Since I don't have an existing slider, I could either go with an all-in-one unit or an add on unit. The cheap add-on units from Neweer have mostly disappeared off eBay and Amazon. If anyone has one for sale, let me know, I could buy @aksels slider in the market place and add it on!

Ideally I am looking for something I can get in 2 weeks time, ca. 120cm long, quiet for sound recording, smooth (roller bearings are best?) can utilize a 2nd tripod for stability, and that works reasonably well for medium and close shots of an interviewee). At this budget level, I don't expect perfection, but, want to strive for it as always :-) .

Can one take noisy bearings apart and try to re-grease them, if loud?

Are there any DIY's you could recommend for this parallax add-on? Here's a complicated design DIY:

Design examples:

Neweer 120cm add-on: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NW9SBRU/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00NW9SBRU&linkCode=as2&tag=hyperlapsed-20&linkId=VCYBCGBQ4SLETTX5%3C/span%3E

Konova 120 cm add-on: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QLJULOE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00QLJULOE&linkCode=as2&tag=hyperlapsed-20&linkId=YRFKPOJWA647PXVQ%3C/span%3E

All-in-one (looks like a Rhino "inspired" design): https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/ASHANKS-A120A-120cm-Carbon-Fiber-Track-Slider-Adjustable-Angle-Tube-Follow-Focus-Pan-for-Stabilizer-DV/1970333_32670908629.html

Also available directly from CAME-TV. Just emailed them about availability. http://www.came-tv.com/cametv-camera-slider-carbon-fiber-120cm-lightweight-gp120q-p-732.html

-If no one can sell me a parallax add-on, this might be my only choice for a 120cm model, due to my time limitation.

Same design here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1210956-REG/came_tv_gp_120q_1_gp_120q_lightweight_carbon_fiber.html

Fixed designs. CON: Subject must be distance X away from camera to get optimal effect: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1237083-REG/alzo_1639_smoothy_radius_and_linear.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1078663-REG/promediagear_vs32_pmg_duo_32_video_slider.html

Have I missed any others?

I am sure Kessler got all the rip-off designs off the market or these things didn't really work that well -and that's why there are so few around today…?

Your thoughts please!

Some specs

• Load capacity - 8kg
• Travel On Ground - 25 cm
• Travel On Tripod - 50 cm
• Mounts - 3/8" and 1/4"
• Size - 370 x 90 x 63mm
• Slider Weight - 1.7kg

Available on deals now.

Price: $235
Shipping: Price includes shipping for US/Canada/UK/Australia&NZ/Western Europe. Contact for any other regions.
I want to buy this slider.

I'd prefer a length of 36-48 inches, and I understand that at this price point I'm not going to get a silent motor, but at least a mostly quiet one would be nice.

Thanks, Mike

Mark Roberts Motion Control Develops High-Speed Smaller Compact Version of Famous Bolt Cinebot

With a 50-year legacy developing highly effective camera robotics, Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) have developed Bolt Junior (Bolt JR)

The MRMC Bolt JR has been developed in response to customer need for a smaller, compact, more cost-effective version of the highly regarded high-speed MRMC Bolt Cinebot – the fastest and most advanced motion control rig in the world.

This high-speed, compact 6-axes camera robot arm has been specially developed for film studios, photographic studios and for table-top work where studio space and budget are a key criterion. Being small and lightweight, Bolt JR is also easily maneuverable and transportable.

But make no mistake… Bolt JR may be short on size and stature but packs a mighty punch enabling impressive camera robotic capability. Available in pedestal and on-track versions, the Bolt JR cinebot has an arm reach of 1.2 metres and can move high-speed on-track at over 3m per second with a camera payload up to 12kg.

Camera robots can empower the cameraman, motion control operator and photography director to get the camera exactly where it needs to be for unique tight camera angles, special effects and to capture all the action and drama.

Controlling and programming Bolt JR is quick and straight- forward using the MRMC Flair system. Bolt JR with Flair offers a wide variety of automated functions and precision repeat functions. For complete flexibility, Bolt JR can also automate lighting, trigger synchronised SFX timecodes, rig movement or model movement.

