How To Use A Glidecam 4000 Pro To Better Terrorize Your Children

  Yes, that snappy title is meant to grab your attention.  No, I don’t actually terrorize my daughter.  Well, not ALL the time.  But she does like putting things together and helped me with a recent purchase that showed up on Tuesday.  Then she was nice enough to help me test it.

The Glidecam 4000 Pro Stabilizer System for Medium Sized Video Cameras up to 10 Pounds(can you tell that’s an Amazon link already?) is a device to help you take smoother video.  I don’t have a video camera but I do have a Canon 7D which takes decent video.  I like it at least.  But I’m shaky as heck with a DSLR in video mode sometimes.  Tripods were fine, but aren’t good for moving shots.  And I have some projects lined up that will require more quality video.  Hence the justification for the purchase.  All straight??  Let’s see what it can do!

The videos below are super raw in their planning and execution.  After getting the camera balanced on the Glidecam (not as hard of a process as some on Amazon made it sound) I made what is shown here as the second video.  Then I took the camera off (ok, this part is annoying, but I have a quick release plate coming to make life easier) and chased her around the house again.  I tried holding the camera as rock solid steady as I could, turning my arms into virtual gimbals to let the camera float as much as possible.  I wasn’t trying to show off the Glidecam any more than reality would.  They’re not sponsoring me (yet!) so I have no stake in saying how cool the video is.  Is that enough disclaimer?

VIDEO 1 – HAND HELD MOTION – NO GLIDECAM

VIDEO 2- USING GLIDECAM 4000 PRO

And there you have my highly non-scientific comparison.  I had just figured out how the thing works and I have a lot more learning to do to make it super smooth.  But, at first glance, I’m really happy with how well the device performs.  Maybe I’ll write up a more formal review, but for now, I’ll let the videos do the talking.