Glidecam Vs. Magic Arm

L

Loren Simons

DVXuser Sponsor
Has anyone had any experience with either:

The Cinecity "Magic Arm" http://www.thecinecity.com/product.php?productid=16247&cat=243&page=1

or the Glidecam:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/366773-REG/Glidecam_GLSSH_Smooth_Shooter_Support_System.html

I would buy the glidecam with the 4000 model, most likely used from this forum, or the new cinecity one. I was just curious if anyone had any experience with either model?

I will be using this for my 14 poundish (probably going to be more after even more extras) A1 and 35mm adapter system.
 
The GC4000 handles 10lb max. The Indiacam has no monitor. Neither is quality equipment which will give a decent image. If your serious about it, your far better off looking around for a second hand Steadicam Flyer. I've seen them for about $5000 with batteries. They hold their value far better than any other brand too. They handle 15lb. You need a Flyer-LE for up to 19lb.
 
Thanks for the advice, but i will be buying one of these, i cant save up to another 3500 when i'm still in highschool, and not employed. hahaha. Ive seen great videos from both of these, but i was just curious if there was anyone who has used these had any advice?
 
Fair enough if your budget is tight. You really need a 7 or 8 inch monitor though. Trying to frame on a 2.8 inch lcd from two feet away, sideways can be difficult. You can get some cheap LCD media players with composite input, run a cable down the inside of the post so it doesn't foul the gimbal and place the lcd on an arm facing forward at the bottom. Have a look around steadicam.com to see some pro rigs. Then you can frame well and see your feet to avoid tripping.
 
devnull said:
The GC4000 handles 10lb max. The Indiacam has no monitor. Neither is quality equipment which will give a decent image. If your serious about it, your far better off looking around for a second hand Steadicam Flyer. I've seen them for about $5000 with batteries. They hold their value far better than any other brand too. They handle 15lb. You need a Flyer-LE for up to 19lb.
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The glidecam does not handle 10 lbs max, i am flying 14 lbs and it's fine.
 
The view angle and brightness are about 2/3's of higher end models, but if it fits your budget it looks pretty good. Your not often looking directly square at your monitor, and you are often under glaring lights or sunshine. A nice big hood helps. That monitor is actually much larger than most Steadicam monitors too. That can be a hassle sometimes, catching your knees and other low objects. Just some things to think about preparing your gear.
 
yes and ill actually be buying the 8.9 inch model when they release it. Would that be a better size for on rig use? I never really put that into factor thank you for warning me.
 
Most of the lighter weight rigs use 7" lcds. 8.9" should be usable, just bear in mind that lcd also lowers the maximum weight camera setup you can carry too. You also need larger batteries to power them as well, and so on. It's a balancing act, literally :)
 
alright i will put that all into factor, but i am still looking for other feedback on the actual jibs! but thank you devnull for making me aware of these certain factors.
 
How much is the Flycam 6000 system cost? It showed in one of those youtube videos and the footage looks nice.
 
Postmaster said:
Mine (6000 with Indicator Arm, Vest, Stand and all) came for 720 Euros.

Frank
Click to expand...

So the whole thing of the Flycame 6000 cost a little over thousand US dollars, correct? Can this Flycame 6000 system hand about 14-17 pounds?
 
My full rigged HVX with baseplate, rodsystem, mattebox, LEX and huge medium format Zeiss lens is about 18 and it flys fine. Could probably handle up to 25 lbs.

Frank
 
My major problem was the vest.
I´m way to big and fat for it. :( so I had to modify it.
It is designed for small lean indians.

The other constant problem with gear from Cinecity is the quality of threads and bolts.

I strongly recomend to check all important bolts, retight everything and replace bolts and nuts that can harm the life of your camera.

When I was flying the HVX the first time one of the two bolts of the socket snaped - I was fast enough to catch the camera, but it realy scared me.

So I was spending about 15 bucks on new bolts and about an extra 100 to modify the vest for my needs - including Velcro and steel buckles (I daubt that even Tiffen would have a vest in my size).

So basicly you may have to revamp the setup a bit, but I´m quite happy with it.

I´m still learning to get usuable pictures with it, and slowly it´s getting better, but still far from what I want.

I heard poeple having trouble to get it balanced because of missaligned gimbal - but I heard that of other manufactors to, even Tiffen. I had good luck with mine, after you understand what you do it balances fine, dynamic and static.

Frank
 
nice! than i think i will go with that. Yeah im a puny 115 pound 15 year old, i dont think ill have problem with the vest fitting, ill have problems with holding the damn thing up! hahaha
 
15 huh? I´m impressed.

When I was 15 I had no idea what a steadycam is, not to mention having one or spending the montly income of my dad (back than) on film gear.

I probably would had to make it out of a swing arm desk lamp or something. :)

But I was into visual FX when I was 12.

We had a big meadow arround the corner, where the city was piling up snow from the streets in winter.

I had a X-wing fighter tied to a puppet cross on a broomstick and my mum swinging it over the "ice planet". A friend was throwing firecrackers into the scene.
I was shooting with dad´s 8mm camera and intercutting it with some starting scenes of Battlestar Galactica that I filmed from the TV set.

Oh, happy days :)

Frank
 
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