybrid and potentially very different rig from what I could find others were building at that time.
I started off simple: An Arduino based microcontroller programmed to move a single stepper motor and fire the camera with a basic shoot-move-wait-shoot subroutine. A motor belt ran across a simple aluminum rail with a pulley at the other end from the motor, with the carriage tethered to it. Mark One had no display, no buttons/input at runtime, the rig started when powered on and runs until powered off.
During field test, I found belt pulley system unreliable. The steps between carriage movement were not precise nor accurate. After filming a handful of timelapse sequences, spending much more time in post processing (stabilizing) the video, I was more than convinced to modify Mark I.
Mark II consisted of an aluminum C-rail with a screw head attached directly to the motor shaft, a system one would typically find in 3D printers. I bought the motor and rail setup kit from OpenBuilds, and re-programmed my Arduino for it. Also, added a TFT touchscreen to solve once and for all the problem of input/output for the setup. The new slide system lacking a belt made it the most reliable and precise slide I have ever owned. The system could carry a DSLR with a heavy lens in a vertical slide effortlessly.
PROS
The most accurate and sturdy slider
Programmable and extensible
CONS
Not weatherproof
No controller app on phone
Bulky, not travel-friendly
Requires lot of time to set up and teardown
Dynamic Perception Stage Zero and Stage One
The next ones up were two rigs from Dynamic Perception. These sliders were well-built, the controller being inside portable casing allowed me to carry the rigs in my travel outside driving distance (i.e. in air and sea travel) and since they are controlled via mobile app connected over bluetooth added convenience to operation.
The slide however, was still bulky although there were shorter rails available and they made them modular. Bright LEDs on the motion controller made it difficult to shoot after dark without putting tape on them. The motion control phone app was primitive but connects and works like a charm.
PROS
Simple design
Strong, reliable motors
Wirelessly tethered control via phone or computer
CONS
LED lights on the controller rendering the system useless for shooting at night
Requires lot of time to set up and teardown
Edelkrone Slide and Tilt Modules (First generation)
Edelkrone first generation motion control rig was by far the best and the worst system I have owned. The rig looked elegant, built in black painted aluminum, with no LEDs on any of the controllers (just audio cues indicating successful connection and other alerts). The slide could move twice it’s length when set up on tripod, and yes it needed only one tripod.
Where it gained in build quality and compactness, the system was severely crippled by weak motors and overall weight, especially the pan-tilt head. The slide controller has gear system that presses on to the belt instead of the belt going around it rendering slide motion unreliable especially with the heavy pan-tilt head. 100% of the timelapse sequences I produced using this slide needed stabilization/smoothin in post.
PROS
Sleek design, looks great
Slide travel distance twice the physical length
Improved (over Dynamic Perception) controller app
CONS
Unreliable slider, especially with heavy payload
Weak motors
Super heavy pan-tilt head
Conclusion
After going through all these sliders, I found myself going back to the Dynamic Perception Stage One system for its reliability. I have learned stepper motor is a must on slider system for timelapse shooting although, I can imagine videographers prefer noiseless or low-noise brushless motors. Looks don’t matter really, there is no one to brag about your cool motion rig when you are shooting in the middle of a desert or top of a mountain.