MSE intros The Elevator camera support

Lovin' The Elevator: MSE's new support provides 25.5 inches of vertical movement

Matthews Studio Equipment has added a useful new support for camera people and DoPs who want to add dynamic vertical motion to their shots without the additional cost of hiring in a crane or dolly.

Essentially, The Elevator is a simple, 1:1 counterbalanced elevation tower that gives the operator 64.8cm (25.5 inches) of smooth vertical movement — covering the range between sitting and standing up — while adding the ability to perform a 360-degree pan anywhere along the rise. Both movements are equipped with drag control.

The counterweight uses standard Olympic-size barbels and the unit will support any camera/fluid head combo up to 23kg (50.5lb). It’s a dry-running system and, like most MSE support kit, is also pleasingly platform agnostic and will work with almost anything that used an elemac mounting base.

Multiple 3/8-16 threaded holes allow for mounting accessories and/or triangulation and, of course, it can be added to a lateral moving camera support to create a truly multi-axis system.

Availability is around now — with plenty of tradeshow activity lined up for the new year — and pricing is $4350.