Glidecam HD1000 Help at DVinfo.net

Stephen Byrd · January 18th, 2011, 02:01 PM

I just picked up a Glidecam HD1000 and pretty new to the stabilization arena. I realize this is not something you take out of the box & it does everything for you. However, my question is about the overall balance of the glidecam when you're standing still vs. moving around. My camera seems balanced horizontally when I pick it up off of a table. It doesn't lean foward/back or side to side. I can raise it up & shift it side to side with no movement of the camera. The problem is not knowing if I have it truly vertically balanced. If I start to walk (even slowly) with the glidecam in hand, the camera/head seems to become unbalanced & out of control at times. Is this "normal" and will always require my other hand to keep the camera/head from moving, or should it stay in a steady position as long as I'm just holding it by the gimble? I'm starting to get the hang of it & know I'll have to spend countless hours practicing my motions, but I also want to make sure I'm not creating more work for me if this is not quite normal. Thanks everyone!

John Nantz · January 19th, 2011, 05:05 PM

To reply to just one question "Is this "normal" and will always require my other hand to keep the camera/head from moving, or should it stay in a steady position as long as I'm just holding it by the gimble? ", based on the 2000/4000 Manual (can be downloaded from Glidecam's web site under "Support".

Glidecam Product Support

I would think that what it says toward the end would also apply to the question you have.

It says (and I can't quote it right now because I can't find my copy) that one has to keep a finger (or thumb?) from the second hand on the Glidecam. As a minimum, this is to point the camera in the right direction, and perhaps provide tilt, but I believe it is also to help keep it steady. It's been several weeks since I've read this so I don't remember all the details.

For info, I just recently got a Glidecam 4000 but I want to set it up with a mic. The mic takes an XLR cable and the camera has a mini jack input so in between it requires something to make the conversion so I'm going to use a JuicedLink pre. My problem is the cable between the mic and the JuicedLink is about 10 feet long and moves around all over the place which makes the system go off-balance. My plan is to get a 1.5-ft short cable that will hopefully quell the changes in the center of gravity. Ergo, except for the initial dry-run setup playing around with it I haven't done anything more. So, I'll defer to the other experts here to chime in, and hopefully they will.

The Glidecam is a really nicely made piece of equipment and I think I'm going to enjoy using it to make smoother videos when moving around. At least I hope so.

John Nantz · January 19th, 2011, 05:07 PM

To reply to just one question "Is this "normal" and will always require my other hand to keep the camera/head from moving, or should it stay in a steady position as long as I'm just holding it by the gimble? ", based on the 2000/4000 Manual (can be downloaded from Glidecam's web site under "Support".

Glidecam Product Support

I would think that what it says toward the end would also apply to the question you have.

It says (and I can't quote it right now because I can't find my copy) that one has to keep a finger (or thumb?) from the second hand on the Glidecam. As a minimum, this is to point the camera in the right direction, and perhaps provide tilt, but I believe it is also to help keep it steady. It's been several weeks since I've read this so I don't remember all the details.

For info, I just recently got a Glidecam 4000 but I want to set it up with a mic. The mic takes an XLR cable and the camera has a mini jack input so in between it requires something to make the conversion so I'm going to use a JuicedLink pre. My problem is the cable between the mic and the JuicedLink is about 10 feet long and moves around all over the place which makes the system go off-balance. My plan is to get a 1.5-ft short cable that will hopefully quell the changes in the center of gravity. Ergo, except for the initial dry-run setup playing around with it I haven't done anything more. So, I'll defer to the other experts here to chime in, and hopefully they will.

The Glidecam is a really nicely made piece of equipment and I think I'm going to enjoy using it to make smoother videos when moving around. At least I hope so.

John Nantz · January 19th, 2011, 05:22 PM

The computer went into a constant repeating mode and after I got it stopped and checked to see if my post was posted - it wasn't, so I did another post. Then, voila! I now have TWO posts. And, adding insult to injury, I couldn't delete one of them.

Also, I can't even find a way to edit one of them to partially fix it.

Correction: For what it's worth, the Glidecam I have is the 2000 and not the 4000.

Sorry about the double post. It may be because I had "Accept Cookies" turned off.

Ario Narendro · January 24th, 2011, 08:07 AM

Hi Stephen..
for answering your question, yes you have to use both of your hands.. if you're right handed, you use your right hand to hold the glider, and you use your left hand as a control, you only have to use your finger and thumb. I agree with John, you can download the userguide or searching in youtube how to balancing glidecam 1000HD..