Bolt JR is set to make its appearance this April at the NAB exhibition in Las Vegas where it will be demonstrated to over 100,000 show visitors alongside its big brother Bolt Cinebot. With the launch of Bolt JR, MRMC has launched a new dedicated Bolt JR website providing information, specification, video and product sheet for download. The Bolt JR website can be found at http://www.mrmoco.com/boltjr

The eMotimo spectrum ST4 + Dana Dolly kit enables you to take your professional productions to new levels with cameras up to 15lbs. We challenged ourselves to see what we could shoot in a 12 hour production. Setup, interviews, tabletop, VFX and timelapse.

https://emotimo.com/

• Price : $850
• Weight: 1.4lbs (0.64kg) (without balance weights)
• Camera Weight Capacity *: 0.5 to 5.0lb (0.23 – 2.27kg) 7.5lbs max. (3.4kg) with OPTIONAL Merlin Arm & Vest Accessory
• Maximum Height Folded: 5.3 in. (13.5cm)
• Minimum Height Open: 8 in. (20.3cm)
• Maximum Height Open: 15.3 in. (38.7cm)
• Case Size (W x H x D): 13.4 x 9.9 x 4.9 in. (34.0 x 25.2L x 12.5cm)

Look at more info at: http://www.tiffen.com/steadicam_merlin2.html

Available at:

• http://www.amazon.com/Steadicam-Professional-Video-Stabilizers-Merlin/dp/B007A0EFUE/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1332617026/wiral-lite-the-easy-cable-cam-for-impossible-film/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rhinocg/rov-camera-slider-take-better-videos-on-your-iphon#

Have a budget of about US$300ish or less (less is better!), I'd prefer longer the better (right?), and is able to hold the weight of an APS-C DSLR (currently I am shooting with a Panasonic GH1, but I might soon upgrade to a Nikon D5200, which is a little heavier but is still lightweight).

Suggestions?

That was the case with WiMiUS' L1, which did not live up to my expectations despite having solid components. However, with the new L2, things should be different. The quality is said to be better than before, and the selection of accessories is much more interesting as well. So, I have put the WiMiUS L2 to the test to see just how good it really is.

What's in the box?

Budget action cameras have a high number of accessories in the box, and the L2 is no different. It comes with a waterproof case, different mounts and joints, straps, cleaning cloth, carrying bag, drilled backdoor cover for the case, as well as two batteries. That is fairly standard in this segment.

However, what's not common are the waterproof case design, which lets you power the camera from an external battery or charge the battery inside, and the presence of a battery charger in the box. The battery charger can be powered by a PC or phone charger, via a microUSB cable.

This is the first time that I have seen an action camera vendor offer these two accessories as standard, but I hope it will not be the last because they make the device much nicer to use in a wider range of conditions. The battery charger in particular is handy, because it lets you charge both batteries at the same time.

What's also nice is that the waterproof case is black. It gives the L2 a more premium look compared to other action cameras in this segment. In fact, you could be forgiven for thinking it's a GoPro Hero5 Black.

WiMiUS L2 in waterproof case

The waterproof case has a cover on top of the USB port (it's a USB Type-A connector, but you get the right cable in the box) so that you can connect it to an external battery or charger without affecting its waterproof credentials. Typically, such a case has to be purchased separately, if there is one available.

WiMiUS L2 waterproof case charging cover

Design and ease of use

The L2 has a pretty well thought-out design. You get a button on the front to power it on and off and switch between modes, a button at the top to validate setting changes and start and stop recording, and two buttons on the side to scroll through the settings menu or zoom in and out.

On the back, you get a display which typically acts as a viewfinder for the photo and video modes, but you can also check out the settings on it and look at the videos and photos on the microSD card. That's pretty standard, overall.

WiMiUS L2 display

What's interesting is that you get two status LEDs on the front. There's a red LED to tell you when the camera is on, and a blue LED that flashes when you're recording. The blue LED on the front is synced to the two blue lights on the back of the L2.

