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Homemade guide cam style stabilizer

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crswlson
Posts: 30 - Karma: 289
Hey I am deciding weather to buy a guide cam 5000 or a rode video mic pro. I can afford one or the other. If someone knows how to make a decent stabilizer let me know.
Oct 29 2012 5:52PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
They don't make a glidecam 5000, only 1000 2000 and 4000, which one do you mean? and be more specific about why you need either of them, but most likely the glidecam will be a better choice(What sort of weight are you using? could you do with a 2000?)
Oct 29 2012 6:01PM
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crswlson
Posts: 30 - Karma: 289
I don't know where I got gluidecam500 I mean the flycam nano. I have a t3i and use a rokinon 8mm commonly. I have Ben using an xgrip to film skateboarding but that won't work as well skiing
Oct 29 2012 6:17PM
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Juicy-J
Posts: 1900 - Karma: 1,764
where does the home made part come into this?
Oct 29 2012 6:17PM
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crswlson
Posts: 30 - Karma: 289
I'm looking for tutorials on how to make a decent stabilizer
Oct 29 2012 6:20PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
OP...
Oct 29 2012 6:21PM
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.qzyxya
Posts: 1479 - Karma: -26
They have a really good deal on the glidecam 2000 pro on ebay, going for like $180 with a day left.

Honestly, I don't understand why people here on NS dislike flycams so much. Yes, they are not nearly as well built as a glidecam, but if you treat it well it will be plenty durable. I'm probably going to upgrade to a bigger camera/rig before I'll have to replace my flycam nano. It's much better than just going handheld. It's really not as bad as people think. You don't need a $500 glidecam and a L lens to get good looking video.

As for DIY glidecam/flycam, there are a couple of threads here on NS (searchbar...) and some on youtube. If I'm having a hard time getting my flycam perfectly balanced (yes i know a glidecam has fine tuning and would be easier) I can't imagine what a pain in the ass it would be to balance a DIY glidecam. Another option would be a fig rig. (you know the things that look like steering wheels with your camera in the middle?) They work surprisingly well. Totally different type of stabilizer than a flycam/glidecam/steadicam, but you might want to make a DIY one of those. There are tons of tutorials on youtube about diy fig rigs. It would be pretty cheap to make one out of pvc pipe, you might want to try that out.

I'd personally say you should try to snag a cheap 2000 pro (or maybe a HD1000 if your camera isnt too heavy - they go for ~$250 on ebay - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Glidecam-HD1000-Stabilizer-System-HD-1000-Steadycam-/261118134172?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccbda879c) and then get a cheap mic instead of the rode videomic. I have an audiotechnica ATR6550 ($50 on amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR-6550-Condenser-Shotgun-Microphone/dp/B002GYPS3M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1351552347&sr=8-4&keywords=dslr+mic) and it works much better than the onboard mic, and almost as good as my friend's rode videomic. If you have the money for the expensive videomic, definitely go for it, but its much better to have a cheap mic than no mic (plus you can invest into stuff like an external audio recorder like a zoom h1 or h4n or w/e with that money you would have spent on the videomic)

inb4 "glidecam /thread" if you have the money to get a glidecam, get one, but if its the flycam, or nothing for half the season, get a flycam. What matters most is that you can actually film and not worry about saving up for more gear (duh)
hope this helped.
Oct 29 2012 7:18PM
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.qzyxya
Posts: 1479 - Karma: -26
shit misread op. did you mean flycam 5000 or one of the glidecams?
Oct 29 2012 7:20PM
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SNP_CREW
Posts: 249 - Karma: 495
yea im calling dibs on that glidecam. is it someone on NS?
Oct 29 2012 8:09PM
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crswlson
Posts: 30 - Karma: 289
i meant the flycam nano which i was told was also called the flycam 500 but im not sure. and i dont know much about the difference between flycam and gluide cam to be honest.
Oct 30 2012 1:50AM
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.qzyxya
Posts: 1479 - Karma: -26
There's tons of theads here on ns. Once you have a flycam balanced it will work almost exactly as a glidecam will. Glidecams are just more expensive, much easier to balance and better durability. Flycam's the cheap chinese fake of the glidecam. If its either a flycam or a mic, get a flycam, but you'd be much better off with a cheap shotgun mic than the shitty in camera mic (assuming you have a canon dslr.
use the searchbar...
Oct 30 2012 2:08PM
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