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DiscoveryCam Slider or Juicedlink?
  • Has anyone tried out this discoverycam slider? Very tempted, it looks great, I would love to use my 75mm bowl mount head on a slider, but at the price, I could buy a different dedicated head and a juicedlink kit. Thoughts?
  • 9 Replies sorted by
  • Juicedlink as far as I remember is DIY kit(made by one man band) as I understand (bearings) + you need 15mm rods.
    It is smooth and interesting. I think we had topic about it with announcments.
    I won't tell you that DiscoveryCam is the best slider on earth. It is not.
    But it is quite good one. On of the advantages is that you have wheels and not plain bearings contacting rails.
  • I don't own the JuicedLink slider, but I did buy a slider very similar to the discoverycam off of ebay. The one I got is a combination of two Cinevate designs. The trolly looks identical to the discoverycam pictured here on personal view. But the rails of mine are 5/8" and either polished stainless or chrome, the same size and spacing as the Atlas 30. The JuicedLink slider also uses this diameter of rails.

    My slider has some pluses and minuses. First the minuses. The center articulating link is very hard to lock completely down. My seller had received complaints before and shipped mine with large handled locking knobs for those two links to match the other four locking knobs. If you buy the discoverycam, you'll need to replace those center knobs. They do the trick for most things, but can still not quite get the job done if my tripod head is a little stiff and depending on the type of move. Panning isn't a problem, but tilting can be. The other joints are also tough to lock down. I've found the most stable position for the trolly is both legs pushed together under the bowl and tightened as hard as possible. I'm thinking about breaking down the trolly and hitting the critical areas with an emery cloth to correct this problem.

    Now the pluses! Having one set of wheels above the bars and one below is great because you can position both sets tight against the rails to give you just a little bit of resistance, which can be really nice depending on what you're doing. Sometimes a smooth stop is the most important part of using the slider. I still have to periodically tighten things up to achieve this effect (see above). The other great thing is that mine is built like a tank. I've actually attached a four foot mini jib to the trolly to achieve some really crazy shots. I'm not sure if the rails for the discoverycam are as robust and smooth as mine are, so that's something to consider. The bowl is excellent. Place the dolly on a slight incline, level your bowl and you have a smooth and effortless slider shot. (The same can probably be achieved with the juicedlink and a bolt on bowl.) Don't forget, the trolly is also a tabletop dolly! For smooth and repeatable radiuses, you'll need to only let 4 wheels touch the table, not all 8.
  • @tvpglabs
    I think you are talking about Weildy. I know it and we rejected to list it on deals.
    This one is produced by other firm.
    It look very similar, but actual dolly is slightly different and all the thumbscrews are different.
    And it do not have same problem as I know.
  • @tvpglabs

    Thanks for all the info, very helpful. What did you pay for yours? How long is it? That slider jib shot sounds pretty cool. Footage?

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wieldy-Dolly-Track-mini-rail-slider-skater-5d2-7D-DV-/120744279793#ht_5396wt_1398

    Is this it? If so it's about the same price as the deal Vitaliy is offering when you add shipping, but the DiscoveryCam looks a little more polished.
  • @ Vitaliy

    It looks really good, the wheel based system is definately a plus, especially if you want to use live sound, also as tvglabs said, good for table top or other smooth surface dolly shots.
  • @kupchenpo

    It is not the same price, as shipping is very different (because for DiscoveryCam we use fast and good one).
    I really do not recomment Wieldy, as legs are much worse.
    All thumbscrews are worse.
    Believe me, as I have one :-)
  • @Vitaliy_Kiselev Yes, mine is the weildy. If the discoverycam doesn't suffer from the same problems, then that is a plus! Do you know if the discoverycam uses 5/8" rails or 15mm? I prefer the bigger 5/8".

    @kupchenpo Yes, that is the one. I think that's the price I paid too. It's worth contacting the seller to see about shipping options, because I waited forever for mine. The seller is the same guy I bought mine from. He's very honest and worked hard on the shipping issue that was mostly out of his control (customs).

    Here's a link to some photos from the shoot that I posted on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/TVPG-Labs/219790214722761?sk=wall The video isn't out yet, because the business owner wanted to shoot a couple additional things and I'm still waiting for it to be scheduled.
  • guys hi, does anyone know of any reviews for the discoverycam slider? i can't find anything, and was really looking forward to know more about real-world experience and opinions..
  • Hi, concerning noise is there a slidersystem without any noise while moving? so far DiscoveryCam looks like so??