Guys, I need slider and glider and vest and arm recommendations. Burned out.

F

fuzzybabybunny

Active member
I just spent the entire day reading about all the gliders and sliders and vests and arms. At this point I'm about to give up and I just want someone to give me a shopping list.

We do walkthroughs and slider shots of architecture. We want to be as light and fast as possible. Since time is money, we want to be able to do as many shoots in as little time as possible while maximizing quality.

We shoot with the lightweight Panasonic GH3.

Glider Shots:

I need it to be at least as solid as this - there is NO side to side boat sway and he's able to do 90 degree turns and sudden stops with zero sway:

3245 Bryant Tour

http://paulkellermedia.com/video.html

We have the HD4000 and I'm going to be added weight plates to it to give the GH3 more inertia and mass. Glidecam confirmed that the GH3 with added weights on an HD4000 will be more stable and less susceptible to getting knocked out of balance than the GH3 by itself on an HD1000.

1. What vest and arm combo should I get? I was looking at the $750 Varizoom but the reviews aren't great. So considering the $1500 Glidecam Smooth Shooter (single arm)? An EEmov (http://steadyshop.com/double-p-90.html) for $1500 that's double arm?

2. Are there any cheaper alternatives to weight plates other than the official Glidecam weight plate (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/656408-REG/Glidecam_GLCWP_Camera_Weight_Plate.html)? We'll probably need at least an extra 5lb of plates.

Again, we MUST have shots that are as smooth and steady as the example above.

Slider Shots:

We have the Kessler system with motor. We have to have a slider with a motor system.

1. Are there any cheaper alternatives? We also bought the Konova and haven't used it, but are dismayed at the problems you guys have here with it. We do panning + slider combo shots.
 
Well... from my few experiences with Steadicam and having studied a few of the older Steadicam instructionals, you should really buy training time instead of a rig. The steadiness and smoothness of those shots come from the operator not the rig. The rig is merely a tool that needs to be mastered.

And it's not something you'll learn over the course of a couple of days. Getting really good and have total control takes months and years of operating.

You mention light weight...... funny as it seems, weight is your friend when flying a stabilizer. The heavier rigs will be less prone to tilting when doing sudden stops, and like wise, you could probably experience quite a challenge in doing sudden stops with something as light as a GH3 when untrained in the art.

Having said that, there's a couple of threads of the Laing stabilizer. It looks promising, and I honestly think we have to reconsider the power of the Chinese in regards to manufacturing.
 
legrevedotcom said:
Well... from my few experiences with Steadicam and having studied a few of the older Steadicam instructionals, you should really buy training time instead of a rig. The steadiness and smoothness of those shots come from the operator not the rig. The rig is merely a tool that needs to be mastered.

And it's not something you'll learn over the course of a couple of days. Getting really good and have total control takes months and years of operating.

You mention light weight...... funny as it seems, weight is your friend when flying a stabilizer. The heavier rigs will be less prone to tilting when doing sudden stops, and like wise, you could probably experience quite a challenge in doing sudden stops with something as light as a GH3 when untrained in the art.

Having said that, there's a couple of threads of the Laing stabilizer. It looks promising, and I honestly think we have to reconsider the power of the Chinese in regards to manufacturing.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I know that adding more weight is going to make it better. Not counter-intuitive at all. Things with more mass are harder to knock off balance. That's why we went with the heavy HD4000 for the sub-1lb GH3 and plan on adding lots of weight plates to it.

Should I just go head and buy this and sell off the HD4000?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009YTPMX8/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

Then find a training course?
 
Be really diligent when setting up your rig. Take the time to study what each adjustment does and how to system works as a whole. A well-balanced rig will make things much easier. After that, practice, practice, practice! You should certainly be able to get nice results with all the systems you mentioned. Hollywood quality? Maybe not, but certainly similar if not better than what you posted as an example. I've used the HD4000 / Smooth Shooter combo and thought it worked well. I liked the way the HD4000 adjusted compared to the Steadicam Merlin system. Not as well crafted, but much quicker to balance. The travel of the single arm was a little short for my liking, but it depends on what kind of booming you're looking to do. I hear the Laing is very nice for the price and should give adequate results with a properly weighted camera rig. Good luck!
 
Buy the Steadicam Operator's Handbook. Read it carefully and do the exercises. As noted above, practice makes perfect. However these days a little bit of operator error can generally be cleaned up and turned into perfection via post stabilization. Sure wish that was as inexpensive and available when I was honing the craft the old-fashioned way, but whaddya gonna do.

FYI to completely eliminate roll generally takes years in the rig...
 
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