Customer Reviews

Glidecam HD-1000 Hand-Held Stabilizer

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
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Length:: 1:59 Mins

I've had a chance to try out the Glidecam HD-1000 for a few weeks now, and I have to say I'm impressed. The thing's extremely well built: precision designed and solid. The mechanisms for getting your camera balanced are both simple and clever, and they are easy to use once you get the idea of what you're supposed to do with them. I can definitely say that this tool makes it possible to achieve what it promises: smooth and steady shots that seem to glide through the air.

Having said that, I should also say that unless you've had a lot of experience working with steady-cam type stabilizers before, there will be a learning curve before you can expect to get anything like the kinds of demo shots you can find of the Glidecam on the web. The Glidecam HD is a well-built tool, but it takes some skill and lots of practice to be able to use it well.

The basic idea behind this kind of stabilizer is that you balance the weight of the camera with the weight of the plate below, allowing you to create a center of gravity around the gimbal style pivot where the handle attaches to the Glidecam post. There are knobs on the camera mount that allow you to move it forward, backwards, left and right, so that it floats around the pivot in a perfectly upright position. More importantly, given that the weight on the bottom is almost exactly balanced with the camera, any inertial forces on the camera that would tend to push it forward or backwards around the pivot are counterbalanced by the inertial forces of the plate at the bottom.

So, in principle, the camera should just float around the pivot at the handle, always facing forward and upright. In practice, though, what happens is when you move around it tends to drift. It doesn't wiggle or bounce, but wind or swift motions can lead it to drift a bit - just as if it were in a zero gravity situation and floating free. Additionally, you don't always want it to stay upright but sometimes want to pan or tilt in order to follow a subject precisely, and for that you need to use your fingers of the free hand, but if you put too much pressure with your fingers you're going to introduce the wobble.

The solution is to use one hand to hold it, and the tips of the fingers of the other hand both to keep it from drifting and to pan or tilt the camera as needed. The trick, though, that requires practice, is figuring out how to keep it from drifting and turn and tilt as necessary without introducing wobble. It sounds simple enough, but in practice it takes work. It takes finesse. It's like retraining yourself how to move the camera - it even struck me that it's like learning to ride a bike. After a few practice sessions over a couple of weeks I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it - but I've seen some of the demo shots that others have been able to take using the Glidecam on the web - and I'm not there yet.

I thought this might be a great tool for documentary work - but after using it my feeling is that it does best for shots that are planned out and choreographed in advance. It'd be hard to have it always ready for more spontaneous shots. With an experienced user, you could achieve some pretty impressive shots with this that would add a unique look to any project, and it would be a valuable addition to the bag of tricks for independent cinematographers.

A few minor complaints: the mounting plate goes on and latches in quickly, but if you're using this along with a tripod or you want to take it off it's a bit of a pain. I wish they'd included a quick release mount on here. The weakest part of the design is the tightening screw that holds the telescoping post, that can extend and contract for precision balancing. I found it tends to loosen pretty easily - you've got to really screw it tight in order to keep it from loosening, but if you have to adjust it then it's tough to unscrew, and I'm worried about this being a weak point that will eventually wear down.

About the video: Video footage was shot using a Canon VIXIA HFS10 mounted on the Glidecam HD-1000 (except where otherwise noted). I put together the animated part of the video using Adobe Illustrator CS5 and After Effects CS5. (Note: I had to compress it quite a bit to upload, so it's a bit jerkier looking than it actually should be). The music is "Racubah!" by Mulatu Astatke and His Ethiopian Quintet.

This works very well for my 1.2 pound Canon Vixia. I'm not sure it would work that well for cameras that are heavier since I have all the weights on it and extend it and that's the only way I can get an ideal amount of smoothness, at least, given how well I can operate it.

Looking back, it may have been worth while to just make a do it yourself glidecam for a much cheaper price, but this does do what it advertises. It's design is so simple, though, you're almost better off modifying a tripod or just building your own glidecam for a fraction of the price. I didn't have the patience for that when I bought this.

But, it does do what it advertises. I'm able to get smooth shots with lots of motion after a little practice.

When I go to a shoot I like to know that even if something last minute comes up that I can adapt to the change quickly and shoot whatever is necessary.

So, I like to know my gear, every lens, every option, and know how to use each based on what I'm shooting.

Anyway...I purchased the Glidecam assuming it was going to fit in well with the rest of my gear in terms of "ease of use". I have a Canon 7D with shotgun microphone, stereo mic, and a few lenses.