AN

January 18th, 2011, 02:01 PM	#1
Stephen Byrd Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 26	Glidecam HD1000 Help I just picked up a Glidecam HD1000 and pretty new to the stabilization arena. I realize this is not something you take out of the box & it does everything for you. However, my question is about the overall balance of the glidecam when you're standing still vs. moving around. My camera seems balanced horizontally when I pick it up off of a table. It doesn't lean foward/back or side to side. I can raise it up & shift it side to side with no movement of the camera. The problem is not knowing if I have it truly vertically balanced. If I start to walk (even slowly) with the glidecam in hand, the camera/head seems to become unbalanced & out of control at times. Is this "normal" and will always require my other hand to keep the camera/head from moving, or should it stay in a steady position as long as I'm just holding it by the gimble? I'm starting to get the hang of it & know I'll have to spend countless hours practicing my motions, but I also want to make sure I'm not creating more work for me if this is not quite normal. Thanks everyone!

January 19th, 2011, 05:05 PM	#2
John Nantz Trustee Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 1,254	To try and answer just one question: To reply to just one question "Is this "normal" and will always require my other hand to keep the camera/head from moving, or should it stay in a steady position as long as I'm just holding it by the gimble? ", based on the 2000/4000 Manual (can be downloaded from Glidecam's web site under "Support". Glidecam Product Support I would think that what it says toward the end would also apply to the question you have. It says (and I can't quote it right now because I can't find my copy) that one has to keep a finger (or thumb?) from the second hand on the Glidecam. As a minimum, this is to point the camera in the right direction, and perhaps provide tilt, but I believe it is also to help keep it steady. It's been several weeks since I've read this so I don't remember all the details. For info, I just recently got a Glidecam 4000 but I want to set it up with a mic. The mic takes an XLR cable and the camera has a mini jack input so in between it requires something to make the conversion so I'm going to use a JuicedLink pre. My problem is the cable between the mic and the JuicedLink is about 10 feet long and moves around all over the place which makes the system go off-balance. My plan is to get a 1.5-ft short cable that will hopefully quell the changes in the center of gravity. Ergo, except for the initial dry-run setup playing around with it I haven't done anything more. So, I'll defer to the other experts here to chime in, and hopefully they will. The Glidecam is a really nicely made piece of equipment and I think I'm going to enjoy using it to make smoother videos when moving around. At least I hope so.

January 19th, 2011, 05:07 PM	#3
John Nantz Trustee Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 1,254	To hopefully try and answer one question... To reply to just one question "Is this "normal" and will always require my other hand to keep the camera/head from moving, or should it stay in a steady position as long as I'm just holding it by the gimble? ", based on the 2000/4000 Manual (can be downloaded from Glidecam's web site under "Support". Glidecam Product Support I would think that what it says toward the end would also apply to the question you have. It says (and I can't quote it right now because I can't find my copy) that one has to keep a finger (or thumb?) from the second hand on the Glidecam. As a minimum, this is to point the camera in the right direction, and perhaps provide tilt, but I believe it is also to help keep it steady. It's been several weeks since I've read this so I don't remember all the details. For info, I just recently got a Glidecam 4000 but I want to set it up with a mic. The mic takes an XLR cable and the camera has a mini jack input so in between it requires something to make the conversion so I'm going to use a JuicedLink pre. My problem is the cable between the mic and the JuicedLink is about 10 feet long and moves around all over the place which makes the system go off-balance. My plan is to get a 1.5-ft short cable that will hopefully quell the changes in the center of gravity. Ergo, except for the initial dry-run setup playing around with it I haven't done anything more. So, I'll defer to the other experts here to chime in, and hopefully they will. The Glidecam is a really nicely made piece of equipment and I think I'm going to enjoy using it to make smoother videos when moving around. At least I hope so.

January 19th, 2011, 05:22 PM	#4
John Nantz Trustee Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 1,254	Double post: Computer malfunction..... The computer went into a constant repeating mode and after I got it stopped and checked to see if my post was posted - it wasn't, so I did another post. Then, voila! I now have TWO posts. And, adding insult to injury, I couldn't delete one of them. Also, I can't even find a way to edit one of them to partially fix it. Correction: For what it's worth, the Glidecam I have is the 2000 and not the 4000. Sorry about the double post. It may be because I had "Accept Cookies" turned off.

January 24th, 2011, 08:07 AM	#5
Ario Narendro Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Denpasar - Bali, Indonesia Posts: 37	Hi Stephen.. for answering your question, yes you have to use both of your hands.. if you're right handed, you use your right hand to hold the glider, and you use your left hand as a control, you only have to use your finger and thumb. I agree with John, you can download the userguide or searching in youtube how to balancing glidecam 1000HD.. AN