Glidecam HD-4000 on Smooth Shooter: I did it!

moldcad

moldcad

Veteran
Sooo - it's been said many times that gear lust is a decease. I must admit I did it again - and encouraged by Derran's experience with his FS100 on various stabilizers, I purchased the Glidecam's HD-4000 plus the Smooth Shooter vest& arm system.


I'd like to express my gratitude to Glidecam's CEO Thomas Howie for his great help in my decision making process, and even helping me to come to terms with one of the largest Glidecam's EU distributors (A.F. Marcotec - very nice guys, too).


Today I set up the stabilizer for the first time, and must admit it was a breeze thanks to the 3-part video by Ric Kasnoff here: https://vimeo.com/groups/cameras/videos/24063052. You can watch Tom setting up, balancing and fine-tuning the HD-2000 system with a HDSLR - invaluable lessons for a total newbie like myself!


Some of you may know that - due to my post-surgery neck spine condition - I'm just not fit to shoot hand-held for a long time, so I didn't even try my FS100 on the stabilizer on its own (other than setup testing); I put the vest on and discovered that - even though I was afraid this kind of thing is above me, with my health problems - I've found it'a actually much nicer to my weakened body that the various shoulder-mount rigs I've been building for years, to use with the EX1 and lately also with my FS100...


Of course - as Derran says - I will definitely have to exercise parts of my muscles that I didn't even know existed, but fortunately enough for me, a vest&arm system like this isn't particularly demanding on those parts of my body which I have really weakened after the surgeries (neck spine and the right arm).


So far so good, but of course it'll take me some time before I'm able to shoot anything worth posting for you guys to assess! Anyway, a whole new world of opportunities has just opened before me, so I feel pretty excited :)
 
That's great news Piotr!
Congrats with your new Glidecam and Smooth Shooter! Tom is a great guy and the video you're showing was also very helpful to me in getting the Glidecam balanced.

I'm really happy to hear that the arm & vest is being so helpful. Perhaps now, you could also fly your FS100 with a different (Tokina?) ultra wide lens so you can use a ND filter. Did you get a docking bracket? With a docking bracket you can balance your Glidecam more easily without having to hold the weight up yourself.

Have a great flying practicing time and I can't wait to see some footage in the near future. ;)
 
Thanks Derran!

Yes, I'm glad I went for the HD-4000 rather than 2000 you showed in your FS100 flying demo - this will give me much more flexibility in FS100 configuration, and perhaps even allow to fly my EX1 should need be :)

Yes, I do have the docking bracket, but unfortunately haven't got anything to fix it to :( Will need to buy a simple stand - as you said, the many lifts required while balancing make my right arm extremely tired and shaky. I was right in thinking no stabilizer alone (without the vest) would work with my weakened body :(
 
I have a Glidecam HD2000 which I used for my Canon DSLRs.

Although a 4000 would be better for the FS700, for those who already own an HD 2000, the FS700 balances perfectly fine on it. I am about 1 lb over weight limit, but I feel like it could easily go another half pound of so.

One thing I LOVE about the FS700 and the Glidecam is that you flip the rig up-side down, attach a quick release plate to the top handle and balance it that way for low angle shots. Works really well when using the Glidecams with a Manfrotto quick release plate. You just have to turn the LCD facing upwards and you can see it really well.

Also, Tom at Glidecam is such a nice guy and so helpful with tech support. Some of the best tech support I've ever had.
 
Although I am becoming better at exercises like following a fixed target etc., something that still is far from perfect is the camera rolls when I change direction, especially right after stopping.


Please tell me - is there any special techniques to do that? Is a properly balanced sled, with drop time of some 2.5 seconds, supposed to fly ideally vertical when I stop walking straight and start to one side? Or, is the roll or tilt - caused by inertia - inevitable, and all I can do is learn how to mitigate that with my guiding hand?

 
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Hi Piotr,
Great to hear you're getting better at the exercises! The footage looks good. But I noticed something which I didn't see in your first video and I think it has to do with the arm. When you're walking I think I can see a little bit of an up and down movement of the Glidecam. Do you use two springs in the arm now? Your first video did not show this movement and I believe you then used only one spring at its highest tension?

