Which Glidecam Best for FS100

Nirv

Nirv

Carbonite Member
Any of you here have any experience you'd like to share of Glidecam stabilisers and the FS100.

I am looking at the HD2000 with arm brace but wondered if the HD4000 was the better option?

For me lighter is better but I want the best performer and if that means the 4000 then that'll be the one I get. I saw a video of DerranNL using a HD2000 and it looked perfect but I have noticed forums users have the HD4000 so any help in steering me will be gratefully received.

I have a merlin but while I can get it stabilised I can't keep it stabilised and after every take it needs trimming even when nothing has changed on the camera. It just goes out of trim for no apparent reason. There's also the bob while walking that the Glidecams avoid.

So lighter but smaller HD2000 or larger heavier HD4000, which gives the best performance? (assuming the bloke holding the stabiliser knows what they're doing!)

Cheers
 
Stability is caused by intertia which is proportional to the SQUARE of the distance of a mass from the gimbal

So double the physical size of your stabilizer and it becomes FOUR times more intertial (stable) given fixed variables.

So big is good.

--

Overall, re-rigging/suiting up is a big issue to me (on my fast shoots) because valuable minutes drift away

I find stabilser shots fall into two categories 'quick' and 'proper'

For proper work I would probably be specifically the steadicam operator for the day.

On that basis I use the Blackbird for quick, which is nice but wont give you proper control once you get picky - but can for example be amazing from a vehicle

and my highly pimped Steadicam Pilot http://www.sammorganmoore.com/backlot/steadicam-pilot-vlock-and-transvideo-monitor for proper

Which gives something of the experience of a larger rig where you may hope to hit marks, hold lock offs and the like

generally with the BB you will trim the starts and stops!

Incedentally I find 'no vest' solutions lell likely to show footbump

When evaluating a stabiliser it it important to try and do specific shots and hold specific framings, for example the second shot im framing it in the doorway..(im not great at all) https://vimeo.com/17738652

S
 
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4000 is a good fit for FS100 + baseplate+ rods + Fiz + MB + lens + Hyperdeck + mon + block batt

d
 
I've recently went through all the ups and downs of harnessing my FS100 on a stabilizer, so a couple of thoughts I can share.

Darren has demoed some great footage using the HD2000 hand-held; are you going to hand-hold yours too? Or are you going to use a vest? If the former, definitely go for the HD2000 - you'll be using the naked FS100 anyway, so the extra payload of the HD4000 is not necessary. On the other hand, if you're serious about flying your camera you do need a vest, believe me - in which case definitely get the HD4000!

With the X-10 / HD4000 system, I can fly the naked FS100 as well as the complete rig with large lens, mattebox etc. I can also use it for my EX1, which is just a little bit too heavy for the HD2000.
 
Cheers Sam, Dermot.

I should've pointed out this is just for "no budget" steadicam work. I am doing a very short promo with matchmoved CGI inserts but the shots are longer than my wally dolly will allow. Just glorified dolly shots round city centre locations to advertise a new localised web service that must not be mentioned yet. All the money is gone and I'm trying to help some peeps that I worked with many years ago.

Just FS100 + WA lens onboard stabiliser using the LCD. As basic as it gets, this ain't no film shoot. The job is way below the scope of a full steadicam rig and operator but I am familiar with the hand held stabilisers and have many hours of walking like I have soiled my pants!

I understood the Glidecams handle arrangement reduced bobbing but also put the weight of the rig through the wrist hence needing an arm brace. Anyone use the arm brace?
 
Thanks Piotr.

Flying naked and no intention to vest up. So HD2000 probably fits the bill.

Cheers
 
O dont see why the 4000 is not the thing (unless budget is really tight)

or the blackbird (its better laid out for inertia and also load bearing)

Ive minimal experience with glidecams but think the mass stress thing is over done

I often do shots with my pilot no vest

doing a few 5 second takes is completely different from covering a wedding or sports match

the trouble with saying 'its only a couple of shots' is that they must still cut in with your dolly/sticks work and a sicky shot wont do that..

id get the biggest thing you can afford/carry

S
 
@Sam

Thanks for the offer via PM.

Im going think about the Blackbird now. I wrote it off as a Merlin lookeelikee and looks like it might be the one to go for after all.

There's no money for anything on this job unfortunately just trying get some friends out of a hole and hopefully some karma will float my way.

...food for thought.

Cheers everyone.
 
I would say the HD4000.

I have an FS700 which is over 1 lb heavier than the FS100, and the HD2000 works perfectly fine for it. With that said, I only have the HD2000 because I had a DSLR before. If I were to buy now, I would get the HD4000 but since I already owned the 2000, why bother spending the money since it works well already.

Contrary to what Glidecam says, you can easily go 1 1/2 lbs over the weight limit and it still balances perfectly fine.
 
I use a 4000 pro for my fs100 + lens + shotgun + wireless lav and it works great. I came from using an hvx on my 4000 pro, so the weigh isn't an issue for me. I think a 2000 would be pushing the limits, plus with the 4000 if you ever need to add something to the camera you'll be covered.
 
Blackbird arrived today, balanced and flying like a boss. It's miles better than the Merlin in terms of speed of balancing and control while flying. It's also a great deal lighter for a much more stable rig.

Thanks to those that swayed me on the Blackbird, I wish I'd got it sooner.

Cheers.
 
Glad to hear you're happy with the Blackbird, Nirv. Been trying to decide between the Glidecam 4000 or Blackbird myself for a while now. Will probably go with Blackbird as it seems a bit easier on the wrist, and quicker to set up. I mostly like how the handle is set directly below the camera, i imagine that takes some load off.
 
Chad N said:
Glad to hear you're happy with the Blackbird, Nirv. Been trying to decide between the Glidecam 4000 or Blackbird myself for a while now. Will probably go with Blackbird as it seems a bit easier on the wrist, and quicker to set up. I mostly like how the handle is set directly below the camera, i imagine that takes some load off.
Click to expand...

I'm loving the Blackbird...

I can't compare against the 4000 but against the Merlin it's better in every respect. I like the fact that you can tighten up the gimbal which makes using it in a breeze quite possible.

I was amazed how easy it was to balance, just trim out the roll and pitch then set the drop time it's really that easy. I'm sure I can continue to finesse the setup and maybe add more weight into the system to make it even more stable as Sam M-M suggested to me. But in this lightweight config I feel I can go for several minutes at a time something I could never do with the Merlin.

Repeatability of setup seems good too with just a little fine tuning of trim unlike the Merlin which always felt like starting from scratch each time and was a bit of a dark art.

I really am mightily impressed, CMR have done a great job.
 
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