Dana Dolly
The Dana Dolly is a platform that rides on two pieces of speed rail, it's an inexpensive option that breaks down for easy travel. The versatility in using different lengths of speedrail for different applications is another good reason to use the Dana Dolly over a traditional slider. The dana dolly has a Mitchell mount built into the sled and also comes with 75, 100, and 150mm ball adapters to fit the tripod head you are using.
Uses
The Dana Dolly is a lower budget solution to dolly and track for longer moves, and a good substitution for heavier duty sliders for shorter moves. Because the Dana Dolly is mostly supported at the two ends, you will need to use their track support somewhere in the middle for longer moves to keep the camera stable.
To get different heights:
- The track can be laid directly on the ground
- Put on apple boxes in any position
- Low slider stands
- Low combo stands
- Regular combo stands
- Mambo combo stands
You can also undersling the Dana Dolly to get shots that are very low to the ground. This is accomplished by taking off the head and flipping it over, then attaching your tripod head on the underside of the dana dolly. In order to do this and have the most flexibility with the camera, you will have to add a Mitchell riser. There are issues with the Mitchell riser as some may not allow you to remove the key from the bottom of the plate, in these instances, you will have to remove the wheels and attach them to the opposite side. You can also use this same method to get overhead shots.
Lubrication and Maintenance
Squeaking in the Dana Dolly may present itself after people use silicon spray in order to lubricate the wheels. In order to fix this you can do one of two things.
- Use Pledge as a lubricant on the speedrail and the wheels.
- Use dawn dish soap and clean all of the residue off of the wheels and the speedrail too.
Accessories
- Slider Stands
Allow you to achieve a lower height than low combos.
Substitutions
- 4' Modern Slider