The choice of color is strange (I would have expected a different setup, like blue for power and red for recording status), but with this design you at least always know what the camera is doing without looking at the screen -- unlike with other action cameras like the ODRVM OD9000R.

Menu-wise, you have access to a wide range of options for both photos and videos. Of note here is that when you reverse the video in the software it does not also rotate the UI of the camera too. This is pretty great, because, based on my experience, if the UI is also reversed you tend to press the wrong button when scrolling through the settings menu.

There is a downside, however, and that is the fact that you cannot change the bitrate setting for the video. That's something I have seen with other cameras, like the L1 (WiMiUS' previous flagship) and the OD9000R. And it's a shame, because it can improve the quality by a significant margin.

True 4K?

This is a question that I like to address in every review of an action camera that mentions 4K on the box or in the specs. The L2, like every other action camera that uses a Novatek NT96660 chipset, is not capable of native 4K video recording.

To get 4K, the camera upscales the video from a lower resolution. In practice, the results cannot match what a native 4K camera can deliver, so I would recommend going with a lesser resolution, like 1080p.

Video Quality

The L2 has been tested in 1080p 60FPS mode. I believe it provides the optimum balance between quality, smoothness and storage space for most of us using action cameras casually and not professionally. On YouTube it is still the gold standard for most viewers, so if you want to upload content at 1080p and 60 FPS it will work just fine.

In terms of actual video quality, the L2 does pretty well considering the bitrate is capped at 20 Mbps. I've asked WiMiUS about this, and I'm told there are no plans to change that yet, so users are likely to be stuck with it for the time being.

Straight out of the camera, the video quality is solid in both good and poor lighting conditions. It's performed well in the middle of the day, when there's sufficient light to make the small sensor happy, and in an underground parking garage.

The L2 outdoes all other action cameras in this segment that I have tested so far. The only thing you can ask for, as you might expect given what I said above, is an option for higher bitrates. Hopefully this will happen in a future firmware upgrade.

Video Samples

The video samples below are take straight from the camera. The only editing that's been done is trimming to keep the length in check and reversing after the fact, because I shot with the L2 upside down and forgot to change the setting beforehand. Keep in mind that YouTube affects the video quality, as it applies its compression algorithms to bring the size down server-side.

Software support

This is one of the great unknowns regarding the L2. The action camera is brand new, so there is no way of telling what sort of support it will receive. WiMiUS does not have a great track record here, as its site does not let you download any new firmware for older products, so I would not hold my breath on any firmware updates.

Conclusion

The WiMiUS L2 is a pretty impressive action camera for the segment that it plays in. It comes with a great selection of accessories in the box, looks cool, works really well, and offers decent video quality too. The price? It can be had for $76.99 on Amazon (in black; the silver camera costs $77.99).

https://www.edelkrone.com/p/142/surfaceone

I'll try to focus on double arm designs (aka double spring arms) as they are preferable.

First, vest and arm from Wondlan Leopard 2 set:

Not cheap, but as far as I asked operators this is among best chinese vests.

It is offered as option to Wondlan Carbon stabilizer in our deals.

http://www.wondlan.com/product/260-leopard--carbon-fiber-standard-edition--5fdc/

http://www.waterbird.at/

Because the camera is still on the stabilizer, that means Nebula Gyro Jib can carry cameras like the Canon XC15 and Panasonic PX230 which is compatible with Nebula 5300. With the help of Gimbal’s lock mode, making the camera stays locked on to a given target as the jib is moved. Also, if you switch to the semi-lock mode, it allows the camera to follow jib’s movement on the horizontal direction but stay locked as the jib moving up or down.

Further more, the Nebula Remote can be added as the controller unit to remote control gimbal’s Pitch and Yaw axis and mode switching, so that the direction of camera can be easily changed. Users may also remote control camera to start/stop recording by using the Remote. This system breaks the angle limit of traditional jibs.

