Shoulder rig or Glidecam Smooth Shooter for Documentary?

Lucas 7D

Lucas 7D

Active member
Hi Guys

I have the gildecam 4000 pro and a 7d. I'll be shooting a documentary and although I know that a shoulder rig is the best option for shooting while waking around all over, I do want smooth cinematic shots. Should I invest is the Smooth Shooter or get a good shoulder rig?
 
k my bad..just looked them up. thought they were different things altogther. I guess it would depend on the type of shooting. the smoothe shooter seems cumbersome and alot of set up so if is alot of run and gun then a shouldermount would be better with the option of using the 4000 for quicker shorter shots. I guess if u'll have time then maybe the smoothe shooter aint so bad.
 
You will get smoother shots with the glidecam but there will be much more set up as you have to balance the rig first. If you have the time for this, great. I would take the shoulder rig along with it anyway. If you already have one.

The glidecam rig is extra.
If one or the other the shoulder mount is safer.
 
"u'll"???!!! Really? C,mon, show your fellow forum members some respect and use real, whole English words!

jambredz said:
k my bad..just looked them up. thought they were different things altogther. I guess it would depend on the type of shooting. the smoothe shooter seems cumbersome and alot of set up so if is alot of run and gun then a shouldermount would be better with the option of using the 4000 for quicker shorter shots. I guess if u'll have time then maybe the smoothe shooter aint so bad.
Click to expand...
 
ade4all said:
"C,mon"/.',;./.;,//??? Really?
Click to expand...


seems U get UR kickZ from following me around the site and tryiN' 2 police every sentence I write. if U haven't figured it out by now i CHOOSE to write in short handed expressions and however i feel when I feel like. I'm sure the other posters understood me .Get a life and go shoot SUMTHING.

I apologize Lucas for posting this in you're thread but he had that coming and I'm tired of it.
 
Last edited:
Hey Lucas,
Something you'll need to definitely consider when shooting with DSLRs on any sort of balanced system like a glidecam is the fact that you'll still need to pull focus unless you shoot very wide and stopped down. You won't be able to put your hands on the camera when it's balanced so what people usually do is run a wireless follow focus system, but this will definitely increase your cost as it will add another person to actually pull the focus.

And now here's my personal opinion:
While I love the steadicam look, it's not for every shot. If you buy a steadicam, it won't replace a shoulder mount, and if you buy a shouldermount it wont replace a steadicam. Different tools for different looks. I always suggest people get a decent shoulder rig that you can always use. If you're a one man band it's going to be hard to use any sort of glidecam, while on shouldermount system you can operate and pull focus yourself. With a good amount of practice you will actually be able to make some beautiful movement on a shoulder mount.
 
no worries fella, but yeah keep coming across this over zealous grammar police type with nothing else to offer a thread.....anyway seeing as i'm not offering this thread anything either i will just slip away silently......
 
I have a glidecam and 7d and I can tell you.

1) you will get great smooth shots (with training and practice)
2) it will slow you down on your shoot (because of setup) so.... would I recommend this for shooting a documentary?.... only if you have time for a few staged shots
3) I have getting the rig balanced down pretty good where it only takes a couple minutes so if you do things like put a quick release plate on and don't move the weights around only when balancing and not when storing, if possible. But it will still slow you down. I've gotten to the point where I barley use the glidecam.
4) use a wide lens so you won't have to pull focus too much.
 
Draveen thanks for the info but I already use my glidecam with quick release. I guess there is no way around this. I was asking about the vest and arm setup over a good shoulder rig
 
i have a very nice shoulder rig with low-hanging handles (sorry only one crappy photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sentrosi/5139885493/) (got it off ebay for $400)

it is super solid and allows me to shoot very smoothly. I also have a followfocus (not in this photo) which gives me a lot of freedom and works very well ergonomically. I shoot a lot of docs and I don't think I could deal with the glidecam, i have an older one and I never use it, just too finnicky. I could shoot all day with this rig without any fatigue and the weight and placement of everything lets me get surprisingly smooth shots.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top