DIY 180 Degrees Orbit Camera Rig

This is a setup for filming a shot of the camera spinning around an object in an 180 degrees arch.

Parts used for this build:

Cheeseplate 1681 - https://amzn.to/3HU9yWz

V-Lock 1846 - https://amzn.to/3GlBWk0

Pan Head - https://amzn.to/33tLAmo

240mm Plate - https://amzn.to/3GigNY9

Z Tilt head - https://amzn.to/3FgxUbA

I recently built this DIY 180 orbit rig from available camera accessories. To make shots like this. You might think why not just use a turntable, well I don't like the look of only the product spinning while the background is static. While moving the camera around the subject gives a much more dynamic look in its entirety.

With this setup I can even orbit around tiny objects using a macro lens. Like this tiny adapter. But the only limitation is really with bigger objects and anything really large becomes very hard to capture with this setup even with a wide angle lens.

Also there isn’t really that many products out that can do this, but also I like that I can break it down and have a compact setup to bring with me.

I call it 180, but in reality it can rotate much more than 180 degrees, just not the full 360 degrees. As the C shape design of it blocks it from doing a full rotation. However for me this isn’t really a big issue as in my video I rarely need to show a full rotation. 

Now to the parts that I have used to build this setup. First the top and bottom are Smallrig Cheeseplate 1681, then the rear I have a Smallrig V-lock Assembly kit 1846, but you can use 3rd cheese plate instead if you are trying to keep it frugal. Then I mounted an Arca Swiss Pan head inside. Then I got a 240mm arca swiss plate and placed a Z Tilt head on top of it. Optionally is the extra quick release on top to quickly remove the camera from the Z Tilt. In the description you can find all the links to each of the parts.

The reason I am using a Z Tilt instead of a video head is that I only need the camera to tilt and move up or down to get the correct framing and the Z tilt gives enough flexibility for that.

Another Con is that the pan head isn’t really built to hold extreme weights so far away from its center and I would really limit this setup to very light weight cameras and lenses. Which for me isn’t that big of an issue, as I am very happy with this setup and finally able to achieve the shots that I wanted.

Hope you find this DIY build quite interesting, if you want to see more videos like this make sure to hit the like and subscribe button here below. And I will see you in the next video