Glidecam 2000 or 4000????
 

Hey Guys,

Does anyone know how the nx5u (Sony's 5lbs camera, and that is 5 pounds naked) will hold up on either a glidecam 2000 pro or 4000 pro? The 2000 pro holds up to 6 pounds where as the 4000 pro holds from 4-10 pounds. The camera is right on the line and I really want to be able to get away with the 2000 pro, but don't want to end up with a $250 paper weight if it doesn't work with the camera.

I probably will be adding the weight of a microphone, battery, lcd hood, fmu128 drive, and possibly even a light if needed at times.

The worst part of all this is I do not have the camera yet to test it.

Any suggestions or experience will help....
Thanks! -Nick

Sounds like you will end up with a 7 lb+ camera, and you don't want to be using a handheld stabilizer with that. You'll need to start looking at rigs with vests and arms.

for what purpose you need it?
What is the longer time in seconds, that you want to use it?
I am asking you, because if you want to make shot more than minute, i dont think that you will be able to do this, because of the weight.

sooner or later with that setup you'll realize that you need a full rig, zephyr is coming out soon (I hope); so you will easily find inexpensive used pilot , I know I will be letting mine go.

Sounds great.... but unless inexpensive is <500 then.... I can notttttt afford it :-(

You might want to look into the HD series. It is a lot easier to adjust. For short clips, I've seen people hand held the HD4000 with about 5lb without a problem.

For some reason I can't post in the forsale classifieds, so I'll just let you know... if you're interested I have a HD4000 in mint condition that I am letting go. I decided to use the Merlin Steadicam instead, since my camera is around 3.7lbs. (5D Mark II with 16-35mm lens).

E-mail me if you're interested.

Thanks,
David

I'm thinking of the 4000 for my Sony EX1. Anyone using this with the EX?

Also, how do you guys focus when moving around? or do you just set focus to infinite and expose for the scene. I would like to hear how you are using this rig and how long you can go before fatigue get to you.

Thanks

Simon,

I have a fx 1000 on an indie cam. for focus I often keep it on auto focus. this slows me down a bit and helps me get better footage as I always tend to move to fast.

If I am staying with my subject I manual focus, set for more depth of field and leave it.

I also have a manfrotto remote that I can run down to the right hand and it has focus on it. I hardly ever use this as it restricts panning.

woould like to hear what others are doing.

i own a steadicam JR and glidecam 2000 pro. i currently use the glidecam 4000 pro equivalent FLYCAM 5000 and have modified the equivalent Varizoom DV sportster vest and arm to accomodate heavier loads... i have loaded my Z1U with shotgun mic, wireless receiver, LED lightpanels equivalent, high capacity batt, andstandard lenshood...with the sled it clocks in at about 11lbs...

it is a bastard to balance initially but once i get it all swimming in unison, it is rather stable

sometimes i swap the front weights with a 7" LCD with selfcontained Lithium Ion battery so i get about 2hrs out of it...

I use the Glidecam 2000 HD with my Canon 7D and it works perfect with this light-weight set-up. For the Nx5u, you'll definitely need the 4000, but man let me warn you... it's going to kill your arm. Even with the 2000 and a DSLR, it gets really heavy after about 20 minutes of use. So unless you're really strong, you should hold out of the vest/arm rig.

in that case I would look at blackbird, the difference between fly\glidecam and blackbird is grip and CG,
with Glidecam CG is extended a bit forward off your hand and that makes it heavy, plus it is really awkward to do boom shots because of the short 90° gimbal design;
with Blackbird CG is right on top of the handle and that makes a big difference, i was able to fly EX1 on glidecam for about 30sec, blackbird gives me a bit over one minute before my forearm starts to burn:)
but answering the question between 2000 and 4000 I'd choose 2000, it's lighter which is very important for the handheld unit and it's still be able to handle a load up to 10Lb (if you will:)

Hi Nick

I have around 7lbs of camera and trust me you don't want to fly that weight with a hand held stabilizer even for short periods. Remember you are using a 7lb camera so your minimum sled weight will be at least the same... can you serious hold that weight with one arm??? Pick up a 15lb dumbbell and see how long you can hold it with your arm outstretched!! After a few seconds your arm will start to shake and after even a bunch of short 30 sec or less shoots you will wake up the next morning and wonder what on earth has happened to your arm!!!

If you can't afford any sort of vest then rather don't buy the sled..you will be sorry!!! You can actually get the CineCity vest and single arm for less than $400 at the moment...you should find them on eBay...I use one for weddings as they are very light and compact and actually work well for the money and as already mentioned, Billy has his Glidecam sled on one!!

Chris

You can put that kind of weight on the 2000, but I wouldn't reccommend it. You might as well spend the extra money on the 4000, for that matter the 4000hd. The HD has better controls over the weights at the bottom as well as the camera adjustments. I own a 4000 and 4000hd. I've flown a sony fx 1000, panasonic hmc 150 and canon 5dmkii. The fx 1000 is around the same weight as your camera and it gets a bit finicky with the 4000 but nothing you can't control. It does get heavy, try lengthening the glidecam to compensate for the amount of weight you put on. Don't buy the belt/shoulder straps-those are junk.