It was extremely easy to assemble, but once assembled it was very difficult to balance. I never got it "perfectly" balanced...it was always a tad off. Whether swaying a little left and right, or always just swaying a little front and back. But, It seemed I could never get it to be perfect.

And, while using it, the handle is so awkward that it immediately begins attacking your wrist. After about 10 minutes of constant use you don't even want to pick the device up any more because your wrist just aches.

I know people who have this same Glidecam who are large men and can't hold it for that long either.

Don't get me wrong though, the first time you see this thing you think "man, it's smaller than I thought it was going to be". Because it really is small. And when you first pick it up you think "man, this lighter than I thought it was going to be". And it's fine....for the first minute. But then it starts taking effect on your muscles...

In the 2nd day that I had it, I was already getting the hang of operating it and getting some smooth shots here and there. But, it just didn't feel worth $500 for a couple of smooth 3 second shots here and there.

So, I decided to return it and use the money to buy a shoulder rig instead.

I do plan on purchasing this in the future though, when I can afford to buy it with a body support. That way I can get both at one time and use it for longer shots and longer productions.

Despite my negative experience with the product, I do think it worked, but I feared that since it took hours upon hours just to get it to a "reasonable" (but not perfect) balance on one lens, then if the time came that I had to switch lenses, I couldn't imagine how long it would take to balance it to that new weight.

I swap lenses a lot, so I just felt that the Glidecam didn't suit my needs of being as easy to adjust as the rest of my equipment.

And therefore will get it later in life when I find use of it.

But, as for now, I have no use for it after playing with it for a couple of days and seeing for myself how it operates.

All I can say is to think about it before purchasing. Think about if you're really the "steady shot" kinda person, if that fits in with the style of work you do. If not, then you don't need this.

If pure steadiness is your style though, then this products the answer to your prayers...if you have the patience to learn it quickly and become a master of adjusting it fast for every lens.

I personally just got a fluid head tripod for under $100 and a shoulder rig, when both added together equaled the price of the Glidecam, and I'm extremely happy with the results.

They give me the best of both worlds, steadiness and tad of shake, minus the pain.

I rated the product based on build and quality, not on my experience with it or my personal thoughts. For those who do get the hang of it and do need it, it's a 5/5.

Anyway, enjoy.

I owned this stabilizer for a month or so and found it to work 'well' (easy to adjust) but also to be very uncomfortable in use. The "offset" (see image of stabilizer) grip position puts a LOT of torque on the wrist and therefore I found it VERY difficult to use for more than a few minutes.

Note: IMO, the Hague and Merlin stabilizers use a MUCH better grip design than the glidecam.

Ok, this is a very early review- I just received this today and have only used it for a few hours (I will try to update once I have more experience).

The first thing I will note is the build quality. I've been looking for a stabilization system for some time and I considered everything from the Steadicam Merlin to the a DIY solution. I ended out with the glidecam because it seemed like a nice medium in price and quality. Overall I think it was designed and built rather well...anything DIY may work almost as well, but it won't look it and if you're doing professional work for a client, looks do matter.

The second issue I'll tackle is the balancing. I read around and some reviews which chastised the Glidecam because it's too touchy, too difficult, etc. Personally...I had zero problem balancing it out. In fact, from the time I got it put together until it was completely balanced was about 30 minutes. (and yes, this is my first glidecam/stabilizer). I'm using a Canon 7D and primarily will be shooting with a Tokina 11-16mm. The 7D is at the very maximum weight limit for the HD1000, but I don't plan to use it with any accessories, so it made sense to save a few bucks as well as the weight and go with the HD1000.

For the other 7D/11-16mm users out there, I'll give you my recipe- I placed 4 weights on the back, 3 on the front and extended the weight arms all the way. The 7D (which isn't on a quick release plate yet) I connected using the hole in the back row, 1 row from the left. That should get you in the ballpark.

Now...here's the real issues to consider... the HD1000 is the lightest of the Glidecam series, but match it with the 7D and lens and it's pretty hefty. It is not easy to hold for long periods, so be prepared. I wouldn't expect to shoot for more than a few minutes at a time. The second part is the learning curve- I heard others say that it takes some time to master. I thought I would be the exception, but I'm not...and you won't be either. Holding the weight of the Glidecam with one hand is one thing, but the more important and more difficult part is what you do with the other hand that "steers" the cam. This is what will take time. Your footage will probably look like it's floating for a while, drifting left and right and up and down. Hopefully it gets easier with time.

As a whole though, it's well crafted, well designed and I think worth every bit of $350.