Hague K9 CamCrane Jib Camera Crane

Updated 2020 after owning 9 months: Bought this direct from the manufacturers website (same supplier as via Amazon). It is well built, with a few points that I think detracts from my overall product satisfaction. Within it's real world limitations, it is a very capable product.The bars slot together using an expansion fitting, which is very well designed and implemented. You won't feel like your gear is at risk. The fully assembled jib is really easy to use and the lever operation to change the camera angle is well designed for the task. You might be surprised to discover that raising the height doesn't change the angle of the camera.The tripod supplied with the K9 is sufficient for the purpose here. If you have a better video tripod that's capable of handling this (i.e. with ~25Kg of load), then I would suggest using that instead. The tripod itself is mostly aluminium, but the legs connection point and top look like cheap plastic, which makes it look like it has a lot in common with a number of cheaply made consumer tripods. The tripod surprisingly has the ability to be setup higher than the default shown in the photos, but then you realise that if you have also purchased their MB/A monitor bracket (which really is necessary to be honest), then that could then become unusable (as the screen raises with the boom itself - i.e. no longer remaining at the height of the operator in its default setting). Note that the choice of height must be made BEFORE setup, as it's near impossible and certainly not recommended to adjust after setup (at least not without assistants anyway). You will likely have to remove the jib to raise the height.The blue cables supplied for adjusting the camera angle are simply an electrical wire with a highly tensioned spring. I thought this was a great way of doing this as you could easily repair it yourself in the field if ever it was necessary. One recommendation for setup - unhook the wire from one side of the spring, set the wire around the grooved wheels at the top and handle, THEN reconnect the wire to the spring that you've pulled out to meet the wire. Trying to setup by pushing the tensioned wire into place quickly gets difficult and trapped fingers are the usual outcome.One thing that's not really mentioned anywhere is the documentation for weights - you're oddly left to your own devices - strange when it really can't deviate that much from what I mention below. For my setup with a Canon camcorder loaded with a microphone (average weight under their specified limits of 2.5Kg), at the full extension the K9 needs 15Kg of counter weights (I'd suggest rubber coated weights so you reduce your potential for injury and many have holes for carrying them which are useful in this setup as a handle). At the 3/4 length, 7.5Kg of weights are needed. The adjusting bar helps to account for slight differences in needs. So you'll likely need to purchase individual weighs of 10Kg, 5Kg and 2.5kg. I found large chain sports gear shops sell individual weights. Remember that the necessary weights obviously reduces the true portability of this item, so you might want to invest in a cart of some kind if you need to setup away from your vehicle.What's missing?1. a bag. It's shipped well wrapped in bubble wrap in a box. That's great, but then this isn't an item that most of us will use in just one place. The company will supply a bag for nearly a grand. This is a stupid marketing decision as it needs one to be usable to its full potential. A 76 Key Keyboard Bag should work as an alternative - provided it has additional padding between pieces inside. It would also have been preferable to supply the product with heavy duty zip-loc bags instead of the heat-sealed kind, since the cables will be needed at every setup and the tension cable can be a bit sharp.2. Pads on the underside of the camera mount. Unless you want to invest in a rigging stand to hold the jib straight, then the camera must sit on the floor at some point. If you're going to be setting up on pavement, you'll want to protect both the painted steel bracket from damage, the nut holding your camera to the plate and obviously the camera itself. Cost me a few quid to add rubber pads to do this, which makes me wonder just how much thought went into real world use.3. The option for a better tripod design. The one supplied has huge rubber feet, which gives you stability but reduces your options for a wheeled dolly like shown in one of the photographs (no you don't get wheels with this model). I'd have hoped the hardware looked more durable. Why plastic was chosen instead of a stronger longer lasting alloy is a mystery. If I had to guess, the entire rest of the kit is made in England - the tripod likely isn't. The photograph with the wheeled dolly is a completely different setup, requiring additional "BB Bearing Block" from the manufacturer and a heavy duty video tripod. I believe you can get a wheeled base for this tripod from the manufacturer, but that adds an additional 30% to the cost.4. The metal bar parts are all coated in a thin coating of black paint, and given real world use - it will look worn really quickly. Again the lack of a bag also means the parts could rub together, which is another issue to resolve.5. If you need to connect a cable to the camera (such as extending a LANC controller or similar), you'll need a 4meter cable or longer. It would have been useful to have holes drilled to give the option to run wires through the boom arm, but there's nothing to stop you implementing your own solution. If your camera/camcorder has WiFi control, then this isn't a major issue, but LANC/camera remote control is usually much more reliable.Overall, this is a great product if you must get that shot that's 5m above the ground (and yes it does go that high) without having to deal with any of the restrictions of using a drone. It can be setup and operated by a single person (although you might need assistance, especially for moving the whole kit and weights to a distant location). Perfect for video, but also for still photography in places and angles that are difficult to do with heavy pro-grade cameras.Highly Recommended.Addendum:Controlling horizontal drift, when it's windy, can be difficult to overcome. There's a small screw at the top of the tripod that is meant to hold the connector to the jib. The handle is small enough that there's not enough torque to tighten and overcome heavy wind that will cause the jib to drift. If the handle was larger, then this wouldn't be a problem. Remember that both this little screw and the next screw down on the tripod column need to be tight to try to prevent side drift. The second screw down is better for using to control drift for this very reason. Just keep this in mind if you are setup somewhere that drift could cause a problem (such as on a footpath beside a road).