The Interbee show is unique in the trade show calendar. Because it’s held in Tokyo you get to see gear from smaller Japanese companies that you don’t see elsewhere. One such interesting piece of kit was a new 3m (9.84 ft.) slider from Metal Toys with the catchy name of beetle BEYOND [sic].
This is definitely not your average slider, and has been designed for smooth operation of large camera packages.
The 3m long pipe is oval shaped and has no joins. Metal Toys have cleverly designed the rails so that two of their regular rails are housed together to provide maximum support. At the end of the rails you can use the clampers to make sure the distance between both rails is precise all the way along the track. The rail clampers can also attach onto standard scaffolding pipes so you can adjust the beetle BEYOND to be at any height you like.
You can also attach the rail clampers to a tripod or light stand if you prefer, via the 3/8″ holes. The other option is to just place it on the ground, or on apple boxes or any other flat surface that you like. The dolly can accept 100 or 150mm bowl head tripods and it can be inverted, making it handy for getting shots over the top of tables etc.
At 3m long it certainly isn’t going to be something you will be travelling with. The beetle BEYOND looks much more suitable in studios or on locations where a large camera package needs to be used.
The beetle BEYOND is available now from Metal Toys for 398,00JPY ($3590US).
