19Dec Aviator Travel Jib – First impressions
This is a kickstarter project I’ve been waiting on for awhile and it’s finally here. The Aviator Travel Jib is an ultra portable 6 foot Jib that weighs in at a little under 4 pounds and folds up to right at 24 inchs. In the case you’ll find the travel Jib, a few peaces of hardware, and a counter weight bag. The included case is much nicer then I was expecting with solid zippers, plenty of padding, and lots of attachment points.
The included counter weight bag has a pouch on either side and uses a large thumb nut and carabiner to attach to the jib. The bags are double zippered and also seem well made. Fill these up with rocks hardware or whatever you have laying around to balance things out.
The hardware feels very solid on the Aviator Travel Jib and build quality seems to be top notch. Up and down motion as well as panning motion feels nice and smooth. From assembly, mounting, and balance to testing took me a little less then 5 min. Two water bottles and a some extra hardware was all it took to balance things out. Seems to work nicely on the Sirui N1004 tripod which handles the weight quit well (claims 26 lbs rating).
I had a little time to test this out with the Canon 7d and Sigma 30mm f1.4. Motion looks smooth and it’s very easy to use. I have a shoot coming up at the end of the week and I plan on bring the Aviator Travel Jib with me for a full set of tests. Once I’ve had a chance to play around with it some more I’ll post a few results. So far it looks like a nice peace of kit.
December 19th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
Just got mine in too. Taking it out this weekend on a trial run. Looking forward to see some test footage.
December 19th, 2012 at 2:29 pm
…it really looks good but is quite expensive, travel ready or not…
December 19th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
I got a similar crane from dslrdevices. It looks almost the same, but it’s only half the price. I have been using it a lot since I got it and it’s now part of the standard kit I take everywhere.
http://www.dslr-devices.com
December 19th, 2012 at 3:55 pm
£219+£30 = $410 here (plus customs) and the mk4 is missing the fluid base plate that gives you smooth horizontal movement. Seems like the kickstarter price was a little less then the MK4 and the final price is a little higher $497 = £300. Add a fluid head adapter to the MK4 and you’d probably raise the price about the same amount.
December 20th, 2012 at 4:34 am
You’re right, as a European I always forget about this 🙂
December 22nd, 2012 at 11:01 am
Thanks for the first look post! I’m glad you like it so far. Feel free to email me direct if you have any questions.
As for the comparison to the other jib, they are really quite different. Yes, a Mercedes and a Volkswagen are both cars, but they are not the same. We use radial bearings, a fluid pan base, multiple bubble levels and more. The Aviator is a travel friendly professional jib with the features pros (and enthusiasts) need to get great shots simply. That said, if you don’t need the pro features, you have more options.
Happy Holidays!
December 27th, 2012 at 7:55 am
I took the Aviator up to Milwaukee last weekend and even with frozen hands I was still able to get it set up and balanced in less than 10 minutes. The shots came out great. It was a great purchase that’s already adding to my production value.
December 27th, 2012 at 8:10 am
I’ve taken it out on two shoots horizontal and vertical motion are nice and smooth, I just wish there was an easy way to pivot the camera. I was trying to film someone laying on the ground and couldn’t quit get the angle to work out.
December 27th, 2012 at 11:12 am
I agree. But, you can adjust the lower boom arm and get a varied angle for the pivot. A little clunky, but usable.
December 29th, 2012 at 10:34 pm
just attach a small ballhead and let the camera face down.