GLidecam Smooth Shooter- Out yet? Footage?
 

Is it out yet? As anyoner tried it? How about some footage? DO we get the "footsteps effect"that we can see on the Glidecam V-16 footage, or are we getting Steadicam Flyer kind of Flying?

Re: GLidecam Smooth Shooter- Out yet? Footage?
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Sergio Perez : Is it out yet? As anyoner tried it? How about some footage? DO we get the "footsteps effect"that we can see on the Glidecam V-16 footage, or are we getting Steadicam Flyer kind of Flying? -->>>

Perez, just so you don't get the wrong idea. Just because you saw one bad phototage of the glidecam in action doesn't mean it's the fault of the system. I've seen clips of some particular operator using the glidecam v-16 or was it the v-20; and trust me you couldn't tell if it was shot with a steadicam or a glidecam.

What it boils down to is the person behind the camera. You should see the clip done by Igor, a glidecam operator, it's really fluid.

There are those darn telltale footsteps in the picture again.

Like Charles intimated, it's many times the operator. If one clip looks smooth and another similar one doesn't then it's usually the operator. Also sometimes it's the terrain. Flat, smooth areas are easier to walk than the rough ones. One more thing that I've noticed is that sometimes it might take a short time for the system to "settle" after a course or speed change. Experience helps here as well. The very big systems hide this better because of their mass. If we want smooth video at our current experience level, get a good system that can handle more weight than our camera needs and load it on. Our backs will notice it a lot more but our shots won't as much. More experience-lighten the load.

I just did a shot today that was nice until the wind hit it and then I had some problems. More mass would have helped with this...also more wind experience. Wind is tough!

I realize as I'm writing this that there are a lot of "exceptions" to what I have said but mass does help.

Terry

Is the Smooth shooter using the same principles as the steadicam flyer? Casey, what can we expect from this product?

The fundamental design concept behind the Flyer arm is protected by patent.

Sergio,

Yes, the Glidecam Smooth Shooter is now shipping.

I honestly can't say when our own demonstration footage will be available for the Smooth Shooter. It likely will not be in the immediate future. If a dealer or customer produced Smooth Shooter demo is made available in the mean time, however, it may be posted on our website's video page.

The Glidecam Smooth Shooter page on our website is being updated regularly with new photos and information about the product. Again, the address is http://www.glidecam.com/smooth_shooter.html. Please check back often for the latest updates, as much more detailed information and specs will be posted soon.

Honestly, I can't understand that producing a demo is not the priority #1 in the marketing strategy of a stabilizer company. You want to sell me a product to shoot smooth videos. You sell this product for close to 2000$ (in case of the smooth shooter). Please! Show me a sample! show me how smooth a video could be with your product.

When canon release a new digital camera or camcorder, they put samples on their web site.

I am sure you have shooted so much videos with it during the developpement process, you could easily piece together some clips for the potnetials buyers... I don't want to see a nice looking girl wearing the rig, what I want to see is the videos that girl is able to do with this rig...

No? That doesn't make sense?

By the way, this does not apply to glidecam specifically, I know that there are other videos available on the glidecam's website for the others products... but I can't understand why they don't put footages sooner. And it is always difficult to find demonstration footage for any stabilization system from from almost all manufacturers...

It's probably because it's not very smooth ;)

Prove me wrong...*hint*...*hint*...

Cummon, surley you can put something together...

<<<-- Originally posted by Jean-Philippe Archibald : Honestly, I can't understand that producing a demo is not the priority #1 in the marketing strategy of a stabilizer company. You want to sell me a product to shoot smooth videos. You sell this product for close to 2000$ (in case of the smooth shooter). Please! Show me a sample! show me how smooth a video could be with your product.

When canon release a new digital camera or camcorder, they put samples on their web site.

I am sure you have shooted so much videos with it during the developpement process, you could easily piece together some clips for the potnetials buyers... I don't want to see a nice looking girl wearing the rig, what I want to see is the videos that girl is able to do with this rig...

No? That doesn't make sense?

By the way, this does not apply to glidecam specifically, I know that there are other videos available on the glidecam's website for the others products... but I can't understand why they don't put footages sooner. And it is always difficult to find demonstration footage for any stabilization system from from almost all manufacturers... -->>>

That is right.

Manufacture know their device and should demo best quality possible. And demo video shall be full screen(720x480 29.97fps) to demo the steadiness of the device performance.

Regards
Leigh

Leigh, I don't think they need to be that large lol

Full-sized video, I'd say, is a bit more appropriate for a DVD release, not the web!

<<<-- Originally posted by Casey Visco : Full-sized video, I'd say, is a bit more appropriate for a DVD release, not the web! -->>>

Maybe the manufacture offer demo dvd will be ok.

Regards
Leigh

I'm keen to try the Smooth Shooter out...

The price tag seems fair, and I'd love to try it out.

However, the dealer that is apparently most local to me (http://www.scorpio-productions.com.au/), have a very average looking website, and are a little slow to reply to emails.

I would need to try before I buy. Is it possible to buy directly from Glidecam?

Still would love to see some footage from this. Hopefully something will pop up around NAB.

The price is just fantastic on this rig, if it does well. Need to see some footage to know.

Count me in the camp of not understanding at all why rig manufacturers don't put footage up on their sites. It really bugged me when I was looking at cranes.

Hey Casey, send me one and I will shoot it for you... :P Like you guys couldn't...

That might be an idea though. You can recoup the cost for $5-7 (media and media mail) and have a full length demo of the product. You could even include setup directions, etc. Might not be a bad idea, but then again, it might not go too well either. Some things are hard to gauge.