Purchased an Arm and Vest stedicam from Opteka, need help!

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bradywurtz

Active member
Ok, so I own the Glidecam 4000 Pro. I've had it for about a year or so now. I believe i've learned a lot from using it for a while now and I've gotten the hang of it finally.

So i wanted to buy a vest and arm set to really get at it. So i purchased the Opteka SV-AX5. http://opteka.com/svax5.aspx

I understand that it's probably going to take me months to master this thing or even get a few good shots. but just getting started seems impossible. the instructions were terrible and it doesn't even get into explaining how to operate the thing.

Does anyone know any good links or pdf files for instructions on how to operate an arm and vest stedicam kit?

I also had another issue. the stick that connects to the arm of the vest isn't just a straight bar. it's slanted at like a 15 degree angle at the top. i didn't think anything of it, but when attaching my Glidecam to the stick on the arm, the tripod plate on the top of my glidecam seems to hit it whenever i move the camera anywhere. i've attached a photo as a reference since what i'm explaining may not make sense. Am i doing something wrong? Or do you think this is a design flaw in the system? i looked at other kits, and the stick coming out of the arm on the vest is straight on most all other kits. this seems to be the only one that has a slight angle on it.

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I tried doing that but no matter what i loosened it didn't seem to want to move. I checked the manual for it, which is labeled for the Glidecam 2000/4000 Pro. but in the instructions and images, they all show the 2000 model and mention not to adjust the grimbal. Might I need to contact Glidecam directly and ask them if it's capable of being adjusted
 
Just contacted Glidecam. They said that the grimbal is not adjustable. it can not be raised or lowered. Maybe I just need to return this. I haven't heard anything from Opteka yet since Friday. I feel like it's a design flaw or else they wouldn't have said it would work with Glidecam products. Unless i'm still missing how i'm suppose to use this stedicam kit
 
Opteka (in my experience) is a BS company for service, manuals, and most product design.

There have been some threads on RedUser regarding sub $1k arm & vest setups, might poke around there.
 
To learn using it there are now tons of videos online also one very good one from Tiffen steadicam giving great info. Opteka is not the best brand it build for cheap and not really go for quality. But have to say the Glidecam is not the best steadicam out there as there are better one with more adaptations as moving the gimble make it much easier to change around. Can advice either you replace the pin on the arm with a different straight pin meaning you have to unscrew it. Or sell off what you have and buy a Came S120 steadicam with vest as it ain't that expensive and really a much better steadicam than with more stuff also able to fly upside down for low angle shots.
 
I saw you mention the Came S120. Will that work with things that aren't DSLR? I looked at the page of it and it says for DSLR. I know i haven't mentioned this yet, but I'm using a Panasonic HMC-40, so it weighs a little more than a DSLR, and i dont know what the weight limit might be on something like that
 
bradywurtz said:
I tried doing that but no matter what i loosened it didn't seem to want to move. I checked the manual for it, which is labeled for the Glidecam 2000/4000 Pro. but in the instructions and images, they all show the 2000 model and mention not to adjust the grimbal. Might I need to contact Glidecam directly and ask them if it's capable of being adjusted
Click to expand...

Hi, this guy here uses a Glidecam 4000 with an EEMOV vest arm kit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFswdibotqw
You may need to get in touch with him.

Cheerz
 
I recently bought a Laing (stabilizer, vest, and arm) which I plan to use with a Panny HMC-150. Still learning/testing/practicing, but it certainly seems to be able to handle the weight of the HMC, and the price was unbelievable. Build quality is pretty good, though it came with no instructions, so buy the best book you can find and practice, practice, practice.
Using any stabilizer/vest/arm system requires dedication to purpose, and certainly is not for the faint of heart.
Check out the video at cheesycam.com.
 
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