Thanks for the clarification, Casey. I couldn't for the life of me imagine how the GC 4000 could have only two axes of movement. I've played with it at trades shows and figured I couldn't have missed that.

Thread Necromancy!

Ok I just got my GlideCam 4000 Pro in. I'm using an XL1s sans viewfinder/mic. I also have a Marshall L4 monitor with sunshade and external battery pack attached to it.

I find it IMPOSSIBLE to get anything more than .8-1 second drop time from horizontal to vertical position. What am I doing wrong? I assumed that it needs more top heavy weight to have a slow drop time. So I took all but one weight off of each side and it STILL dropped in 1 second or under.

I'm guessing the monitor is adding too much weight to give it a slow drop time but I need some serious horizontal balance b/c this thing swings back and forth way way too much. The vertical balance is ok but if I walk and then stop it just starts swinging too much.


Any pointers?

I found that the key for me was to make the thing as bottom heavy as possible... then fine tuning would smooth out any imbalances.

Zach...

It's important to balance the sled with the right drop time. Otherwise there's a tendency to act like a pendulum with every acceleration or deceleration.

A good example of that is a baton held at one end. Every movement of your hand will tend to swing the baton.

However, hold that baton in the middle, just above the balance point, and the tendency to swing each time you move forward or back is greatly reduced.

Same holds true for any camera stabilization system.

If the sled is too bottom heavy, you'll have to add weights to the top or shift the gimbal to a lower point along the column. At least that's how it works on the V-16.

Put the mic and viewfinder back on. That will add some mass high on the sled. Also, you'll need the viewfinder to provide critical exposure information as zebras will not be displayed on an external monitor.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions.

... Well... not TOOO bottom heavy.... I use the drop test mentioned in this thread as well... if the rig is top heavy (and mine is pretty heavy - xl-1 with marshall monitor) then imbalances will really be pronounced. As soon as you hold it in one hand it'll go flying. By making it a bit bottom heavy then these imbalances are slower to develop and you can resolve via fine tuning....

A top heavy rig will actually fall over and hang upside down. A rig that drops faster than 2 seconds will appear to be more stable, but will pendulum during acceleration and starts and stops as Zach noticed; also will require too much force to make a significant tilt.

With a 2-3 second drop time, it's true that it will act more "squirrely" and require a more delicate touch, but those are the conditions under which the best shots will be delivered.

Extremely fascinating thread on the physics and frustrations involved in getting these stabilizer gizmos balanced especially the Glidecam 4000.

Appreciated reading all the great inputs.

Speaking of balance...finally purchased my own gear, a Sony PD170 and the stabilizer I purchased was an ultralite made by Hollywood lite. It would not balance due to the extra front end weight of the WA lens.

It is going back to B&H and am considering replacing with a Glidecam 4000.

Without getting too dangerously close to changing the subject I have a couple concerns before purchasing the 4000 that some of my peers here could help me out with.

First, has anyone used a PD170 on a Glidecam 4k and have been able to get a good balance ?

Second, according to some of these posts it sounds like one needs the forearms of a sailor named Popeye to endure using the device.

That said, would you recommend getting the body harness or forearm accessories or can you develop endurance and techniques to minimize fatique?

Whew ! That was a bit lengthy. Thanks in advance for all your feedback(s)

Ken
Agape Productions
Mesa, Az.

Ken:

Start eating your spinach, mate!

A body mount will help considerably with the fatigue aspect, but bear in mind that you lose some of the flexibility of a handheld system, namely the ability to adjust your lens height from very low to above your head. Of course, you can always go handheld for those shots in particular.

Check out this 3rd-party bodymount system. The man behind it, Terry Thompson, posts here regularly so you can ask him questions about it.

I went with the Varizoom FlowPod and it works very well with the DVX100a. It is alittle on the heavy side but it is easy to balance, it comes with a very slick bracket that clamps to a table and lets the FlowPod float so you can easily balance the camera.

Charles:

The thing with the pendulum effect for me is that the camera is already bottom heavy enough with just 3 total weights on the bottom (plus the monitor which isn't all THAT heavy) that it has an under 1 second drop time.

Won't adding more weight just make it drop quicker?

You could remove weights and possible shorten the staff to lengthen the drop time.

Yes, what George said. If you are out of options for reducing weight on the bottom and the post is as short as possible and it is still bottom heavy, you can add weight up top by the camera.

My guess is that it has something to do with the monitor. If you have this and a battery attached to the front of the rig, you will obviously need back weight on the bottom to counteract this. My recommendation would be to move the battery from under the monitor to the rear of the sled (you'll need to extend the power cable of course) which will spread out the components better. Try taping it in place as a test before you bother with the wiring work to see if it makes sense. You may even be able to remove the washer weights with this scenario, achieve a 2-3 second drop and be working with a lighter rig.

To understand why the 1lb monitor is making such an impact, consider the principles of leverage.

In a perfect world, you would be able to raise the monitor off the bottom plate. A clamp attached about 8" up the center post with a short arm to the monitor wouldn't be too hard to build if you are handy. Keep the battery down at the bottom rear of the base. This is the model of the big rig design, and has been proven to be an efficient and effective distribution of masses.

If you need weight up top, a Bogen quick-release will pile it on quickly ;) My old quick-release was about 1 pound!

Coming into this late! I'm one person who was mad enough to mount an XL1s onto a GC 2000 Pro once! It actually worked pretty nice, but I'm lucky I have the arms for it!

Good luck to anyone using a 4000Pro with one of those things attached without an arm brace!

Well, the good news is that the Smooth Shooter (the arm and vest system designed for the 2000/4000 Pro) is almost done. So you wont have to rely on your own arms to hold up a fully loaded 4000 Pro.

Casey,

Great to know that glidecam is designing an arm and vest add on for the handheld devices. But don't you think that this system will canibalize the sales of the V8 ?

Ofcourse it will, Jean-Philippe. A Smooth Shooter/4000 Pro setup would be a great alternative to the V-8...but we're replacing the V-8 as well with a newly designed rig called the V-10. The Smooth Shooter prototype was recently shown at the Satis trade show in France, and the production versions will likely be ready in the coming few months, if not sooner.

Like the V-35 that's already been previewed at the NAB and IBC shows, the V-10 and Smooth Shooter represent a significant departure from the existing line of products in terms of design, engineering and construction. I, for one, am very excited and proud of what we've come up with.

Casey, I think that's great. It's pretty clear that the current (and probably future) line of "serious" DV/HDV cameras are of a weight class that aren't appropriate for handheld stabilizers, but are also in a price range that make larger stabilizers seem too expensive, relatively speaking. Sounds like the Smooth Shooter will service the needs of the digital filmmaker that doesn't need to (or can't afford to) accomodate a larger/more expensive camera package. Looking forward to seeing the new product.

As Charles said, looking forward to it. Sounds like a great deal for the occasional time user like me.