Indieslider?

cckid

cckid

Well-known member
Hi,

We've seen some beautiful footage from disjecta when using the indieslider pro...Now I wonder a couple of technical issues....

1. How do you cope with counterbalance when the camera hvx200 with letus extreme hits to one side of the slider....

2. What does this mean in terms of weight that the tripod has to carry...Iwas thinking of buying myself a sachtler dv6sbs....but I wan;t to make sure it is solid enough...

3. What are the requirements of the ball head....what's the diameter of the perfect match....

If anyone has any experience...please drop a thought or two....
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hi,

i have a letus extreme, matte box, follow focus, and zacuto rods support and have zero trouble counter balancing this rig on a cartoni laser head. none at all. the quick release plate fits right in between the two sets of rods zacuto provides and makes it completely balancable. no problems at all. none. zero.

i also happen to have the 3' indislider and here is what i think. yes it is possible to get some good shots with it however i spend way too much time tweaking the darn thing to justify a higher price than it currently sells for. there are a number of little allen screws that connect the "baseplate" to the linear bearings. these four allen screws have to be set to "exactly" the right tension or else they clamp down too hard on the linear bearings and the slider is jerky. when you loosen them just to the point where the bearings become smooth, the screws are very close to being loose and then you have to fuddle around with it to find the right balance.. Every Time You Use It.

also, the 3/8" screw underneath the "baseplate" that locks in your tripod head has a tendency to become "loose" as well. when this happens, you have to remove the four allen screws to get access to the 3/8" so you can tighten it up again. then put all four allen screws back in place. this process takes -- easily -- five minutes every time it happens.

oh, and forget about putting the 3' slider on any kind of tripod. the slider flexes under the weight of the camera at more than 6-8" from the center of the tripod, making shots beyond that completely unstable. mind you i am using a fully outfitted camera with DOF adapter, matte box, follow focus, etc. etc. but still. i must use the indislider on apple boxes, backstage shelf, or other perfectly flat surface to make use of all 3' of sliding reach...

hope this helps.
 
Instead of unscrewing all 4 corner screws on the sliding plate, you can simply unscrew the end piece and slide the sliding plate off. This process is faster, and keeps you from adjusting the 4 corner screws desired tension.

However, I agree with you on the fiddling around. It isnt as easy to use as you'd think. My full 35mm rig sometimes tilts the slider when all the way one one side. Considering my 100mm half ball was locked tightly, I dont see how this can be remedied. I guess its arguable that is a weakness in the tripod and not the slider. The slider is rated to take a ton but that doesnt mean your tripod can!

For best results: set the tripod legs wide, add sand bags on each leg, and lighten the load as much as possible if you are planning to use it on a tripod. BTW I have a Bogen 515MVB so by no means is it heavy duty, but the weakness is in the half ball not the legs. The legs seem fine with sandbags.

FWIW, I have gotten the full range of slide on my 36" on a tripod before, but that was during a test on perfectly flat ground. In the field I just couldnt get the full range of slide from it sucessfully.... in the limited exposure I've had to the product. I'll be giving it a another go soon enough. I've seen others use it sucessfully so maybe they can chime in with tips. Or maybe they just recognize its limitation and work within those bounds.
 
Just a heads up on some changes OSB,

I had a chance to speak with Tim. He will be replacing my slider aluminum base, due to a slight manufacturer error with the threading. Not only is improving the threading on the unit to steel inset into the aluminum base, he is also going to implement flattened screw heads into the baseplate.

I had the problem of not being able to turn my tripod head more than 45 degrees left or right due to my fluid head's screw bumping into the slider screw. Problem now solved.

Also, regarding the slipping of the slider on my half ball, Tim figures my half ball's locking grip may be stripped or split, and will be working a replacement out with me. Hopefully that solves it and I can rule out the slider/camera weight being too much for it to handle.

Tim definitely is reading up on user feedback on the boards even if you dont see a reply from him. By the time I had a chance to call him, he hit me with a solution before I even hit him with the problem. I appreciate the customer service and QA. He apologized that it had to happen to me but we both agree that it a good thing it was caught. It doesn't seem to be a problem for most slider owners, but for the ones that it will be these changes are beneficial. I look forward to giving the product another run.

Great guy and company... cant stress it enuff. :)

EDIT: To Tim, include an instruction manual or put up a tutorial video on your site! Would help slider owners and potential buyers!
 
Last edited:
orangesaybananas said:
oh, and forget about putting the 3' slider on any kind of tripod. the slider flexes under the weight of the camera at more than 6-8" from the center of the tripod, making shots beyond that completely unstable. mind you i am using a fully outfitted camera with DOF adapter, matte box, follow focus, etc. etc. but still. i must use the indislider on apple boxes, backstage shelf, or other perfectly flat surface to make use of all 3' of sliding reach...
Click to expand...
Switching to more $$ legs helped a ton. The two stage ENG legs by Cartoni (L502) are actually VERY stable with the IndiSlider.. :D My previous tripod single stage "Focus A101" legs were crap, though.
 
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