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Prices for film equipment


Sanjay Sami

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I was just in the process of buying a new Dolly and a new backup monitor for steadicam.

The Dolly being 200,000 dollars and the monitor around 4,000 dollars.

I also just recently sold my old rebreather (diving) and am buying a new one ... I found it incredible that the monitor cost almost the same as this :

 

http://www.hollisgear.com/prodview.asp?id=143

 

Kind of makes you wonder what the margins are ...

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Australia and India are not that remote. They have sold dollies to both Ray Brown in Australia and me in India. They will not sell in Thailand or so many other countries that are more 'remote' than India and Australia. Besides, the much cheaper knock offs from Italy are always available, if thats your taste ... but thats a Glidecam vs Steadicam discussion ;)

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Theres a few more guys here in Australia that own them ... not just Brownie!

One grip I know used to refer to his Chapman Hybrid as his Porsche as it cost more then a Porsche!

 

Plus im assuming track, wedges, risers, carts etc is in addition to that $200k.

 

From memory the normal rate for a dolly per day is around the $500 mark.

And the lease rate for a Fisher was around $500 per week last time i discussed this with a grip.

 

Feel free to correct me if anyone out there knows more accurate figures!

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Not really sure where this discussion is supposed to go.. but comparing rebreathers and monitors is like comparing fresh water in remote areas of india, with the political climate in Albania.

Prices are relative, and depend on a lot of different factors: R&D, cost of material, level of service..ect..

 

The best monitor from transvideo cost around 7000$. When I got one, I told my girlfriend It cost me 2000$.. she was shocked.. ( even if i "lowered" the price with 5000$...;-)

I have had it for years now.. and its been worth every $

Same goes for my Preston focus. Had it since 98' no problems, still pulling lenses..

When I got is thought.. my partner at the time questioned the sanity in getting a small piece of equipment that cost the same as a brand new medium range car..

 

It goes without saying that this doesnt apply to every piece of expensive film equipment out there.. but in many cases, there is a reason for the price tag.

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Flemming - I agree, its not apples and apples. Its just that I was struck by the complexity of rebreathers, and the fact that they are also very small run numbers, and that they need to pass very stringent quality control parameters being a life support apparatus. The fact that a monitor costs about the same seemed somehow wrong.

Rebreathers would probably not sell in greater numbers than monitors I suspect.

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Theres a few more guys here in Australia that own them ... not just Brownie!

One grip I know used to refer to his Chapman Hybrid as his Porsche as it cost more then a Porsche!

 

 

At the time I bought my Hybrid MK3, Brownie and I were the only 2 according to Chapman ... I am sure thats changed ;)

As you said ... by the time its all done, you are in for a lot more bucks than just the dolly, although the Hybrid is cheaper than the PeeWee 4.

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Australia and India are not that remote. They have sold dollies to both Ray Brown in Australia and me in India. They will not sell in Thailand or so many other countries that are more 'remote' than India and Australia. Besides, the much cheaper knock offs from Italy are always available, if thats your taste ... but thats a Glidecam vs Steadicam discussion ;)

 

How does it compare to the German Movietech Arco, at least it looks almost the same...

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How does it compare to the German Movietech Arco, at least it looks almost the same...

 

 

Movietech markets the dolly as the ARCO.

It is made by Cinetech Italiana as the Falcon and re badged by Movietech.

It looks like the PeeWee in the same way that a Basson or Chinese equivalent looks like a Steadicam Ultra 2 or PRO rig.

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How does it compare to the German Movietech Arco, at least it looks almost the same...

 

Movietech markets the dolly as the ARCO.

It is made by Cinetech Italiana as the Falcon and re badged by Movietech.

It looks like the PeeWee in the same way that a Basson or Chinese equivalent looks like a Steadicam Ultra 2 or PRO rig.

😄True.

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