• Features
  • News

Yelangu AutoDolly – The pocket sized motorised camera dolly

Reviews posted on 1st Feb 2017 12:54pm by Richard Sibley 1 Comment

  • filmmaking
  • video
  • videography
  • |
  • AutoDolly
  • Yelangu
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Twitter

Simple camera movements can make a big difference to the look of your video project. But getting the same precise movement time after time can be difficult. Then along comes the Yelangu AutoDolly – a tabletop motorised dolly/skate that can help you add impact to your videos, with minimal effort.

Yelangu AutoDolly: What is it?

The Yelangu AutoDolly is a simple device. A small motor powers a single wheel, whilst two other articulated wheesl allows the AutoDolly to move in a curved or straight line. In the middle sits a base with a 3/8 inch and 1/4 inch screw sockets allowing a camera to be mounted. A thread adapter is included for directly mounting a camera. However, it more than likely that you will want to mount a small ball head first and mount your camera to that.

Yelangu AutoDolly with thread adapter

The AutoDolly comes with a 3/8 inch and 1/4 inch thread adapter for mounting a camera or a tripod head

Once everything is set up, there is a single on/off button that powers the device, To operate, simply press the button and watch your camera roll away.

Yelangu AutoDolly: Build and Performance

Made in China, and available through Amazon or eBay, the Yelangu AutoDolly is also available with Andoer branding. So quite who exactly is manufacturing the device is a little unknown. However, a factory somewhere in China has developed this great little device.

The AutoDolly is a well made. It has a sturdy aluminium body, with large hex bolts holding everything in place. The bolts also make it easy to tighten should anything work loose, and a wrench is included to do this.

Yelangu AutoDolly wheels

The motor is housed within the central cylinder, which powers a wheel. The two additional wheels are articulated to allow it to move in a curve

There are a few quirks to the construction of the AutoDolly though. The power button on my one did occasionally pop out of the battery compartment. The button easily popped right back in place, but it is a little annoying. Another quirk is the fact that to reverse the direction of the motor you have to reverse the position of the battery. Anyone who remembers their electronics lessons in school will know that this makes the motor run in the other direction. It is simple to  swap the battery round, but surely they could have developed a switch to do the same thing?

Yelangu AutoDolly: Performance

Using the device is very straightforward. The hardest thing is balancing heavier cameras and lenses, but even this is straightforward. The centre wheel can be moved back and forth, and a micro-positioning plate could also be used for absolute perfection. I found that the AutoDolly could easily hold a small Manfrotto ball head, with a Sony A7R and 24-70mm f/4 lens. In fact Yelangu claim it can move up to 6KGs. Whether you could balance a camera and lens that weighs that much is a different story.

Yelangu AutoDolly with Sony A7

The Yelangu AutoDolly had no problem with a Sony A7R and a 24-70mm f/4 lens

There are couple of improvements that could be made. Having a choice of speeds would be great. A faster speed would be useful for more dramatic movements, whilst a slower speed would mean that you could use the AutoDolly for timelapse footage. Currently it travels at around 1m per minute, so timelapse sequences are really restricted to shooting at 1fps. This means they are only really useful for shots with people moving in them. To create any meaningful length of timelapse footage a reasonably large surface is needed. A set of tracks would be a useful optional extra, and I’m sure we’ll see some ingenious DIY projects creating tracks for the device.

On a similar note, the option of some more rugged tyres would be useful. I’m not talking about all-terrain tyres for going over mud, rock or even grass, but it would be nice to use the AutoDolly on a surface that was quite perfectly smooth, like a tarmac’d path. Again, this could be an easy enough addition without changing the main design.

Yelangu AutoDolly: Verdict

Overall the Yelangu AutoDolly performed well. Priced at between £40-65 depending on where you buy it, it is a reasonably priced piece of kit.

Yelangu AutoDolly folded

When folded down, the Yelangu AutoDolly is small enough to fit in a coat pocket

It can move anything from a smartphone to a enthusiast level DSLR. The smooth movements it creates can help add variety to your videos. But you are restricted to using it on smooth floor or table tops. For vlogging and travel videos this should prove useful enough.

Watch our video review above to see it in use.

BROUGHT TO YOU IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HIRE A CAMERA

  • 
  • 

About Richard Sibley

Photo Gear News Editor. Richard is a photographer, journalist and reviewer. He wrote for Amateur Photographer Magazine for 9 years in a number of roles, most recently as Deputy Editor. He estimates that he has used over 300 cameras in his lifetime, and started, like many, with a Zenit E and a roll of Ilford HP5.

See all posts by Richard

Follow Photo Gear News

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Most popular on Photo Gear News

  • Leica M10 Sample Image Download our Leica M10 Sample Photos We've been lucky enough to spend a bit of time with the...
  • Panasonic Lumix GH5: Eight things you may have missed You've no doubt read the news articles about Panasonic'...
  • Pentax GFX 50s Sample Image Fujifilm GFX 50s – Download our 51.4MP sample images We now have all the details of the new Fujifilm GFX 50s...
  • Leica’s classy new CL – A mirrorless APS-C camera which handles as well a... Announced today, the Leica CL is the premium camera bra...
  • Rare Auguste Bertsch Chambre Automatique camera smashes Antiques Road Trip records wi... Antiques Road Trip expert Paul Laidlaw made quite a fin...
  • Lok and the PGN team head to Wex Photo Video Wex Photo Video has opened the UK’s biggest photography...
  • Is this the world’s least expensive cable cam? While drones are an amazing tool for aerial footage, th...
  • LEE Filters announces Reverse ND filters for sunrise and sunset Photographers make no secret of loving their golden hou...

About Photo Gear News

From the team behind News Shooter, Photo Gear News is a place for professionals, educators, students and industry figures to discuss the latest developments in photographic technology.

Find out more about Photo Gear News.

Site links

Copyright Photo Gear News © 2022