Slider option, help!

Y

Yaz

Active member
hi!

Like on many threads I read here, here's another thread from a guy looking for a good, affordable slider for my usage.
I have bmpcc, with shoulder rig, follow focus, mattebox, and ninja2 as external field recorder. I use them put together and mounted on a tripod.
The question is, with all these mounted on a manfrotto 701hdv, which slider out there can take the weight and still perform smooth sliding movement perfectly.
I've never used a slider before, but have seen many, as I'm researching on the internet as of late.

So, there are edelkrone, varabone, konova, cinevate, ifootage(shark slider), kessler, glidetrack. Those seem to be good major slider makers. I hope i'm correct. Please post if there's other good ones other than the aforementioned.

Well, I'd like it to be affordable... like $200 but i found out that there aren't many inexpensive ones. Edelkrone slider plus v2 would be the best for me but it's pretty expensive. iFootage Shark Slider looks pretty good as well. Kessler has just released paralax to go with their slider and it looks very promising. Cinvate duzi slider looks promising as well. I hear a lot of good reviews on it.
varabone slider lite seems the cheapest out of all, but with the weight concerned, i'm not sure if the slider can take it. Well, if it has to come to just putting only bmpcc on the slider(without shoulder rig), then so be it.

Before I make the final decision, I just wanted to spill out my worry and ask for help lol I am just wondering how you guys are doing with sliders and wanted to hear your thoughts.

thnx for any opinions and thoughts in advance!
 
Don't waste your hard earned cash on a $200 slider. Save up for a nice one which will last and work with your future camera choices.

I own a Pocket Dolly 2, which is more compact and works well with lighter cameras, and a Dana Dolly, which I have different track lengths from 4' to 10' and it will support light or very heavy cameras, or even mount a jib to it.
 
All I can say is stay away from Edelkrone. Sure it looks cool, and is "portable" but belive me it will be a huge PITA working with it. I have both the V1 and V2, and they are not worth the money. Just look at the footage on youtube, it's all wobbly and uneven. I would look into Kessler or Cinevate.
 
People seem to go on about the new Cinevate Duzi. It's pretty affordable at less than $400. Good company. I was thinking of getting one myself. Anybody have one that could chime in?
 
Cinevate Duzi looks very promising, but I have a concern that if I shoot kind of track-in dolly shot towards a subject with a wide lens, wouldnt it reveal one end of the slider? this wont be a problem with edelkrone but i found a lot of negative reviews on it, so I guess I'm gonna pass that one unless the v3 comes up with fixed issues and positive reviews.
Rigwheels look insane!! I kinda like their product and the fact that there are lots of free choices customers can make to make the product their own, like with DIY stuff.

I'd like to hear more pros and cons for all the sliders out there. We should exchange more opinions!!!
 
I dont really use one at all, but had a few "almost happened" gigs in the past few years where a slider would have been needed. I have a regular client who has one that we use on shoots sometimes (i dont operate it). Cant recall who makes it, but it mounts on a tripod, has about a 3 foot range, and im not crazy about it for a few reasons: one is that it makes a slight "shhhhhh" noise from operation, especially during those slow moves we all love so much. Audible on mics in tiny office building conference rooms. Its because it uses felt or something like it where the slidey part contacts the rails. Another thing i dont like is that it will bow at the ends cause the support is in the middle. Talkin about with an ex1 or 5d on it.

I would go tripod mount myself to facilitate moving around quickly if working alone getting b-roll or similar. I imagine ones that mount on stands at each end are more versatile but better suited for a filmmaking type environment where shots dont have to be set up as quickly.
 
Just to pipe in, I tried out the new Trost Slider the other day. Pretty incredible. Now, it's bare bones at this point, you don't get any of the belt-drive/motor bells and whistles that everyone else has. But I have to say that the little collar/puck locking system is rock solid. Hands down the best slider I've used.
 
jshbckr said:
Just to pipe in, I tried out the new Trost Slider the other day. Pretty incredible. Now, it's bare bones at this point, you don't get any of the belt-drive/motor bells and whistles that everyone else has. But I have to say that the little collar/puck locking system is rock solid. Hands down the best slider I've used.
Click to expand...

Those extra goodies are in the works :)
 
bgundu said:
Those extra goodies are in the works :)
Click to expand...
Ah, hey Bob. I checked out your review and group sale for the Trost a couple days ago. Awesome work, man. I actually live in Minneapolis, just a few minutes away from the CrumplePop crew who make the Trost slider. I was in there the other day checking it out. Might have to be a purchase in the near future, great for corporate gigs where you need to cover double the shots in half the time. No time for a Dana Dolly in setups like that!
 
