Dose a glidecam kill your arms after hours of use

S

Sam Bignell

New member
Hello There.

Kinda an odd question to ask but i have a Homemade DIY glidecam, it actually works just as well with a full barely handle waits ect ect.
But after 7mins of usage my arms starts to die and starts to hurt due to the weight, however a still film for 3+ hours on end with the DIY glidecam.

I'm curious if any one has noticed this on the legit Glidecam 1000 or 2000 with about 43.5 oz (1,234 g) Including batteries & Kit lens, Kit lens i mean i'm not strong by any means (That is probably the problem)​
However i've never heard anyone ever mention about it gets heavy and you do need a brake from it cause it gets heavy on one arm, never heard a reviewer say that or anyone say that.

Have you guys had this problem? Have you guys heard people mention it? Or is it just me and my weakness, Or it may just be the DIY glidecam

Any advice or help would be awesome! Cheers
P.S
Samuel
 
Pretty much par for the course. Expect fatigue after about 5 minutes. This is why all the pro Steadicam ops you see use a vest with articulated support arm. Even with a Glidecam, a vest is a must for extended run times.
 
Alex H. said:
Pretty much par for the course. Expect fatigue after about 5 minutes. This is why all the pro Steadicam ops you see use a vest with articulated support arm. Even with a Glidecam, a vest is a must for extended run times.
Click to expand...

He's pretty much right on point. I use Glidecam for weddings and I get tire after 5 minutes of continuous use. Even if you take 1 minute break in between each shot, your arm will fall dead after an hour.
 
I once did gliding shots around cars at a hot rod show for 3 hours, taking short breaks between cars. Thought I was doing fine, but had shoulder pain for the next 6 months. Be careful!
 
Forearm and shoulder exhaustion is common. One of the things I found that helped immensely though was cutting the weight off of my Glidecam (the 2000HD I believe) - so instead of using shorter arm with more weights to balance, I extended the rod further and can fly my T2i with extended battery pack and my lens with only one weight per side (so I have something like 8 weights just gathering dust now). Yes, I still get fatigued arms from doing it but less weight in this instances is almost always a good thing.

Adam
 
Even with an arm and vest your back will start to ache if you don't master the form of using a steadicam. There's so much more to it than just putting it on and holding the post.... I had the Steadicam Pilot, thought it was a challenge. Can't even imagine doing it without the arm and vest!
 
Not sure what represents "way less strain on the arms" except lower weight. It has been argued that the systems that have the handle below the gimbal (Steadicam Merlin and subsequent knockoffs including that DIY one) cause less strain than those that offset the gimbal (Glidecam handheld models and THEIR knockoffs) but mostly it comes down to the total weight of the payload. The Merlin theoretically should be the lightest design but many find it harder to operate for this very reason. Certainly the heavier the unit, the more stable it will be--but your operating time will be reduced. The best scenario fatigue-wise will always be a vest and arm situation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top