Glide Gear GLIDEGEAR 3000 VIDEO & DSLR CAMERA STABILIZER MODEL SYL-3000 Platinum Setup and Operation Manual
Glidegear 3000 Video & DSLR Camera Stabilizer Congratulations on your purchase of the Glidegear 3000 Camera Stabilizer! Before you do anything please note that you must balance your specific camera to the stabilizer to achieve effective stabilization. Think of this first part of balancing your camera as an investment, it will also be a fun game of weights and measures.
Table of Contents Overview ....................................................................................................................... 1 ......................................................................... 3 ........................................................................................... 4 Balancing Your Glidegear 3000 .............................................................................. 6 Troubleshooting ................................................................
A Brief Tour of Glidegear 3000 To begin our tour we will identify the main functional components. It is important to be able to recognize and name these parts especially if you should need a replacement or spare. No reason to begin unpacking the unit, why not read this comprehensive guide first? (Yeah right!) Amateur video is usually unstable because video cameras do not have the built-in stabilization that your brain does when you are walking, jogging, swaggering, going up the stairs, etc.
Expanded View of Parts Camera Cushion Strips Gross Adjustment Screw Fore and Aft Y-Plate 360 Nut Gimbal Handle Screw Tracking Knob Gimbal Joint Handle Grip Weight Nuts Bow Arm Attachment Knob Counterweight Arm Counterweights Large and Small • Gimbal Joint and Handle Grip: The design of the Glidegear 3000 is engineered to stabilize the camera by moving the center of gravity below the camera and under the actual gimbal joint.
• Camera Cushion Strips and Gross Adjustment Screw - Fore and Aft: Your camera will mount onto the camera cushion strips and the gross adjustment screw forward and aft. • Counterweight Arm: This allows you to distribute the mass of the system along the horizontal axis. If your camera has most of the weight to the right side of midline, then you would need to adjust the counterweight arm to the left appropriate to obtain level condition along the horizontal - X-axis.
Balancing Your Glidegear 3000 When your camera is mounted onto the Glidegear 3000 (with battery and memory card), the unit must be balanced correctly to achieve optimal and effective image stabilization. The center of gravity (COG) of the entire system must be manipulated to be just below the fulcrum (gimbal). Usually this means to have about 1/4 of your camera weight on the bottom (counterweight arm) so that the system is slightly bottom heavy.
Now turn the bowl upside down, you will see this becomes much easier. This is because the COG is now below the fulcrum in this system and you can even move your thumb from side to side without having the bowl fall over: So, the key to effective balancing of your Glidegear 3000 is to make sure the COG is just below the gimbal joint. This is achieved by distributing the weights such that the system is slightly bottom heavy.
With the small camera adapter, the Glidegear 3000 has the capability to stabilize cameras from 1oz (28g) to 5lbs (2.2kg). Begin your balancing with the batteries and memory card installed in your camera. There are three axes of balance that need to be achieved: vertical (Y-axis), horizontal (X-axis), and fore/aft (Z-axis). To keep it simple, better do them one at a time. Vertical: For this explanation we will start with the vertical balancing.
Troubleshooting Symptom: System doesn’t balance, too much pendulum effect Possible Diagnosis: Bottom Heavy The most common among beginners is to make the Glidegear 3000 camera stabilizer bottom heavy. Due to the many weights that come with the package and the lighter, newer cameras, it is a common error to have too much weight at the bottom. If this occurs, remove all the weights and start over from scratch, adding one weight at a time.
Operation Now that you have completed your balance training, it is time for the fun part: Operation. The Glidegear 3000 is not only a camera stabilizer, it is a much easier way to hold and operate a camera for creating dynamic shots. With this powerful stabilization system at your disposal, you can create scenes that bend to your will and your filmmaking ability will now be able to match your imagination.
Hand Positioning A) Two-handed Position: This is the most recommended way to operate the Glidegear 3000. With this hand positioning, you will be able to achieve smooth and precise scenes. If you are just starting out, learn how to shoot with this position first. Hold the handle with your primary hand and aim the camera with your secondary hand on the gimbal joint grip. This technique does require some practice as the force needed to rotate the camera with your secondary hand is very light.
B) One-handed Position: This operating technique is not as precise as two handed and is not generally recommended. However, it can be extremely helpful when you need a free hand to give sign language, move objects, open doors, etc. Rest the bottom of the handle on the hypothenar eminence — the prominent part of the palm — of your support hand and hold the grip with your second, third, and pinky finger. Grip the Gimbal Joint grip with the thumb and forefinger of your support hand.
Body Positioning Forward Position: This is the bread and butter position you will be using for 94.35% of your shots. This can be defined, roughly, as operating the camera forward more or less aimed in the same direction as the forearm of your guide hand. Forward position is the best for straight ahead shots and shots looking from side to side. Use the forward position when following somebody, backing up, and other general shooting angles. Two-handed Forward Sweep: Hold the grip with your dominant hand.
