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Steady Cam for DSLR advice
I’ve been shopping around for an affordable stabilizer for the 7D. I bought a shoulder mount but my camera operator found it to be very difficult to use. I’ve been looking at the Glidecam HD1000, but am curious if anyone has this product and has an opinion on it. It seems that your arm would tire if you were doing a wedding that lasts 5 hours. The vest plus HD1000 would be great but I just don’t have the money at the moment.
There are other issues like focusing and monitoring that I would worry about when you have a stabilization rig attached to yourself. Anyways, just wondering what other people are using and what is working best for you?
Thanks for any advice,
Cody Walters
Mac Pro 2.26GHz 8 Core Xeon
16 GB 1066 MHz DDR3
Final Cut Studio 3
Adobe CS5 Master Suite
Panasonic HVX-200
Canon 7D -
11 Replies
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Hi…
I don’t have this, but I came across it earlier.
https://www.imagewest.tv/servlet/the-638/DSLR,-SteadiShot,-steadishot,-shot,5000,/Detail
I have this monopod… it’s good depending on the conditions.
Best regards.
Frank Giardina
17 Video Production -
I haven’t used that particular one, but yes, I find most handheld stabilizers become very heavy in only a few minutes and you wind up shooting the floor. If you plan to use one a lot, get the harness and go full steadicam (or glidecam in this case) – the amount you spend will quickly be made up by what you can shoot.
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
I own both a glidecam smooth shooter with 4000 pro sled and the steadicam pilot and shoot with the 5D M2
I would have the say that the glidecam 4000 pro is great for light weight cameras such as the DSLR cameras we use and love. Throw a nice 14mm wide angle or 16-35mm wide angle on the camera (full frame 5d) and the steadicam shot looks even more high budget.
The glidecam 4000 pro can get tiring after awhile but the nice thing is that you can upgrade to the glidecam smooth shooter vest and use that with the 4000 pro.
Although after using the steadicam pilot there IS a BIG different in quality of shot and maneuverability so if you have the dough I’d recommend going for a Steadicam pilot! Best investment I ever made and it’s very fun to use…Plus you look like a member of tactical swat team!
Errol X. Lazare
EXL Films
http://www.exlfilms.com -
I just checked out the Steadicam Pilot…it looks awesome. Unfortunately I just don’t have the money right now. Maybe the glidecam 4000 will do the job.
Cody Walters
Mac Pro 2.26GHz 8 Core Xeon
16 GB 1066 MHz DDR3
Final Cut Studio 3
Adobe CS5 Master Suite
Panasonic HVX-200
Canon 7D -
A friend of mine has a steadicam pilot (this is the best rig for the HDSLRs). I use a Steadicam Flyer.
He found that by making a small simple bracket for the camera he could mount the camera on the arm without the sled, the tension on the Pilot’s arm can be backed off enough to “float” the camera. This fully supported the camera and allowed him to move the camera to various positions, vary the lens height and even do small moves with the arm. The arm and vest for the Pilot is the same as the optional up grade for the Steadicam Merlin.This wasn’t quite as successful when I tried the same set up on my larger Flyer arm because I couldn’t wind the tension off enough. I could see how well it would work though.
My solution, consider buying the Merlin vest / arm option. Later you can purchase a Steadicam Pilot sled.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
I used the Glidecam 4000 Pro with my Canon 60D and Canon 14mm lens for a wedding. Yes it started to get heavy by the end of the day, but it wasn’t terrible. I was moving so much that I didn’t really notice the fatigue setting in. It wasn’t until I put the Glidecam down did I notice my arm and shoulder were sore. If you had a heavier camera, I would certainly say you’ll want a full vest and arm. But if you’re just mounting a camera, lightweight lens and maybe a lightweight shotgun mic, you ought to be fine.
And on a side note, the Canon 60D’s swivel LCD screen made using that Glidecam a breeze!
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Hey Eric…
You doing the hyperfocal thing when you fly your 60D? If so, what method do you use?
Best Regards!!
Frank Giardina
17 Video Production -
Just came across this video for stabilizing your DSLR: https://www.nextwavedv.com/hdslr-101-10-getting-smooth-and-stable-footage/
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
Yeah for the most part I used hyperfocal. I tried following focus with my hand on the lens (I couldn’t afford a real follow focus unit) and that just did not work well at all. So I set my focus to a predetermined mark on the lens and just judged distance with my eye. I even stopped down my aperture to give myself some more focus room. I didn’t have everything in pin sharp focus, but it certainly worked well enough.
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Thanks Eric!
We’ll be flying the 60D on our glidecam. Our 60D just arrived this week, so we’ll be doing some hyperfocal tests. The widest lens I have right now is a 24mm. I thinking I might want to get the Tokina 11-16.
Does anyone have any suggestions for lens to use while flying 60D or 7D on a glidecam?
Frank Giardina
17 Video Production
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