GLIDECAM

I'll spare you the details of the forty-five minutes it took me to balance the Glidecam, except to note that after thinking I'd achieved success at the thirty minute mark, I realized I hadn't opened the LCD and had to begin all over again. Doh! (Note: see article: "Balancing Your Glidecam and Setting Up Your Smooth Shooter")

When I'd first gotten my Glidecam, but before the Smooth Shooter, I found that it was going to take a lot - I mean A LOT - of practice to begin to be able to use the Glidecam professionally. Every movement jiggled the camera. Every step I took, translated into a sideways wobble - a smooth one perhaps, but a wobble that could quickly cause mass seasickness in viewers. Trying to pan or tilt was a disaster. The more control I took, the less smooth the shot would be. The smoother the shot, the less control I had as the camera yawed this way and that.

ARM BRACE

My next observation, or perhaps my first, was that this was very hard on the wrist. I'm not exactly a little guy and I do work out a couple times a week, but I couldn't picture myself actually shooting with the Glidecam for more than five minutes at a time because of the strain on my wrist. They do make a wrist support - called an "arm brace", a tube-like thing that slides over your wrist to relieve the strain. If you're not getting the Smooth Shooter, I recommend the arm brace. To save money, you may want to check into third-party offerings for the brace since it's such a simple thing that quality may not be a major factor here. In fact, I don't see why you couldn't just get a short piece of pvc pipe, put something inside for a cushion and save your money.

BODY POD

Another gadget they sell is the "Body Pod". While it allows you to set the Glidecam onto a support built into a vest, thus taking all the weight off your arm, I don't believe the Glidecam is meant to be actually operated in this fashion. I couldn't even get a decent still shot like this since tiny body movements, breathing, etc. all transfered directly to the camera. About the only use for the Body Pod, in my opinion, is to give you a place to rest the Glidecam while you're not shooting, and still keep it close at hand - a valuable function.

SMOOTH SHOOTER

I finally had time to setup and try out my new Smooth-Shooter vest last night.

Although the instructions say that you generally want both springs when using the Glidecam 4000, it also says to use one spring for up to nine pounds (combined weight of sled and camera) and two springs for up to eighteen pounds and that optimal performance comes at both maximum weights - 9 & 18.

My VX2100 sans Beachtek but with large 970 battery, and counter weights, when weighed with the sled (Glidecam 4000), came to 8.5 pounds based on our bathroom scale, after subtracting my 199 pounds, so I removed one spring.

Smooth Shooter

I'm not exactly mechanically inclined, so removing the spring took me an hour and a half, including time to hunt for the correct size allen wrench and other tools, mop up a spilled cup of tea and bandage the injured finger, etc. All in all, fairly easy and relatively painless compared to some of my other mechanical adventures.

After removing the extra spring and putting on the vest, mounting the Glidecam, etc., it quickly became apparent that there wasn't enough spring pressure. Thankfully, this is adjustable and by setting it to its absolute maximum (a setting of '6' on the painted-on scale), my camera and Glidecam were "floating" at the right height.

Finally, it was time to try out the Smooth Shooter. My first observation was that, this is much easier on me. My wrist and arm are now completely spared of any strain. I felt the weight on my back and shoulders a little, but this was much more bearable than trying to hand-hold the Glidecam. I think I could shoot with the Smooth Shooter all night long, but it could get uncomfortable in a warm room.

What about the performance?

The Smooth Shooter did just what its name implies, it smoothed out the camera movements dramatically, even compared to using the Glidecam handheld. Walking still introduced a side-to-side wobble and I could tell that this was still going to take a lot of practice, but it appears it will take much less practice than using the Glidecam without the Smooth Shooter. I think that if the lower part of the Smooth Shooter didn't come down to the hips, the walking issue would be relieved quite a bit, but even with my long torso, I wasn't able to adjust it high enough last night. Since it was two in the morning by this time, I called it a night. If I come up with a solution to getting the Smooth Shooter support off of my hips, I'll add it here soon.

Two other Smooth Shooter issues that I should mention -

The Smooth Shooter limits how high you can get your camera to not very much over your head. Also, you won't be doing any zooms because any pressure on the rocker switch will cause the camera to tilt on its gimbal. For that matter, you won't be doing any manual focus, exposure or anything else with controls while you're "Glidecamming", else you'll compromise camera movement.

I'd like to comment on the video posted online somewhere, showing a guy, supposively for the very first time, trying out his Smooth Shooter and getting fantasticlly smooth shots while walking, running, etc. This was done in a foreign country and some foreign language, but I do hope they know how to translate "poppycock"! I'm sure all this can be done, but not without practice.

BOTTOM LINE

The bottom line is that I think the Glidecam and Smooth Shooter is a great combination. I also own a Varizoom, but will be getting a lot of use out of my Smooth Shooter/Glidecam in the forseeable future. I have some reservations about becoming a distraction at receptions while wearing this thing and there is no way I would wear it during a ceremony - though I'd shoot exteriors and interior decorations, preps, etc. with it. I think this is best used for setup and posed shots where the floating sensation helps romanticize a scene. I'm less certain about its usefulness during receptions though and will probably continue using my VX2100 on a shoulder mount where I can move about quickly; I won't be much of a distraction; I get fairly steady and fairly smooth shots; and I can add light, shotgun mic, receiver, etc. as needed.

By the way, there are still situations where I'll use my Varizoom, but I'll wait to tell about this in my Varizoom review - coming soon, so stay tuned!

Added November 20, 2007 - Just got word of Dave Williams (DVideography.com) upcoming Glidecam/Smooth Shooter Workshop January 27 - 28 in Las Vegas. Williams' work is just fabulous - and not just his Glidecam moves. This workshop should be well worthwhile for all us Glidecam owners. I strongly recommend it. And "No" we are not being paid any advertising monies for this "plug".