What is Kino Wheels?

Kino Wheels
Open Source Hand Wheels

Kino Wheels is a device modeled after hand wheels used for camera operating in film production. These wheels control the pan and tilt of the camera in a very precise way, but require a bit of practice to be operated smoothly. Rather than renting expensive equipment to learn this you can build your own set of Kino Wheels and practice at home with our free 3D simulator.

This is not a commercial product, so you cannot buy an assembled kit but you’ll find a step by step tutorial on this website explaining how to build it yourself with readily available parts. This hardware project is completely open source so we encourage you to modify and improve the design in any way you like.

About this project

Created out of the desire to learn operating geared heads, Kino Wheels started as a passion project by the creators of Cadrage Director’s Viewfinder. After receiving positive feedback from colleagues we decided to share it with the filmmaking community as an open source project. We hope it will be a useful learning tool or a starting point for your own hardware projects.