What's a good size for a slider?

3' (36") is a very nice, manageable slider length. I have a 3' DIY (IGUS) slider and I don't think I'd find it as easily portable if it were longer.
 
26" or 28" is good enough for most stuff if you don't want to get a gigantic tripod to put it on. Problem arises when you combine a long slider with a smallish tripod and have someone new on your crew who runs the camera all the way to the end and knocks the whole rig over.
 
I have a 24 in. and it's great for being very compact and easy to move around, but I do find myself wishing I had a "little bit" more reach fairly regularly. Not a lot...for my needs, an extra 6 in. would be perfect....30 in. total. 36 in. would be great, but I didn't buy a 3 ft. one initially because I was concerned it might be a bit too long to handle easily.
What I would really love to see is someone making a modular system that could be lengthened incrementally by 6in or a foot and still retain smooth motion
 
IMG_0775.jpgIMG_0774.jpgIMG_0778.jpgIMG_0777.jpgIMG_0773.jpgIMG_0776.jpgJust finished making these two sliders, I bought a GlideTrack with the IGUS system, didn't like the feel, hard to control so I thought I'd take a shot at building one out of old skateboard wheels, track from a Closetmaid system (from Home Depot) total cost including plywood and a can of black spray paint - $65.00
This thing has some weight to it but it totally helps to control the move, really works great, going to throw some leveling feet on it tomorrow for a shoot on Weds.

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Good question. I'm trying to decide on a 2 ft or a 3ft pocket dolly (pb version). I want to be able to travel with it, but also hear a lot of people feel restricted by only 2 feet of slide. Too bad it is such an expensive decision. I might have to go for a 2 ft for travel and consider a 5 ft cineslider down the road to use locally.
 
The best size is the one that fits in your tripod bag.

I have found that the question of using it is also based on the convenience or ease of transporting it. If it is outside the tripod bag, somehow it get's taken along a lot less of the time.
That is why I like the convenience of the DIY Igus slider, I can have it cut to exactly my desired length.
 
arniepix said:
I would suggest that the best size is the one that makes the move you want. If you get one that's shorter, it won't make that move.
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I would suggest that the difference between a 30" tripod bag length and a standarized 36" slider isn't going to make that much difference in terms of your move.
It will however make a difference if you have to carry it on a plane for instance. Likely it won't be going with you if it doesn't fit in that bag.
 
I started out with the 39 inch Igus and found it not to be very portable as well as too heavy for backpacking. Cut it down to 30 inches and it seems about right. Ideally I would like both a short and long one. Might buy another longer rail and interchange parts as needed.
 
I found the longest padded narrow bag I could first, found one like 48 x 6 x 6 (my tripod bags are all tapered - and they have tripods in 'em). Had Igus cut a 46" rail.

I'm not a backpacker and I take mountains of gear when I shoot, so no worries. But I found the slider is also a freaking killer mounting platform - since (in my case) I have a fairly pricey flat-to-ball adapter on the carriage, and I made the nice end stops so it's a pain to take apart thus my $80 adapter lives on the slider... I just use the slider for low shots, low dolly shots, and - my favorite - wall or ceiling mount it. It's got so many dang holes drilled in it, I just put 3/8-16 threads on my dolly platform, made some floor blocks, and I carry a lot of mounting gear in the bag (even a set of pulleys and rope for moving the thing around in crazy setups).

I've found when you get rails & a matte box and a 75mm ball on the thing, you need two tripods for even fairly short moves though - I think that would be the case with even a 24" one, once it starts getting top heavy it can "shudder" on ya.

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