Glidecam and anamorphic

[Paulio]

Anybody tried this? There are almost zero examples online aside from this  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXgvmOkjqrM which looks pretty good to me.

 

I imagine the main limiting factor is you  need to use wide angle lenses with the glidecam to get stable, and of course anamorphics have limitations in that regard.

 

I was considering getting a glidecam and  mir10a 25mm and pairing it with my isco.

 

Thoughts? Warnings?

[Rob Bannister]

if you are going that route Id look into the cheaper movi options that are coming available. Glidecam is pretty expensive still isnt it? There is that guy with the 2 axis stabilization Ive seen recently, would really work with a GH2 not for DSLR and a heavy lens.

[Paulio]

Glidecam is about 500-600 bucks and very well proven. As far as I know there are no movi clones in that price range or with any sort of proven field reliability. I'd really love to be proven wrong though!

[Rob Bannister]

This is the one I was referring to, but dont hold your breath its a kickstarter so you wont get it for better part of a year

 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1555066985/the-ghost-dslr-video-camera-stabilizer

[Phil]

[member='Phil']  I'm a member of the Homebuilt Stabilizers website which, unfortunately, is not very active anymore.  While a wide angle lens may help, the essential ingredient in a mechanical stabilizer is being able to balance the camera fore and aft and side to side.  It also is best to have a monitor and battery on the "sled" that can be moved.  Also, a gimbal that can move up and down the sled will help set a drop time.

Hand-held stabilizers are a bit different, but the basic principle applies.

[Matthew Marshall]

You dont necessarily need wide angle lenses. I got my 70-200mm l series lens, canon 5d mark III balanced on the stabilizer however that was probably the very tip limit of the weight.

[Paulio]

The wider angle reduces the perception of movement etc, its not recommended to go above 50mm. Mathew what size glidecam did you use? The hd4000 can do upto 10 pounds.

[Rcorrell]

I have the full badass glidecam package.  monitors, dual arms, vest, car mounts, etc...   Everything depends on what shot / aesthetic your trying to achieve.  For  5d3 I would use a 2x anamorphic with a 50mm, which = basically a 25mm.  unless your shooting a skate video or going for a fisheye look, which doesn't even quite make sense with anamorphic, that should cover you.  With an iscorama the 50mm will end up being close to a 33mm lens.

 

That video you posted is another perfect example of someone that has no idea how to balance their glidecam correctly, and it is the biggest contributing factor to getting good results with these systems..

 

PM me dude, be glad to let you test out the rig, and show you how to properly balance these things.  The pelican is currently sitting in my closet, I rather see someone get some use out of it.  

 

I'll try and post a video later if i have some time today..

[OzNimbus]

Glidecam, gh2, Nikon 35mm & Bolex anamorphic

http://youtu.be/VQeazQ0eohQ?t=3m1s

 

 

[Paulio]

Ryan, thanks for the info man, I'm shooting on m43rd so it's tighter than your 5d for sure. Sounds like you are glidecams best customer! I was thinking of getting one for narrative work to be able to do tracking shots, more dynamic stuff and even just to give a bit of breathe to some shots. I'm stuck on sticks or slider at the moment and the glidecam seems like the biggest bang for buck as far adding some shooting freedom.

Did you find it gave you much additional creative freedom? I assume your using the hd4000 to hold that gear, it's prob overkill for gh2 but I've heard the 4000 is much more stable than smaller models and that you're better off using it and just adding weight plates to the top.

[Paulio]

I ended up ordering a hd4000 and a couple of weight plates. There is a pretty solid tutorial here http://vimeo.com/15300979

on how to balance it for anyone else who might be interested.

 

Cheers.