Glidecam Pro 4000 minimum weight?

[Jonathan Ferber]

I have a GC Pro 4000 and a lovely Canon EOS 5D MKII I would love to attach to it. I know the GC pro 2000 can support cameras UP to 6 pounds and the 4000 pro can support a camera between 4 - 10 pounds. The 5D weighs somewhere around 2 or 2.5 lbs with the 24-105mm F4/L . So my question is will the GC Pro 4000 operate properly with a camera that weighs less than 4 lbs? Much help appreciated! :D

[Peter D. Parker]

Hi Jonathan,

I have just purchased a Glidecam HD4000 with Smooth Shooter Vest.

I tried it with my Sony Z5 and my first reaction was "Crickey, this is heavy!"

Anyway, I persevered and got use to it and I'm now happy with the results.

I did try using the 4000 with a Canon HV30 ( I would think the 5D is about the same weight) and although it was a lot lighter, the drop time was too fast. I removed all the weights from the bottom but it was still too fast, so the other alternative was to add weight to the top, which defeated the object, so I gave up and went back to the Z1.

The heavier the sled, the better the control. I'm not sure how the 2000 differs from the 4000 but the 2000 might be better for a lighter camera. If you can go for the HD series, its alot better.

[Jonathan Ferber]

Well today I swung by the metal shop and found a 1cm thick piece of steel scrap which was about the size of the stage on my glide cam and weighed in at about 4 lbs, I had a couple holes drilled into it and had great success balancing and flying the EOS 5D around with a 24/105 F4L on it, the extra weight sure helped a lot... but Thursday I get my hands on the Steadycam Flyer LE which I look forward to breaking my back operating!

[Danny O'Neill]

Your right that the heavier the better.

with your smooth shooter you should have also got a pack of metal plates which you can use to raise the weight of the stage.