Trying to add some movement to my shots!

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dominichicks

Active member
Hi everyone,
Have had my 7D for a month now - I love it and I want to spoil it to make it the best little narrative shooter it can be.

At the moment I only have the 50mm 1.8 lens (while I wait for my 17-50mm Tamron VC to come in stock), and I've struggled to get any usable footage in movement. All of my shots are on the gorillapod so far. I'm sure the VC on the Tamron will help, but this is a damn hard camera to shoot handheld with.

So - I need some advise on how to get movement into my shots, and cheaply!

1) The Glidetrack
I'm sold on this - I notice these sort of subtle dolly moves in feature films all the time, and it seems to raise the bar on every production. My questions are: I firstly need a tripod with a detachable head - which is a good budget option (ideally less than £100)? Secondly, when purchasing through IGUS directly, do I want the single rail or dual rail option, and can I get away with 10mm instead of 16mm?

2) The Glidecam or Shoulder Support Rig?
As far as decent, steady, jitter-free shots, which is the better option? I really can't spend more than £450, and I need to totally eliminate the jitter effect from handheld camerawork, and if possible, almost eliminate footstep shake. Do I go with the Glidecam HD2000, the PRO2000 or do I go for a rig with a shoulder mount - and if so, which one?

I know the typical answer is - you get what you pay for... the fact is, I'm a 23 year old who wants to put together a showreel - I'm not a pro, and I'm not earning cash through my videography (yet). Hence, I can't go above £100 for the tripod/head combo, or £450 for the stabilizer/rig. Just trying to get the best I can in that range.

Thanks in advance,
Dom
 
If you're on a budget, first thing I'd pick up is a tripod....just has the most versatility. Dont waste your money on a shi*ty one, you'll never be happy with the results. Wait until you have about $500 to spend or do shopping around and pick up a used one. You are correct - when buying a new tripod, everyone says the same thing because it's the reality of them. Check garage sales, flea markets etc....and you can luck out and you might get a great one for cheap!

I just purchased a glidecam 2000 HD, but in your situation i'd recommend you pick up the older model the 2000 pro - street price on that is now ~$100, not a bad deal.

It's funny but i'm not sold on the glidetracks yet. Yes the move is great but it just seems so limited in its function. Its moves feel small that you can only use it but a couple times in a piece before it gets redundant (vs. something like a glidecam where the possibility's are endless).
 
To an extent, I agree with Tim Kay: Don't purchase a tripod unless you get a good one. However, 500.00 will not buy you a GOOD tripod. Bogen tripods and "fluid" heads (which aren't even true fluid heads) are horrible solutions, and that's about what they cost.

Libec's are actually pretty decent, however, the ones that are typically cost about 800 - 1000.00, and they're worth it. They're at least TRUE Fluid Heads and allow you to pan and tilt somewhere close to (but not exactly like) much more expensive solutions. These are the reasons why I had never purchased a tripod before up until a few weeks ago, and I got a really REALLY cheap one, but with good reason. Will post about this soon.

You CAN spend one-hundred (100.00) on a half-decent PhotoStudies tripod with a little weight on it and be alright, you just can't really pan or tilt with it.

As far as Glidecam's go, I've tried the 4000 and it's too much hassle. The 2000 PRO or HD seems to be the way to go. I would suggest getting one of these before anything else if you really want to be mobile.
 
Kholi said:
As far as Glidecam's go, I've tried the 4000 and it's too much hassle.
Click to expand...

Hey Kholi,

I ask because I really value your opinion and am in the immediate market - too much of a hassle how? And what kind of rig were you using: barebones 7D, or a kit?

As a purely numbers game, it seems like the 4000 would be a better choice. But it's obviously not purely numbers!
 
Michael Olsen said:
Hey Kholi,

I ask because I really value your opinion and am in the immediate market - too much of a hassle how? And what kind of rig were you using: barebones 7D, or a kit?

As a purely numbers game, it seems like the 4000 would be a better choice. But it's obviously not purely numbers!
Click to expand...

For whatever reason we couldn't get it to play properly with the 7D or 5D. Barebones 7D, as well, with various lenses. So, it should have been much easier but it truly wasn't. I don't know if it was because the body rig was "too much" for such a light camera or what, but, from the video's I've seen with the GC2000 PRO it's much cheaper and much more efficient.

This one in particular has been in my web browser for a while: http://vimeo.com/8008689


The 4000 DOES seem like the way to go, on paper, it just wasn't when we went to implement it into a narrative environment. I'd be interested in hearing others experiences with the 4000, of course.
 
