Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly Review

Hello Again everyone! Tim Cash Oregon Filmmaker here! Sorry I’ve been crazy busy editing these 4 music videos for canadian artist Pennan Brae so I haven’t had a spare second to put together much of a show or tutorial. But…while I’ve been plugged up editing in the bay. I have been gathering some timelapses with my new Dynamic Perception and I have to say this is one of the most amazing pieces of equipment I’ve ever had the chance to use!! I purchased it for around $950 plus when you add on the 2 tripods they recommend and a mount for the camera you are in the $1500 range which in the scheme of things is really nothing at all. I remember when I first saw motion timelapse it was in the film Baraka and I was blown away! It was my favorite film for a while after that. At the time I’m sure the system they used cost a million dollars or somewhere near there. They also shot the film on 70mm with giant cameras. funny how far we’ve come in 10 years. You can do the same thing with a canon 5d (stills in 4k) and dynamic perception stage zero dolly (total cost $4,000) as they did with a millions 10 years back!

As a review; I tell you what I love and what I don’t love but overall this thing is about 100 stars out of 5 in my book.

Lets start with the Cons (there aren’t many):
CONS
1.the battery they provided arrived and was dead dead after 2 days(however the customer service is amazing and had a new one in 2 days! thx for that! Hey there is a Lemon in every batch no matter what you get. the fact that replaced it instantly is a PRO!
2. I’ve somehow managed to get the settings I want even though I still feel a bit lost. maybe the menu pages could be a bit more simple. a slightly bigger screen with everything lined up on the left. Sometimes you think you have it right but then the camera dosn’t gp off. so you change your setting but as it turns out the engine may take a few cycles to get the camera and dolly in line. which adds a bit more confusion to my settings. All this said without the Dynamic Perception Instructional Video I would have been way more lost.
PROS
1. As far as the service goes I love talking to a company on the phone and really having the person on the other end who understands the questions and what they are selling. These guys are still very mom and pop and it shows. The guy that answers the phone is probably the guy that built and designed it. What they have created is magic and affordable. its only a matter of time before they get so big that we’ll be talking to Bombay customer service agents and these guys will be chillin on small islands sipping Pina Colada’s and shit! kudos to them! Yet another amazing invention that has done what the canon dslr’s did for filmmaking. take us all to another level of production.
2. You can create shots that see the world unlike our eyes. A World under or beside this one we never see or pay any attention to, shadows and all!
3. It really is amazing! I bow down before the incredibly creative feet of the Dynamic Perception team! I’m already thinking I should get another one so I can double down.

Please checkout this quick little test drive of the Dynamic Perception I did while editing other projects. next stop Crater Lake National Park.
http://vimeo.com/36034515

Also please lookout for our future tutorial on the Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly and some things I’ve learned while shooting on it that can save you time and shots. Which in the timelapse game is everything!