Hi all,

I'm considering adding motion control to my time-lapse. For my needs the Dynamic Perception Stage One Plus bundle looks like a good lightweight and versatile product, however, it is expensive. I have a few questions about buying and/or selling used motion control gear:

1. Is used slider or motion control gear risky to buy? Things to watch out for?
   
2. If I buy brand new gear, does it hold it's value if I want to upgrade the slider or motion head some day? Or, should I consider the money a loss?
   
3. Is there demand for used gear? I could not find much on ebay that was not old. Would I have trouble selling a Stage One Plus kit if it does not work out?
   

Thank you,

Regarding DP, I don't see any risks in buying a used slider. Their gear is rugged and if you have issues, their support is great and most things you can probably fix yourself in the field. Also, their systems are very open, so if you would, for example, switch to a different controller, pan & tilt or whatever, it should be no problem with a DP system. Other systems are not quite that open, so you want to make sure the system you buy is upgradeable and as open as possible. DP or eMotimo are great open systems. Rhino or Syrp or Kessler make decent products, but their systems are more or less closed ecosystems.

Regading used gear prices: you can expect to get a used system at about 70-80% of the list price for a new system. There is a market, because, as mentioned above, there is hardly anything that can break, so buying used is definitely an option.
However, as a seller, you need to find a buyer that will pay what you are asking for. Depending on the price you might ask, this may take a while.

My personal opinion is that the creativity boost of a moco system is pretty big compared to, for example a new camera body, which will probably cost about the same (and will never have a good resale value when used for timelapse)... if you are unsure about buying a moco system, maybe you can rent one in your area and find out if it suits your needs.

This post was last modified: 2017-12-02, 11:56 by storm303.

I really appreciate the post, it was very helpful in confirming some things and mitigating risk. After much thought I've decided to take the plunge and have ordered the DP Stage One Plus with Sapphire Pro. Looking forward to trying it out!