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On SmashWordsHardware Review: Bescor MP-101 Motorized Pan & Tilt Head
Welcome to the DOJO!
Anyone who is a regular visitor to us here at the DOJO knows that I absolutely love buying new toys and gadgets for my indie filmmaking toolkit. And I really enjoy getting to try out the gear I know other guerilla filmmakers are dying to find out about without having to risk their own money buying it. That’s right, I spend my money so you don’t have to!
One item in particular that I have been eyeballing for years now (ever since we shot “Bite Me, Fanboy” back in 2001) is a motorized pan and tilt head. The Bescor MP-101 motorized pan & tilt head to be precise. I’ve seen this thing pop up in ads everywhere — from DV Magazine to Indie Slate to ads online. The bummer for me was that I never really had a reason to go out and buy one because I didn’t have my own boom/jib set up. And, in spite of what my wife says, I don’t normally go out and spend $120 for no reason!
Luckily for me, my father-in-law is an expert craftsman and we put together a pretty spiffy new 12′ boom/jib rig that was just begging for a cool remote pan and tilt head. About two seconds after we finished constructing the boom I was on B&H Photo’s website finally getting to order up my very own Bescor MP-101 motorized pan & tilt head! I was so excited. While I was there I also ordered the RE-20 20′ extension cord for the MP101′s remote control system. Since I was going to be placing the Bescor up on the end of my jib, I knew I was going to need the longer cable extension to be able to actually make use of it.
One thing I skipped out on ordering at the time was the optional AC power supply for the Bescor MP-101. I figured batteries would be the best bet since it was a remote unit. What I didn’t realize is that the Bescor MP-101 eats batteries alive. I get around 15-20 hours of use before the batteries go dead on me. That isn’t a bad amount of time, but having the AC power supply hooked up to a rechargable battery pack might save you money in the long run.
Having had the Bescor mp-101 motorized pan and tilt head for almost a month now, I must say I have been very impressed by the unit. I’ve used it with a very lightweight Canon ZR850, my tricked out Canon HV20 (on rails, with the Azden SGM-1x, Raynox HD6600PRO lens and Beachtek DXA4 strapped on for good measure) and with a Canon XHA1, and I’ve seen some great performances with every camera. The MP-101 itself weighs about 2 pounds so it doesn’t require a huge amount of additional weights to balance it out.
Adding the Bescor MP101 to my boom has given a huge boost to my filmmaking. First off, it is now quick and easy to do camera adjustments without having to move the boom itself, which makes for a huge time saver. Second, my boom doesn’t have independent pan control (it does have tilt control), so with a bit of practice, having a remote controlled, motorized pan & tilt head really opens up what I can do with my shots now. Finally, I can get those long, tracking crane shots like in big budget flicks. Awesome!
The key thing to remember about the Bescor MP101 is: the bigger the camera, the slower the pan and tilt. With the ZR850 (or even my Flip Ultra) attached, the Bescor pans a lot faster than when I’ve got the fully loaded Canon HV20 or the XHA1 strapped on there. In my opinion, this is a good thing because the slowest speed normally might be a bit too fast for some shots and the extra camera weight helps smooth things out to give you a great, steady pan.
If you are a low budget, indie or guerilla filmmaker looking for a very good, very solid and very slick motorized/remote pan and tilt head, then look no further than the Bescor MP-101. You can find this bad boy at B&H Photo for under $120 and get the remote extension cable for an extra $15. Amazon.com also offers the MP101 Motorized Pan and Tilt Head for about $118.95
That’s it for today. Until next time, keep shooting!
-Mat N., the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com
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Like you, I have been looking at this item for a very long time.
I think it would be very helpful for me, however, I was thinking of putting on a wall.
I am attending a church where space is limited. I record the services at this church using a small handheld video camera.
I wanted to use another small camera to give me another angle, but, because of my limitations as far as space is concerned I can’t do to much.
In light of this, I was thinking of buying the Bescor MP-101 and mounting the second camera on it, because of the limitations, I wanted to see if I can mount the camera to the motorized head and the head to a wall and operate it by way of remotes.
As you have already stated the Bescor Motorized Head has it’s own remote to Pan and Tilt.
The second camera has a wireless remote that allows me to Start/Stop recording, as well as Zooming In and Out which are
the most I would require from a camera remote in addition to it’s other features.
Having said all of that, Do you know of any WALL MOUNTS that I can attach the Bescor Motorized Head onto which would help me achieve the second angle in a very limited area?
February 20th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Mike:
Thanks for the post. The Bescor has a standard tripod mounting hole (1/4 20 I believe), so any mount with that size stud would work fine. I don’t know of any off the top of my head, but have seen wall mounts for cameras in the past. You could easily make one yourself if you’re handy.
-Mat Nastos, Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com
February 20th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I have been using the MP-101 for video recordings at my church for the past 3 years. We have three of them mounted on the wall for three different camera shots, and they are powered by AC adapters.
The performance has been truly been impressive but unfortunately one of the MP-101s went out last week and am having to order a new one from B&H Photo. The pan works but the tilt function quit working!
Hopefully, we’ll get more than 3 years of use out of the new one.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Is it possible to use the Bescor MP-101 on a driving car? Say with 60 mph?
June 24th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Alfred:
That’s a good question. You know, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work as long as everything was mounted down properly, but it’s not something I’ve ever done. My suggestion might be to try it at slower speeds to see how it handles because I know I wouldn’t want to risk a $3000+ camera unless I was totally sure how it was going to work.
It might be worth checking with the manufacturer on, or doing some research on some of those sites which deal with filming auto racing.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
-Mat N.
http://www.FilmSensei.com
June 27th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Just got it and it’s a class act, solidly built and takes 4 aa batteries. Wish they would come out with a wireless remote control model then instead of being GREAT It would be AWESOME.
September 8th, 2010 at 7:03 pm