How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

disjecta

disjecta

Lucky Duck
I'm sure this is obvious to a lot of you but to others maybe it's not.

Once you go through the excrutiating trials of balancing your camera on a Glidecam 4000/2000 and then you need to transfer it back to your tripod, how do you go back to having it balanced without investing another hour or so?

Simple, order a Bogen quick release plate (3273) and attach it to the top Glidecam plate. Mark the exact position of where the camera connects with the plate with white-out or a paint pen or whatever. When you slide the camera back onto the plate on the Glidecam, match up the marks you made and you have instant balance again.

I just received the plate today and tried it and it worked perfectly. In my opinion, this is the only way to get rid of the constant frustration of having to rebalance and be able to use the Glidecam at all.

I hope this hint helps someone out.
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

This I knew and I still havent purchased another plate. Granted, Im not running around wih the Glidecam every five seconds. Perhaps now is the time to order. :)
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

Excellent tip disjecta... I KNEW there had to be a better way! ;)
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

Thanks to your tip I ordered the plate along with the 4000 yesterday - should save me a lot of messing around.
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

Okay, so here's a tip about attaching the Bogen plate.

Because there is an adjusting knob on the side of it to secure your camera, you may need to adjust how it is threaded. It takes exactly half a turn to tighten it but because the plate is flat in the middle of the top of the Glidecam, you cannot adjust the knob down, only up.

Chances are, the knob is threaded so that it requires you to turn it downwards to tighten it. If this occurs, use a hex wrench to take the knob off and then turn it 180 degrees before sliding it back in. This will allow you to adjust upwards to tighten.

This maybe confusing if you are not looking at the thing so if you experience problems, let me know.

Good luck,

Steven
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

I have had a Glidecam 2000 for about 3 years... used it a total of twice and just fooling around. When I got my DVX, I broke it out again and tried balancing it. For whatever reason, I am just inept. I cannot get a workable balance. The darn this is practically brand new...I should probably just sell it since I am getting zero use out of it... I digress...:(

Andrew
Crystal Clear Media
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

It is possible to balance it and, with practice, you can do it quite quickly. You just need to get a feel for its sensitivity. If the camera is tilting a certain way, make adjustments in the opposite direction on the Glidecam plate. Do it once and get the Bogen release plate and suddenly you will find you have a new toy at your fingertips.

It requires a lot of patience and determination...I'll grant you that   ;)

Man, I feel like a Glidecam sales rep :)
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

I have to agree.. i have the 4000 and it's just sitting there as it has been for a loooong time ;)
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

I think it is possible that some glidecams cannot be balanced properly because the parts are not made to spec. If the gimbal does not have perfect alignment all around, this could be a problem. I set one up and had it perfectly balanced on a stand, but once I picked it up and the handle was in another position, it was unbalanced. I think in theory, when you get the thing balanced in one orientation, it should be balanced all around, since it should be perfectly gimbaled. Anyone else had this problem?
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

Reminds me of my Varizoom Flowpod. I didn't know about the quick release adapters at the time. I never used it because it wan't practical. Even when I did use it, I didn't like the gimbal design. Even when it was perfectly balanced, it still tended to tilt to the left or right.

I bought this on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3818761455&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1 and stuck a quick release adapter and like it much better. I haven't seen any since, but keep an eye out for them. I wouldn't use it without a quick release plate though because it scratched the bottom of my camera.
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

I have a new flowpod and am getting frustrated at this exact fact. I think though that a small slidable wieght, just a cople of grams, mounted on the pod or the camera would facilitate fine tuning as that is generaly the pain in the bs!
 
Re: How to keep a Glidecam 2000/4000 balanced

I'd be curious if those with the full Glidecam systems (e.g., V8, V16) experience the same difficulty balancing. Just imagine a $2300 or $3700 piece of equipment sitting in you basement not being used because you just can't seem to get it balanced.
 
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