DNN said:
People seem to go on about the new Cinevate Duzi. It's pretty affordable at less than $400. Good company. I was thinking of getting one myself. Anybody have one that could chime in?
Click to expand...

I just got one and have only had time to play with it a little bit. Overall positive impression. It's solid. Really solid, and I wouldn't worry about putting a heavier camera on it. It's smooth, but almost too smooth without a belt drive or other way to introduce even resistance. This means that you have to introduce drag with your finger along the rail while moving the carriage if you want to make a smoother slow movement. That's still way way better than the cheap IGUS based sliders that develop little bits of resistance here and there causing bumps in the motion. I have to admit too that I'm not super experienced in sliding every shot for years like some people, so to me it seems like the Duzi needs a little practice to get the shot perfect on your first attempt. Again, that's better than the friction sliders where even with good technique you can be foiled by a sticky spot. It's just not as easy as using some of the bearing and belt systems where you can dial in a bit of even resistance and just push for an even smooth slide without much practice.
Other highlights are the light weight and compact size. Yes, that small size is actually pretty nice since you can just leave it on the tripod and be set up with the leveling ball for a shot in a couple seconds. Not so easy with a 3' or longer slider that takes two tripods that each have to be adjusted. I'm also toying with the idea of getting some longer rails that I can swap out to go for a longer tracking shot if needed. We'll see if that works, but it looks like it shouldn't be too hard to do.
 
I used pretty much every slider out there. I own currently Cinevate 200 but if i had to do it again i would buy MYT Works slider - in a blink of an eye. The only slider that never failed me.
 
It also depends on what work you do. I do a lot of event shooting where I need quick shots. I have use Konova, Kamerar, Edelkrone, Kessler, and cinevate. Konova is just pure Sh*t. Yeah it'll work at first but after a year it'll break down. Kamerar surprise me. They're local in Houston and a friend of mine got a smooth 3 feet slider for only $200. The only problem is that it's too big and bulky.

I don't like Edelkrone. On one hand it can double its length and is quite smooth. However, it can be fragile and unwieldy. Also it can't slide on the floor which is a deal breaker. I use a few of cinevate slider. I thought they were good but nothing special.

Now we get to Kessler. Extremely pricey but I don't think I can go back to any other slider. It just feels good in your hand and the tension knob is very useful. I'm very excited about the parallax and the new Unidrive. I have been using the Stealth for about 5 months. The only complain I have is that the ruler can get ding quite easily. It does affect the slide a little bit but not much.

I did have a tension knob problem for a while and just sent it in 2 days ago to get look at. I have to say that they have one of the best customer service in Film industry.
 
Some sliders are better to quick set-up but lack "reliability of the image" (sometimes you get the shot, sometimes you don't because the move is too wabbly). [Konova, Kamerar, Kessler, Cinevate 30]
Some sliders suck at micro moves - the shots where the move is so slow that sliders with ball bearings might "stick." [Cinevate]
Some sliders are more clunky to set-up but the construction is so robust that EVERY shots is the money shot. [Cinevate 200, MYT Works, Cineped]
Some sliders have metal ball bearings which make them last longer but also makes the sliding moves "loud" [Cinevate]

There is no one answer.

I've wasted way too many shots with wobbly sliders so nowdays i take extra time to set-up the shot i want instead of running around and getting everything that's possible with a slider. I "would" love my Cinevate200 is not for that fact it has ball bearings so slow micro moves are impossible and that the bearings are metal which makes the slider loud.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
Some sliders are better to quick set-up but lack "reliability of the image" (sometimes you get the shot, sometimes you don't because the move is too wabbly). [Konova, Kamerar, Kessler, Cinevate 30]
Some sliders suck at micro moves - the shots where the move is so slow that sliders with ball bearings might "stick." [Cinevate]
Some sliders are more clunky to set-up but the construction is so robust that EVERY shots is the money shot. [Cinevate 200, MYT Works, Cineped]
Some sliders have metal ball bearings which make them last longer but also makes the sliding moves "loud" [Cinevate]
Click to expand...

He hit the nail on the head. Depend on what types of shoot you do. For my events shooting I prefer Kessler. The tension knob allow you to do really macro moves.
 
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