Drylin slider for 5D Mark III.

M

MrP

Member
Hi there,
I'm stumped about what to get... I know I want a Drylin slider but I don't know if I should get parts from Igus direct (I have no problem tapping holes and sizing stock) or if I buy a kit from Amazon. There are kits on Amazon (from Igus) for as low as $100... but there's the W1040-A, W1040-B, W1080, etc. etc. I don't know which one I need :( On DVXUser I found suggestions for buying parts direct from Igus: 16-60-10 and 16-60.

I currently have a Canon 550D (t2i) which is very light. But very soon I will be upgrading to a 5D Mark III. I know the 5D is a much heavier camera. At times it may have a zoom lens which also bumps the weight up. And finally, almost always there will be a Juiced Link mixer mounted to the camera. So, I guess I'm not sure what I will need as far as height bearing. I understand with friction the lighter the better.

Ideally I would like to have a 2 foot portable track that mounts on a single tripod and MAYBE also a 4 or 5 foot track that mounts on c-stands, light stands, table, etc. This is why I was leaning toward buying direct (get a long piece to cut down). Again, I can drill or modify easily. But the parts list I found on this forum seems to be more expensive than some of the Drylin kits on Amazon. But the problem is that I don't know the differences between them. I assume the kits are either lesser quality (dimension-wise) but I don't know for sure. I've done DIY things before only to find that the manufacturer offers a pre-made "kit" at the same or lesser price...

So, can anyone give me some advice for a portable (and maybe additional longer) Drylin slider (either kit or parts list) that will work easily on a heavier DSLR camera setup?

Thank you for any suggestions!
-Stephen
 
I don't know if you've used many of the friction sliders, but they can be a mixed bag. They are cheap, but they don't always slide that well, especially if they get bumped around a bit. I picked up one of these when it was a little cheaper: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1010735-REG/cinevate_inc_ciduzi02_duzi_camera_slider.html and it's been working just fine for my c100.
At $399 it might be more than what you want to spend, but you should take a look at the bearing sliders before spending money a friction slider. Others can chime in with their picks and reviews but I think the companies like Varavon, Konova, ZaZa all make cheaper bearing sliders. I went with the Cinevate Duzi for a few reasons, but mainly because it's hassle free and fairly light to lug around.
 
Thank you Andrius. I have never used a friction slider but only a homemade ball-bearing slider on stainless steel rods. The bearing slider works great but is heavy and not very portable (or at least not easy to set up quickly). I've read the mixed reviews but I've actually been very happy with my own DIY slider (which is not as smooth as I hoped-- it has some play, but is actually perfectly fine for my minimal use). And unfortunately $399 is above my budget for what I want to spend.
Thank you though,
Stephen
 
ZazaCast said:
You want the 16-60mm rail and carriage. I've been building these for years now. It will easily take a load of 50lbs.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?145701-DIY-IndieSlider
Click to expand...

Thanks Zaza! I ran across the above post in my research, but I wasn't sure if the kits offered on Amazon came as a solution to what you were already describing. So, buying direct from Igus (as your post indicates) is the better quality/cost way to go?

Thanks!
-Stephen
 
I have one of those Igus sliders. It's OK for a DSLR with nothing attached. Stick a decent head or a railed-up camera on it, and it's too top heavy, wobbles, blows plenty of takes. I mount mine on two really sturdy manfrotto stills tripods. it's not the support, it's that the drylin base can flex. Too much load in too small a footprint.

It seems it would work better with the longer plate that Igus sells - but they don't answer emails for this kind of stuff, no idea where to get one.
 
Michael Carter said:
I have one of those Igus sliders. It's OK for a DSLR with nothing attached. Stick a decent head or a railed-up camera on it, and it's too top heavy, wobbles, blows plenty of takes. I mount mine on two really sturdy manfrotto stills tripods. it's not the support, it's that the drylin base can flex. Too much load in too small a footprint.

It seems it would work better with the longer plate that Igus sells - but they don't answer emails for this kind of stuff, no idea where to get one.
Click to expand...
Yes... stay away from the little 10-40mm rail, it's just too small and will not offer the support you need. With ANY slider, you always want to make sure you have the load of your rig centered on the carriage for nice smooth slides.
 
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