Review: IMORDEN 6.5ft Mini Carbon Fiber Jib Arm

The jib shot adds great production value to your film/video, and typically they are large and expensive. Lately though these smaller and less expensive jibs have entered the market. I own a similar one of these and was offered this new one in exchange for my honest review. Here are my thoughts on it thus far:

-Pleasantly lightweight due to Carbon fiber
-Packs down very small, could fit into a large backpack or suitcase (around 32" long)
-Overall built quality is good, but had some nicks/scratches out of the box
-Section locks are thick and good feeling, but the rubber over them is small and loose
-Weight bar has a nice screw system for making fine adjustments, but end handle is a little annoying to attach/detach
-Quick release plate is decent, the lock screw does not have a stopper and can come out if unscrewed too much
-Thickness and rigidity of the poles feels very nice for this weight class, not much bending under load
-Extensions have no alignment, you need to ensure the brackets are strait when tightening the section locks or it will be crooked
-Bowl attachment is great, but keep in mind the total weight capacity includes whatever fluid head you put on there.
-The top of the main pillar should have some nylon washer in it to prevent grinding, needs to be kept fairly loose to be fluid.
-The carrying case is nice, but should be an inch longer (tight fit, and not in a good way)
-No bubble level on the camera bracket, really should be one.
-Not much competition in this price range for carbon fiber

Size/Weight
The carbon fiber is the main feature, its rigid, lightweight, and handles weight well. Size wise you can't ask for better, it packs down small enough to barely be a consideration to throw into the trunk.

Build quality
Looks very nice overall, though the weights were not in their section holders in the case and i suspect they are the reason for the nicks and scratches on part of the item. The quick release plate is a good addition, but wish they would have made it larger and more thought out. It's a drop in arca swiss style, but the lock knob doesn't have a stopper, so if you turn it just a few too many times it will come out along with the two springs. The weight bar is rather nice, i like the two nuts with oversized threading, it allows you to finely adjust the position of the weights. The rear handle is less desirable, its a typical screw and i would much prefer a clamp or pin style way of attaching it.

Flex and load capacity
When loaded up, the poles do flex some, but not a concerning amount. The advertised load capacity is 4kg, but the included weights won't support nearly that much. It's up to your judgement how much camera to put on it, but i will likely keep it for smaller cameras such as DSLRs, anything larger and i want a big beefy jib.

Quirks
One of the main issues with pole style jibs is that many do not have an alignment means of keeping them strait. An I beam or channel bar inherently does not twist around itself, but poles of course do. Higher end pole models add in various means to keep the poles aligned strait, but this model does not. It's not a huge deal, but when extending/retracting the seconds, you just need to ensure the camera bracket end is still pointed strait up and down and not tilted. They really should have included a bubble level for this.

The top bracket for the main pole on the tripod end has a beefy metal bracket encasing the pole, and that's nice. However, if you tighten the knobs on that section, it presses that bracket's metal up against the pillar's metal, causing a grinding sound/feel. It seems like there should have been some simple nylon washers between there. In any case, you just need to keep those knobs a bit looser and the grinding goes away.

All in all i like it, but hope the manufacturer takes my list into consideration and updates it. It's a nice base, and wouldn't take much of an overhaul to get it to be great.

By 

Darren Levine

TOP 100 REVIEWER

View it on amazon: http://amzn.to/1Qd6mXo