Of course there are some features similar to other travel jibs such as easy to assemble, easy to monitor and easy for transportation. Nebula Gyro Jib is made of carbon fiber, making it only weights 1.4kg while having a reasonable length of 2.4m when fully extended. There are standard 1/4 and 3/8 screw holes on the jib for monitor and tripod. It can use regular weights or a handy donut shaped counter weight water bag as the standard fitting.

• Work with any camera+ lens combination up to 2.8kg
• Weight is only 0.67kg, so you can use it with bare hands for prolonged time
• Very compact
• Exceptional manufacturing quality Laing is known for
• No charging required :-)

Remember that you can still win one

These guys are always coming up with neat stuff.

The animation is great but I hope that they post a video of this thing in action. I'm curious to see how smooth it can actually be.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/movies/steadicam-movies-garrett-brown.html

has anyone ever tested this? Any Reviews online? This thing seems to be even older than the wing. I found one amazon review, thats it: https://www.amazon.com/Andoer-Panning-Distance-Smartphone-Recording/dp/B01FQTVK3U

Available on deals - check additional details and price.

the problem is my second hand the hand placed on the gimbal itself introduce a lot of shake and slightly very little amount of panning left and right ( so it shakes rotates and pan the steadicam ) , i must note the following :

1- i understand that we dont hold it firmly and that we must be very very gentle and i tried for months to the most gentleness that i can with my fingers but i fail , tried different hand placement too with no luck , tried several drop times and different sled length no one is better it is always shakes badly , i read and watched everything i could about that 2 hands technique ( and it is not that much i found just 2 pages on the steadicam operator handbook )

2- i improved in many other things like my walking style my movements etc , month by month i find that i improve a very little but i do so it is fair , but the 2 hands technique after practicing i still on zero level same as i started months ago with no improvement at all

3- all of my good examples that people liked so far was done by balancing my stablizer very accurate and with slow drop time i fly it with one hand and the result is very very smooth compared to when i lay my other hand under the gimbal

4- i have an idea after all this months of fail that may be some people do not have enough gentleness in there fingers to do so or may be there is something wrong in the muscles nerves , i dont know i am not a doctor but is this a talent like singing some have it and some whatever the do it will never happen

5 - is there any resources or data online about this issue please write it may be i didnt read it and could have a tip or trick that may help me

6- i am sorry my english is bad and that because it is not my based language

one hand examples

LAING options

Quite good opinions about them. Good quality.

First, more light set, for cameras up to 7.5kg.

One for 7-15kg range comes in case:

his is my second post but i read and learned from all of the post here from years till now so thank You very much my Question is :

Is it possible to operate a dslr steadicam with just one hand ( the hand that carry it ) only , and if so what is the recommended settings for this ( may be a longer drop time or or ? ) , and how to stop it from the small panning that happen some times with the strong straight forward movements ?

what i want to do :

what i want to do simply is not using my other hand ( The guiding hand ) on that steadicam , obviously i understand that i cant tilt and panning also will be limited to panning with my body , i understand and accept that limitations , since all i need is stable and simple shots ..

Why i dont want to use my other hand ?

that is a long story and to cut it short , i tried every thing for many weeks i tried to be so much gentle to the max gentle that i can ( i did what u can and can not imagine to get it that gentle ) , but no way whenever my second hand touch the post as described under the gimble , the shot become shaky and useless and i throw a whole days of shooting this way .

info :

to give u some info so that u can understand my situation better

i am a director and editor not new in the field as i work from years but for operating a steadicam i am new in this just trying from less than a year , but for balancing the glidecam and other cheap rigs i have done it for little longer time for our low budget projects , but i didnt fly them by myself ,, i watched and read almost Tons of all ( Free ) steadicam Tutorials and documents ..

sample of my tests :

here is the model that i use it

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingjoy-VS1047-Professional-Handheld-Stabilizer/dp/B00O20VR1U

it is very expensive in where i live as i get it for about 450$ ( things are very mad priced in my town ) sorry for the long post and sorry for my English as it is not my based language thank You in Advance