Kholi said:
For whatever reason we couldn't get it to play properly with the 7D or 5D. Barebones 7D, as well, with various lenses. So, it should have been much easier but it truly wasn't. I don't know if it was because the body rig was "too much" for such a light camera or what, but, from the video's I've seen with the GC2000 PRO it's much cheaper and much more efficient.

This one in particular has been in my web browser for a while: http://vimeo.com/8008689


The 4000 DOES seem like the way to go, on paper, it just wasn't when we went to implement it into a narrative environment. I'd be interested in hearing others experiences with the 4000, of course.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, Kholi. I think (think) Joe Simon uses the 4000, which is where I got the idea that would be the way to go. I feel like it probably depends on the kit being used.
 
Michael Olsen said:
Thanks for that, Kholi. I think (think) Joe Simon uses the 4000, which is where I got the idea that would be the way to go. I feel like it probably depends on the kit being used.
Click to expand...



In the first few seconds there's a very BRIEF Glidecam 4K shot, I dont' even know if it's worth showing but it was decently stable, at least for a few seconds.

Sorry I can't find any more of it at the time.
 
I really can't spend £500 on a tripod - sorry, I know the quality would be leaps and bounds above what a £100 tripod can do, but it's totally out of the question!

I've ordered materials to construct an SD glidetrack, so that's £100 of my budget. I'm going to stick with a Velbon tripod for the moment until I feel limited by it.

This leaves me with the question of on-the-go stabilization.

For me it's either a 2000 variant of the Glidecam (or a Flycam clone), or a shoulder mounted rig of some sort. What's the safer, more functional and best value option here? And where do I start when it comes to picking a rig?
 
dominichicks said:
I really can't spend £500 on a tripod - sorry, I know the quality would be leaps and bounds above what a £100 tripod can do, but it's totally out of the question!

I've ordered materials to construct an SD glidetrack, so that's £100 of my budget. I'm going to stick with a Velbon tripod for the moment until I feel limited by it.

This leaves me with the question of on-the-go stabilization.

For me it's either a 2000 variant of the Glidecam (or a Flycam clone), or a shoulder mounted rig of some sort. What's the safer, more functional and best value option here? And where do I start when it comes to picking a rig?
Click to expand...

What's a Velbon tripod? Got a link?

GC2000Pro will be good, especially with practice.

If you want a shoulder mount you MUST add weight, but you may not need a shoulder mount at all. Show me the tripod you're looking at.
 
Based on good reviews I've been thinking about going with the Velbon (either 607 Videomate or 7000) as a cheap solution myself.
 
Ian, I tried out some £150 manfrotto setups in town today, and honestly, the Velbon PH-368 head with D-600 legs were comparable. Maybe they just got lucky, but there's almost perfect resistance. With my budget, I have no reason to upgrade my tripod right now. I'm concentrating on the steadicam options or a possible shoulder mounted rig.
 
How can you make a film without a good tripod? My suggestion is to save up for a good tripod and build your own dslr rig until you have enough money for that. Tripod is the most important thing I own in my opinion.
 
My tripod does everything I need it to do, and well. Why spend more money on another one when there are things I don't have the capability to do that things like the glidecam could offer me?
 
dominichicks...check out this for a budget tripod http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ford_PROVISTA7518B_Pro_Vista_Tripod_with.html

I use one for my dvx and its quite smoothe. has good drag and the drag can be adjusted ect. i;ve seen people here use it with their hvx and adapter combo with decent results. your rig isnt nearly as heavy. some reviewers on b and h complain about it being heavy...but they must be puny or something. 2ndly i'd rather a heavey tripod ANY day.

if u go shouldermount...check out http://cgi.ebay.com/DSL-17-DSLR-rod...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a03bd62e7

and put a counterweight on it.

I'd however go with the tripod.
 
If you have a tripod that works and is smooth then obviously... don't replace it. But i'm skeptical that this is true. On this video right here was all done on a cheapo tripod

http://www.vimeo.com/8698346

Yes some shoots came out great like the smooth tilt up from the couple eating ( IS was really the only reason why those shots worked). But I had some great pan and rack focus shots of the pigeons that I COULDN'T USE (still bothers me!) because of the cheapo tripod. Had to cut the footage.

For a shoulder rig go down to the hardware store and do DIY using tubing. Get some plans online.

You're getting great advice here and ultimately you're going to do with your money what you want. Good luck.
 
Has anyone used both the merlin and glidecam 2000/4000 with the 7d and care to tell me which they found more useful and pro's/con's?

Thanks!
 
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