Travel jibs have become very common in the past few years. The lightweight designs make them great for shooters who are often working alone and need to carry their own kit. The downside is that they are usually limited to just carrying smaller cameras like DSLRs, the C100 or FS5.
IFootage are a Chinese company that has gained a reputation for making good jibs and sliders. Their latest Mini Crane M1 III travel jib has a strong carbon fibre construction and square tuning sections. This makes it very rigid and allows for a much higher payload capacity. You can add a motion control head, tripod head, or heavier camera to the end of the jib.
It is very quick to assemble and pack down thanks to nifty quick release mechanisms. It has a reasonable length of 2.2m when fully extended. It weighs just 3.8kg.
Counterweights have been cleverly thought out too. You can use multiple water weight bags to balance the jib. These can be filled on location and are much easier to transport than sandbags. You can of course use regular weights if you prefer. The counterweights have clever retainers with quick release catches so that the jib can be quickly rebalanced.
There is also a smart tilting function that allows the jib’s head to be aimed at a target and move slightly up or down automatically as it raises and lowers.
The best part is that the crane is priced at just $499 US. It can also be bought as a kit with an iFootage tripod base for just $848 US.
For more details visit the iFootage website.
