Anyone use a remote motorized pan & tilt head for a run-and-gun camcorder like th Panasonic HC-X2?
It's just me and I'm always running to the left & right cameras to adjust closeup shots.
I already have wireless HDMI and LANC controller, but for closeups of events, I still need to pan/tilt the camera.
We use this one at church: Bescor MP-101 Motorized Pan & Tilt Head
I wouldn't use it for recording motion but simply positioning it to a new shot is fine. It's not wireless, though (we have a long wire running from the device to our video room.)
I have Canon CR-N500 PTZ for church. But I need this for concert halls and such venues where wires are not possible. And right now, two $5,500 PTZs is not in the budget. Not looking for something smooth enough to record in motion, just to reposition. But the position must be very fine because often at 20x zoom.
If it's a musical presentation where the musicians stay at fixed positions, it's no problem. It's programs like the Texas Storytelling Festival I just shot where 30 people of all heights come to the mic for 5 to 20 minute talks and each one needs a different closeup frame. Lots of running back and forth to the cameras.
THANK YOU! I just ordered two of the one at the top of the list. It seems to be exactly what I need!
I did an Amazon search and none of these came up. Thanks for knowing the right search terms to use!
For anyone who hasn't yet made their choice, I really like the approach taken by Edelkrone. Their stuff is modular with separate panners, tilters, and sliders as well as an integrated pan/tilt similar to the one mentioned above. I have a slider and pan unit that can hook together and be expanded and controlled as an integrated pan/tilt/slider from their app on my Android cell phone. The cool thing about the app is that it allows putting in timed position breakpoints much like a Vegas envelope for smooth transitions. I don't have their integrated pan/tilt with the heavy-lift capability but that'll probably be my next move.
I too own an Edelkrone pan unit and slider and particularly appreciate the versatility of the controlling software. I have used this for a number of years. However, when I recently attempted to purchase more kit from them their website informed me that it could not be imported to Australia because the electronics were made in Turkey. I do not know what other countries might have these import restrictions.