Handheld home videos can be good. You can see a ton of well-made ones on Youtube, in fact. A lot of the time, though, it’s just filled with shakes and nauseating shifts in angles. If you want to pan with a bit more professional edge, you need a dolly and the Camera Table Dolly looks fit to get the job done.
Why don’t most amateur videographers use proper dollies? Because they’re usually priced out of most people’s budgets. So unless you got an advance to shoot that space zombie flick you’ve been filming all week, the cost of buying one usually isn’t all that justifiable.
As the name suggests, the Camera Table Dolly is a tabletop version of the mobile videography equipment. The base is constructed out of metal for durability, with two pairs of lockable rotating wheels allowing the ensemble to move in curved patterns. There’s a mount directly on the dolly (for ultra-low shots), where you can screw in an adjustable 11-inch arm with a standard tripod mount on top. There’s also a clamp if you want to use it with smartphone cameras.
The product page claims the arm is stable enough to hold any size of camera with a lens up to 70mm. For larger lenses, you can use the dolly sans the arm (just add a ball head tripod mount).
Whether you want to shoot in 360-degree circles, creep up towards the subject like an A-class stalker, or pan dramatically across a subject, the Camera Table Dolly will help you get it done like a pro. Or a semi-pro. Or, let’s be realistic, a pretty decent amateur. It’s cheaper than a Cineskates, too, priced at only $90.