glidecam 2000 pro

[Philip]

Whew! my glidecam is so heavy, any suggestions in getting accesories.

Which is better? Body pad or arm vest. Cant hold the grip for more than

30 seconds. i use a Gl2 camera, i thought it was easier because the gl-2

is light. whew, my arm and wrist cramps.

and also, i cant find the perfect setting for it. i spend half day tweaking

those weights, any suggestions?

[JC/DV]

For balance, I used a microphone stand and shoved up the handle. Attached 2 bubble levels on sled and balanced that puppy. Then adjusted for the 2 second droptime... while holding it in my hand of course.

I had my GC 2000 in my hand for about 2 hours straight and toward the end of those 2 hours, only my wrist was hurting some, but nothing to whine about. But I'm using mine with an HC1.

Might want to work out... then again, practicing and using the GC is a workout.

[Dave Williams]

No better investment than the Smooth Shooter (http://dvideography.com/pro/smoothshooter.asp). They are on a 90-120 day backorder but worth the wait.

Dave

[sonydude]

try this with the 2000 - ignore the handle and hold the main pole. Letting the ring rock on your knuckles, lightly balanced by the fingers gives a lot more subtle control so you don't need perfect balance. Because the weight is directly over your hand you dont have the additional torque on your wrist that comes from supporting a cantilevered load. It will still wear you out but if you plan you can fly the camera for a minute and get 45 seconds of great footage.

[Dave Williams]

try this with the 2000 - ignore the handle and hold the main pole. Letting the ring rock on your knuckles, lightly balanced by the fingers gives a lot more subtle control so you don't need perfect balance. Because the weight is directly over your hand you dont have the additional torque on your wrist that comes from supporting a cantilevered load. It will still wear you out but if you plan you can fly the camera for a minute and get 45 seconds of great footage.

That would be a monopod. :)

[sonydude]

it would be very similar to the steady trackers made by promax, but I have used a collapsed monopod as a makeshift steadi-stick.

[Darrell Aubert]

ignore the handle and hold the main pole.
This eliminates any advantage you have by using the glidecam. Like Dave said, you just bought yourself a 400 dollar monopod.

[Philip]

im thinking of converting a body pad, some straps/harness. and a pole for the handle. or i must go to the gym and start to build some muscles. how much more for the GC400 and XL cams.

[JC/DV]

i must go to the gym and start to build some muscles. OR you could just practice with the current setup and this will kill two birds with one stone... 1- Getting the much needed practice with the GC and 2- Building strength/getting your arms used to using it. This makes sense as it will develop the muscles in which is in use with the GC... you can get ambidextrious with it too.

[Philip]

yes thats right. i get a 7 pound dumbell. :party-smiley-043: workout every morning.
i think buying wide converter / adapter lens can help me also.
Dollies are much easier to use, but ofcourse, we can't use them in small spaces and rugged terrains. thanks, ill post one when i get comfortable using it.

[ppatton]

you might pick up an elbow brace and wrist brace, to help you till those muscles build. I plan to

paul

[Philip]

thanks for the tip. ill get one later. thank you.

[Philip]

hi guys, i balanced my gc. :) but whenever im in motion, (walking,gliding) there's a little sway, its a bird's eyeview flying or superman. :grinning-smiley-021 but without motion, it balanced well. :uhoh: i started on 3 weights at front and 2 at the back.

[JC/DV]

The sway can be caused by too much weight on the bottom. What is your drop time from horizontal to vertical? Are you using with one or two hands?

[Philip]

The sway can be caused by too much weight on the bottom. What is your drop time from horizontal to vertical? Are you using with one or two hands?


drop time is 2 secs. i put 3 weights at the front, and 2 at the back. at first, i tried putting 4 per end, but it ends up to more sway.
do you think i have to make 2 weights per end? thanks. :)

[JC/DV]

It would be better to use equal amount of weights on each end. Adjust the sled forward or backward to compensate.

Are you using both hands in operation? ie: support hand and then control hand?

[Philip]

It would be better to use equal amount of weights on each end. Adjust the sled forward or backward to compensate.

Are you using both hands in operation? ie: support hand and then control hand?

yes im using two hands, one hand to control which direction (L or R)
okay i will try to make it equal. thanks.

[Philip]

hi to all. thanks for the advices, im o balanced my GC. have used it for two avps. only one thing, when using outdoors, have to wait for the wind to stop.