Re: lightweight dolly

Personally, I've never owned a track and dolly system, and likely never will.

In the time it typically takes to assemble, level light and capture a single dolly shot, I can get two to four traditional shots.

Dolly shots are, in my experience, more typically seen in commercials where long set-ups per short shot is the standard.

That said I have ALL my gear - including my key lights, video village, and the primary camera tripod on wheels which makes for efficient moves between locations. Those wheels are OK for some basic limited dolly type moves.

Also effective and super cheap is to use a shopping cart. (selected carefully for a rare lack wobbly wheels!) Particularly a shopping cart with a cushion and a kneeling junior videographer inside. You can get some very nice tracking shots that way and it takes a fraction of the time to set up a shot like that than it does for laying traditional track.

In short, track and dolly systems are a costly luxury that most programs don't really need. For the exceptions- rent the gear and pay someone who works with them regularly - you'll get MUCH better results that way than trying to own and operate something like this yourself.

My 2 cents worth anyway.