Stabilization ≤ $1000

Chuck Spaulding · November 26th, 2010, 11:03 PM

I agree, I enjoyed your promo's and thanks for the advice.

Just curious what other lenses your using, I have the Tokina 11-16, its a great lens, don't use it as much as should or I'd like.

Has your shooting partner used the Glidcam 2000 Pro? Its the only one of these types of stabilizers I've used and as I've mentioned I'm not very good at it and part of me hopes that the Blackbird is somehow easier to use.

I have a friend who just moved his factory to Tennessee from California and he loves it.

Thanks again.

David Lavender · November 27th, 2010, 07:18 PM

Thanks for the kind words. We're just getting started, and they're very much appreciated while we try to figure out how to make this business stuff work.

Chuck, we borrow and rent lenses a lot right now while we're trying to get enough money to purchase some for ourselves. For the weddings, we've leaned heavily on the Tokina 11-16 and the Canon 70-200 2.8L IS. In the most recent wedding, we rented the Mk II. I'm not sure I could tell a ton of difference with video between the Mk I and the Mk II. I'm thinking the difference pops up more with stills at full res. I guess the IS is supposed to be better, but I didn't notice any huge jump.

In the band promo, we shot mostly with a Sigma 17-70 (the Tokina was in the shop) and a Canon 85mm 1.8 (the cheapish version). I really love the 85mm, although at 1.8 you really need a viewfinder or monitor to hit focus. I missed a lot of shots there. We've also borrowed the Canon 24-105L, which is great outdoors but a bit slow indoors with available light at f4.

We haven't tried the Glidecam 2000, I'm afraid. I think you'll find fanboys of all three low-end stabilizers. I just think the Blackbird has the best design and the most ways to tweak the balance to find what works best for you. I wish I could give you better info there. Here's what sold me: If you look at other forums, you'll find a lot of people who had experience with other stabilizers and were most happy with the Blackbird. Most of the naysayers (or fans of Merlin/Glidecam) had never even tried the Blackbird.

Let me know if you'd like any more info or maybe even some better photos/videos of the Bbird. I'll be happy to try to help.

Jerry Porter · December 2nd, 2010, 09:41 PM

I'm one of the guys in the new Black Bird how to DVD (the red Buell motorcycle is mine and I'm the tall skinny guy shooting it) and I have to tell you I have used most of the small hand-held stabilizers. I do not work for the company (I paid full price for mine) and was only asked to help with the video after they watched some of my work. The BB is the best design, run buy a great group of guys (and wife) and very forgiving to the new user. If you are going to put anything heavy on it look to something else, but in the light weight end it is the king, and yes you can put it on a Merlin vest to get up to about 7 pounds or so.

If you would like to talk about the differences that I have experienced with the different types feel free to PM me your number and I will be glad to call you back.

November 26th, 2010, 11:03 PM	#16
Chuck Spaulding Trustee Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Thousand Oaks Posts: 1,099	I agree, I enjoyed your promo's and thanks for the advice. Just curious what other lenses your using, I have the Tokina 11-16, its a great lens, don't use it as much as should or I'd like. Has your shooting partner used the Glidcam 2000 Pro? Its the only one of these types of stabilizers I've used and as I've mentioned I'm not very good at it and part of me hopes that the Blackbird is somehow easier to use. I have a friend who just moved his factory to Tennessee from California and he loves it. Thanks again.

November 27th, 2010, 07:18 PM	#17
David Lavender Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 46	Thanks for the kind words. We're just getting started, and they're very much appreciated while we try to figure out how to make this business stuff work. Chuck, we borrow and rent lenses a lot right now while we're trying to get enough money to purchase some for ourselves. For the weddings, we've leaned heavily on the Tokina 11-16 and the Canon 70-200 2.8L IS. In the most recent wedding, we rented the Mk II. I'm not sure I could tell a ton of difference with video between the Mk I and the Mk II. I'm thinking the difference pops up more with stills at full res. I guess the IS is supposed to be better, but I didn't notice any huge jump. In the band promo, we shot mostly with a Sigma 17-70 (the Tokina was in the shop) and a Canon 85mm 1.8 (the cheapish version). I really love the 85mm, although at 1.8 you really need a viewfinder or monitor to hit focus. I missed a lot of shots there. We've also borrowed the Canon 24-105L, which is great outdoors but a bit slow indoors with available light at f4. We haven't tried the Glidecam 2000, I'm afraid. I think you'll find fanboys of all three low-end stabilizers. I just think the Blackbird has the best design and the most ways to tweak the balance to find what works best for you. I wish I could give you better info there. Here's what sold me: If you look at other forums, you'll find a lot of people who had experience with other stabilizers and were most happy with the Blackbird. Most of the naysayers (or fans of Merlin/Glidecam) had never even tried the Blackbird. Let me know if you'd like any more info or maybe even some better photos/videos of the Bbird. I'll be happy to try to help.

December 2nd, 2010, 09:41 PM	#18
Jerry Porter Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Satellite Beach, Fl Posts: 784	I'm one of the guys in the new Black Bird how to DVD (the red Buell motorcycle is mine and I'm the tall skinny guy shooting it) and I have to tell you I have used most of the small hand-held stabilizers. I do not work for the company (I paid full price for mine) and was only asked to help with the video after they watched some of my work. The BB is the best design, run buy a great group of guys (and wife) and very forgiving to the new user. If you are going to put anything heavy on it look to something else, but in the light weight end it is the king, and yes you can put it on a Merlin vest to get up to about 7 pounds or so. If you would like to talk about the differences that I have experienced with the different types feel free to PM me your number and I will be glad to call you back.