I think you'll always have a bit of roll and tilt. So you need to try and compensate this movement when you start or stop walking. Your drop time sounds OK. You have a very nice way of flying the camera, so I think you'll get better in this with time. But it looks like the arm is a bit jumpy and you're fighting against it? I could be wrong, but I didn't see this in your first video. That's why I'm asking. :)
 
Hi Derrran,

You are right - the previous test was done with one spring at its maximum tension. I can also see this one is more jumpy (2 springs - I've added nanoFlash and mic receiver, so the sled is too heavy for a single spring) , and I'll probably need to learn walking like a cat:)
 
Congrats on the gear! I had the HD2000 with the vest back in my Z1u days, its a great setup. I watched a lot of videos and lots of sports as steadicams are all over live sports to get some pointers and there were (not sure if they're still around) great videos on the Merlin that showed a lot of technique. I don't think I was ever that great with it, but it was a lot of fun to run around.
 
moldcad said:
...and I'll probably need to learn walking like a cat:)
Click to expand...

I'm still practicing walking like that every day! ;)

I can imagine having the arm being jumpy can make it a bit more difficult to operate. Something you could try is lowering the tension on the springs a bit and then raising the Glidecam to the desired height yourself. Hopefully this will even out some of the up and down movement of the arm. Or will this become to heavy for you after a while?
 
The arm jumpiness is not a show stopper - will probably revert to the single spring config. As to the pendulum efect, here is what somebody experienced wrote on another forum:

My question: Or, is the roll or tilt - caused by inertia - inevitable, and all I can do is learn how to mitigate that with my guiding hand?

Answer:
That is correct. It's a function of a slightly bottom-heavy rig, creating a pendulum effect. One might suggest: why not make it perfectly balanced at the gimbal to avoid this, i.e. an infinite drop time, and it's worth trying to see what the problem is--without the rig having the tendency to return to level, it requires constant operator control to "make" it level, and with a lightweight rig, that just about ensures it will rarely be level!

The technique that I used to describe is that when starting a lateral move, you apply a tiny amount of force on the opposite side of the post to keep it from kicking out. We are talking a light and momentary amount. Conversely, when stopping, you do the same on the other side. Even accelerating within a shot can invite a bit of unwanted motion within the frame. It takes a good amount of practice to learn just how to control the rig through any kind of forces that are applied to it. It's part of the nuance of operating a stabilizer; it can't be shortcut, it just takes time and attention and practice.
 
From watching skilled steadicam op's run around on the sidelines of NFL games in the U.S., I noticed they always have their thumb and another finger pinching the post while moving around and I found that really helped to keep the camera from panning on its own and reducing that pendulum effect when changing directions - always using light pressure of course.
 
I would be a little careful about a super long drop time

You need to compensate using finger pressue, as you take off the lens will want to point down and tend to swing up when you stop

With a big sled the little finger is placed to help control this lot

S
 
Upgrading to the X-10 double-arm has certainly improved dumping the camera movement while walking; it also doubled the pool up-down distance (obviously). But I do have another issue that I didn’t encounter before (BTW, I’m sure it has nothing to do with adding the X-10 arm):


- With a specific mass/length combination, the sled has now an annoying tendency to pendulum forth and aft. Previously – during rapid forward/backward movements – it stayed vertical; now it tends to sway.


Well, I’m an engineer so I realize all the physical laws at play – but just basing on your own practical experience with sleds of various configurations, please tell me how would you try to avoid it? By elongating and reducing the bottom mass, or the other way around?


I’m a little lost again since I’m now experimenting with a monitor mounting, and – due to the additional X-10 arm blocking my view – I’m trying to put the monitor on the left side rather than in the front of the post. Obviously, the sled “foot” is now at 90 degrees to the camera axis. I have found the (almost perfect) horizontal balance, and the drop time is close to 2 seconds – yet the increased tendency to forth-aft sway is bugging me…
 
If the rig pendulums then the 'drop time' is too short - the rig is bottom heavy - so reduce leght or mass at the bottom

S
 
Generally speaking you're right. However - as I said - I do have around 2 seconds drop time, as before - and yet, with the specific configuration I described (the base spreads at 90 deg relative to the camera) - the tendency to sway forward/backward is bigger now.

I'm trying to figure out the physical laws behind it :)
 
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