Anyone use the low mode kit for the Glidecam?

[Buck Forester]

I'm about to buy a Glidecam 4000 and I'm not sure about this low mode kit. I can't seem to find any reviews on it (found one review only on B&H). I'd like it for low sweeping/floating images of wildflowers and hiking/boots shots, but I don't like to buy blind. I was wondering if anyone around here has tried it? If I have to spend lots of time to re-balance the stabilizer in the field each time I go between regular and low-mode I think I may stick with handheld shots when I need to go low. There's not much about it on Glidecam's website either, if at all... you'd think they would show sample footage and visually show it in use to gain confidence of potential buyers.

 

[Tom Wills]

You could always do "Poor Man's Low-Mode", which is just flipping the sled over, shortening the post (so that the rig is now "top" heavy), and leaving the camera as-is. You get your camera only a little bit less low than the kit would give you, and it requires very little, if any rebalancing. Then, all you have to do is just rotate the footage 180 degrees in post.

But, if you were to use the handle clamp, it adds a bit of time to that swtichover. You'd have to take your camera off the Glidecam, put the Glidecam plate on the handle clamp (or, if you use a quick release plate, put it on the clamp), shorten the post (probably not quite as much as with the other solution), and rebalance entirely (since where the handle clamp goes and where the tripod screws on the bottom are are different locations).

The handle clamp adds a lot of work, but if you're not willing to deal with shooting upside down, it's a pretty decent solution.

 

[Buck Forester]

Tom, gracias, I never thought of simply flipping it over... then my only adjustment would be the handle, which would save a lot of time. Spending time in the wilds readjusting my stabilizer each time I want to shoot low is not how I want to spend my time. I'd rather spend that time in post simply flipping the footage in FCP. Gracias, man!

 

[rhett]

I could easily live with just flipping the whole thing in post, but it was my understanding that you can't do this without the extension tube. Isn't there not enough room for the handle to pivot on the setup as is at the top?

vs.

I've yet to receive my rig yet, but that's been my understanding from past threads. I'd love to be proven wrong though, since being versatile like just flipping the entire rig between shots would save a lot of time.