VariZoom VZSNAPCRANE12-100 - Manual (Page 8)

8
Counterweighting and Mounting Remote Head & Camera
Slide the weight bar through the hole at the back end of the tail section. There is a notch in the center
of the weight bar. Use the stainless steel thumbscrew at the back end of the tail section to engage
this notch and prevent the weight bar from accidentally sliding out when adding or removing weights.
Run all video and remote cables and loosen the tilt brake. Tighten the red cables to remove all slack
and apply tension to make the crane arm rigid. Gradually add weight until the crane just begins to
float. Using the aid of a helper or stand to hold the crane arm up, mount your remote head and
camera securely.
When attaching a remote head, use the dual-purpose plate adapter
to work with either 100mm half-ball mounts or a flat-base mount.
The most common method of attachment is underslung (shown
right). The remote head can also be overslung by reversing the
plate attachment.
Counterweighting note: it takes roughly 100 pounds to float the
SnapCrane-12 by itself. From there, as a rough guide it takes
approximately a 4 to 1 weight ratio for every pound you add at the
camera platform. For example, if your remote head and camera
package weigh 25 pounds, you’ll need at least 100 pounds of additional counterweight, therefore you
should need roughly 200 lbs minimum (100 + 100).
Now that the camera platform is fully loaded with the remote head and camera, tighten the black
cable turnbuckle until the camera platform is level.
Continue gradually adding counterweights to the weight bar until the crane is just short of balanced,
and then add your remote controls as the final “counterweight.”
Use the sliding micro-adjust counterweight to fine tune the balance. Once the crane is fully
counterweighted, you need to tighten the red cables sufficiently to straighten the crane (i.e., it should
form a straight line from a side view, parallel to the ground.
Especially if you have a fairly heavy camera and remote head, you may want to tighten the cables
even more to achieve maximum rigidity (you can always insert a screwdriver through the hold in the
turnbuckle body to give you a lever to make turning easier). When fully balanced, the SnapCrane
should float in position, i.e., it should rise and fall with minimal effort.
*** Warnings:
When disassembling the crane, NEVER pull the camera off first. This could cause the crane to catapult up and
topple, creating serious danger to nearby people. Always support the front end of the crane with a stand or chair
of some kind and gradually remove weights. Once you’ve removed enough weight, then you can remove your
camera.
The dolly is intended for initial setup on completely flat, smooth, level surfaces – not for free rolling of the loaded
crane. Any time you move the dolly, you should always push at a low point on the legs, as pushing at the top
can more easily lead to toppling.
Do not roll the fully loaded crane around. Too many unknown factors could create instability and potentially lead
to collisions and/or toppling– severe safety hazards. For this reason, we do not recommend rolling the loaded
crane around, especially outdoors.