Glidecam-HD-2000

How well the Glidecam works is based partly on your skill with properly balancing the device to match your camera’s center of gravity, and with how much practice you have using it. Balancing requires you to move weights around the bottom of the plate so that lateral movement along the X and Y axes is minimized. You’ll want to end up with a Z-axis drop time of two to three seconds. Drop time is attained by grabbing the hinged handle and dropping the counterweighted base from a horizontal position with the other hand. Counting the seconds it takes for the base to reach a perpendicular position will give you the time.

Any change in weight or weight distribution on the top plate is going to throw things off balance. So when you’re setting up be sure to that you’ve got the memory card in the camera, and that any microphones, field monitors, or other accessories are also attached and in their proper positions for shooting. Glidecam supplies a user manual outlining this process but you can also view our how-to video below.