Now as you are walking and lightly touching the gimbal joint grip to guide it in the direction you want to aim the camera — ultra light fine practiced control is warranted. Avoid the death grip on the guide; that will result in unwanted lurching from side to side, up and down, and all other directions as well. Reverse: This mode should only be used two handed. Hold the grip with your dominant hand and rotate the camera around to generally aim in the opposite direction of the forearm of your guide hand.
Advanced: Use the gangster grip to enhance your range of motion with the reverse mode shooting (be sure to loosen the 360 Nut): Booming: Booming is the act of increasing and decreasing the height level of the camera. Doing this effectively without unwanted tilt is an art that must be practiced. Try it with the two-handed position; raise the system higher and lower while maintaining slight touch on the gimbal grip knob and avoiding unwanted tilting.
Body Clearance: With practice you will learn the moves will that allow you to create flexible and dynamic footage without making unwanted contact between the Glidegear 3000 camera stabilizer system and other parts of your body. Bend your elbows sideways to avoid hitting them with your Glidegear 3000 when you boom up and down. Move your guide hand out of the way as you make extreme camera rotation pans and then grab the gimbal grip knob again after the arc passes the midline of your Two-handed grip.
Here are some suggestions for avoiding fatigue if you do not have the body harness: Use alternating hands and share the load. This will take some practice as you will have to learn to operate the Glidegear 3000 with your other hand, i.e. your support hand will become your guide hand and your guide hand will become your support hand. With a little practice, you will become adept at switching hands, which should allow you about twice the amount of time of shooting without fatigue.
Whenever possible, you should be standing sideways to your shot. Be careful not to bump the arc while working so close to your body. Shooting While Driving or Riding: First of all, let me say that we do NOT recommend operating the Glidegear Camera Stabilizer while driving any car, cart, scooter, atv, etc. In short, any vehicle. Camera Stabilizers are known to have the ability to produce some of the most outstanding footage possible.
Advanced Technique The difference between good and bad technique is the difference between a mediocre and an exquisite film. Practice Glidegear Camera Stabilizer moves such as booming, walking while panning/tilting, reverse, switching hands, stairs, and vehicle shots. • Choreograph your shots beforehand - all good shots begin with an idea. Cultivate that idea into beauty with practice then take your final shot. Start the camera moving with your arms before you move your body with the shot.
Ready to produce some footage? Check out some suggestions for great shooting opportunities Test your shots with longer focal lengths and shooting mid-telephoto. With some care and practice you can make spectacular close-up shots of people without having to be right on top of them. Walking Zooms: Try replacing optical zooms with walking toward and away from your subject. These actual approaches and departures produce an amazing 3D effect that just cannot be achieved optically or digitally.
Whip pans are not easy even for the expert Glidegear Camera Stabilizer operator. Even though they are extremely difficult, it will be extremely satisfying once you are able to create whip pans with your Glidegear Camera Stabilizer. This is because you can achieve remarkable smooth whip pans with the option of adjusting the camera’s height and position during the whip pan. Because of this flexibility, you can create shots that cannot be duplicated with any other method.
Home Shooting Tips Birthdays: These parties can be great fun to film if you remember some basic strategy. Try sitting on the floor among young children as they play around you. Then, try circling them 360° using the pan technique as described above. Remember to use your arms for booming and practice the other techniques described above. Circle the birthday table while blowing out the candles at mid-telephoto. You will be able to cruise up and capture some great candid moments with excellent sound.
Jog back to the beginning of the isle ahead of the bride and groom and grab dynamic footage of them approaching and walk with them as they sweep by, making sure to capture faces of guests in the foreground and background. Or, use the reverse mode to move with the bride and groom while traveling down the center isle remember to rehearse your shots! Move 360° circles around the dance floor capturing the groom and brides mother’s dancing at the reception.
6) Boom with your arms from low to high in rooms that deserve scrutiny of detail, remember to avoid excessive tilt and preserve the optimal perspective for the viewer. 7) Advanced - If available - use manual iris mode attempting to retain the exposure of the walls and interior, while not receiving excessive overexposure from windows. Also, try selecting manual focus and set the focal distance somewhere around 10”. Practice, rehearse, playback, and repeat until you are able to create feature film quality.
Glidegear 3000 DSLR Camera Stabilizer Full Length Feature Films? Have you mastered all of the techniques above? Did you know that many a famous director or videographer elect to use personal cameras in HD and HDV format and their trusty Glidegear Camera Stabilizer? This allows them all of the control and intimacy of the $20,000 rig but with increased mobility and speed of film opportunity, and extreme lack of mass.
Manufactured by Koncept Innovators Inc. Glidegear Products 10838 Kings Road Myrtle Beach, SC 29572 PH: 843.455.6503 FAX: 843.390.5334 www.glidegearhdslr.com U.S. and Foreign patents applied for and pending.
Manufactured by Koncept Innovators Inc. Glidegear Products • 10838 Kings Road • Myrtle Beach, SC 29572 Telephone: 843.455.6503 • Fax: 843.390.5334 www.glidegearhdslr.
