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Have any of you built your own DIY Glidecam?

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hey-dude-its-me
Posts: 4238 - Karma: 412

was it hard to build?

which tutorial did you use?

is it hard to operate?

how much did it cost?

how long did it take?

does it even work?

thanks

Apr 25 2011 10:59AM
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@ScubaSteve
Posts: 378 - Karma: 822
I've never seen any amazing DIY glidecams.
The glidecam is the only thing I bought cause I couldn't build one.
Would love to see a DIY one that works well
Apr 25 2011 4:32PM
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IanAvery-Leaf
Posts: 9932 - Karma: 9,411
save up and buy a real one, its the best camera purchase I've made besides the camera itself
Apr 25 2011 5:25PM
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hey-dude-its-me
Posts: 4238 - Karma: 412
yea I might but Im not that serious about it, I just want to make a gopro edit of my dog pretty much
Apr 25 2011 5:30PM
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IanAvery-Leaf
Posts: 9932 - Karma: 9,411
oh if you have a gopro then you dont need a glidecam, just buy something cheap like this

Click for larger image
Apr 25 2011 5:37PM
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blatt
Posts: 5584 - Karma: 3,097
Spend the money on a real one. The quality is much better in my opinion
Apr 25 2011 5:43PM
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hawaiiansteeze
Posts: 3255 - Karma: 3,226
i saw one real good one one here recently. had a legit looking gyroscope mechanism and seemed like the balance points would work well, ill see if i can dig it up.

but a couple of my friends have them and using them i would say go for it and look for one on ebay
Apr 25 2011 5:44PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
Don't waste your money on the "X-Grip" thing posted above.  I have one and it's really really terrible.
Apr 25 2011 5:50PM
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hey-dude-its-me
Posts: 4238 - Karma: 412
really? it has almost all positive reviews on amazon so I was gonna get it.
Apr 25 2011 5:52PM
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EC-Skier
Posts: 3899 - Karma: 668
if you have a somewhat heavy cam the thing bends, its not really a stabilizer, it is just a handle.
Apr 25 2011 5:57PM
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Six.0.Tree-ski
Posts: 4059 - Karma: 67
http://www.yb2normal.com/DIYsteadicam.html
http://diycamera.com/stabiliser/index.html

https://newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/542065/





Apr 25 2011 6:02PM
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IanAvery-Leaf
Posts: 9932 - Karma: 9,411
a gopro is not heavy
Apr 25 2011 6:10PM
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hey-dude-its-me
Posts: 4238 - Karma: 412
yea Im gonna trust this guy
Apr 25 2011 6:48PM
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alexat955
Posts: 2732 - Karma: 112
you dont need a glidecam for a fucking gopro
Apr 25 2011 6:51PM
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IanAvery-Leaf
Posts: 9932 - Karma: 9,411
if you read the thread you would have saw that I said the same thing (much more kindly) and suggested an alternative
Apr 25 2011 7:26PM
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alexat955
Posts: 2732 - Karma: 112
sorry for being mean... you dont even need one of those though a pole mount would do
Apr 25 2011 8:29PM
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Six.0.Tree-ski
Posts: 4059 - Karma: 67
yep, best vids ive seen all use a pole mount.
Apr 25 2011 8:31PM
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Rob.
Posts: 189 - Karma: 16
I was planning on designing and building my own, but due to time constraints I bought a Flycam Nano to use for the basic structure then improve on when I have the time.

A word of caution to those looking to the Flycam Nano: it's cheap (~$130), and it shows. After balancing with the handle in one position, it would lose the balance when the handle was rotated relative to the main shaft. I suspect there's a problem with the main bearing. Still functional for sure, just could be better.

The customer service is great though, and they're sending me an entire new one after I told them about the problem. Even if the problem persists, I'll have more spare parts to use to make my own.

I'll post something when I have the time to finish the redesign, if it's worth mentioning.
Apr 25 2011 8:57PM
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TaranItUp
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 802
Yah if you will be filming with just a GoPro you can get a pole mount for 20 dollars from there website or make one urself. It is very effective and GoPro's do not have much shake even if you just hold it steady.
Apr 25 2011 10:21PM
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[-mvee-]
Posts: 1713 - Karma: 10
have one. its a diy glidecam and worked good for me but i bought it from ebay. i am currently trying to sell it so if anyones interested..... pm me!
Apr 25 2011 10:29PM
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B1kessk1s
Posts: 953 - Karma: 691
no need of a glidecam for a gopro. just learn to not shake like i did.!! it is really easy. example: a follow cam I did with the gopro and edited with vegas to stabilize it a little bit. enjoy


Apr 25 2011 10:57PM
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TaranItUp
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 802

^ i bet you were pretty dang focused on making it not shake.

Apr 26 2011 1:13AM
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@ScubaSteve
Posts: 378 - Karma: 822
this.
I've used my glidecam for its intended use as well for getting tripod and dolly shots.
This truly inspired me.. - http://vimeo.com/18467488
Apr 26 2011 1:35AM
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TheNamesHolland
Posts: 433 - Karma: 21
my temporary solution...great idea and works really well for low shots. (prob works better with smaller cameras, i use my dslr)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW6AWmqa8ZM&feature=related
Apr 26 2011 8:52AM
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EC-Skier
Posts: 3899 - Karma: 668
oh, didnt see it was for a gopro, my bad.
Apr 26 2011 5:32PM
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alexat955
Posts: 2732 - Karma: 112
that was sick. i want one so bad but cant justify spending the money on it haha
Apr 26 2011 6:33PM
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.cam.
Posts: 1852 - Karma: 48
I was going to make one like this http://www.balvanzenterprises.com/MiniDVStabilizerPro.html
May 3 2011 10:52PM
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Sklar
Posts: 8864 - Karma: 31,612

Canon 5DII & Glidecam, STILL THE COMBO!!! from [MTS]FILMS on Vimeo.

May 3 2011 11:04PM
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E.R
Posts: 45 - Karma: 44
I built the one in the youtube video. Spent about $40 and it works pretty well.
I used it for this little edit:
May 4 2011 1:32AM
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E.R
Posts: 45 - Karma: 44
forgot the url:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeD_ua4FqaA
May 4 2011 1:33AM
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Rob_G
Posts: 817 - Karma: 2,377
I made one last summer and it works pretty well, not as good as a real glidecam but much better that just the camera. It does however get a bit wobbley at high speed as you will see.
Click for larger image

Made from this design: http://diycamera.com/stabiliser/index.html

Footy.




May 4 2011 9:48AM
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The_Strange_Few
Posts: 95 - Karma: 633
I made my own glidecam based on that first video recently, it was a pain in the ass super expensive and doesn't even work that well. Just save up for a real one. I am buying a real one now because I am so disappointed.
Mar 27 2013 12:26AM
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.qzyxya
Posts: 1479 - Karma: -26
Don't they make cheap little gopro stabilizers for like $60? I remember seeing them, they're like tiny little glidecams that are cheaper
Mar 27 2013 9:09AM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
This works good enough, combined with my legendary upper body strength.

Click for larger image
Mar 27 2013 11:33AM
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