I Hate Shaky Video!
I’ve seen it everywhere from home movies to YouTube videos to blockbuster films (shame on them!) Poor camera work can rob a scene completely! If I feel physically ill from motion sickness because of bad video then no stellar performance, story, or other aspect of cinematography can redeam a movie for me. Even when shaky footage is intentional (i.e. “The Blair Witch Project” from a few years ago) I think it should be avoided.
This leaves you with just a few options. First, you can mount your camera on a tripod. That works fine until you have to move your camera. You can also correct it in post with After Effects, but you lose resolution and it’s really a pretty time consuming task, plus results are mixed. Your other options can be pretty expensive. Rails, dollys, and the famous “Merlin 2 Stedicam” cost several hundred dollars. There are DIY options as well, but nothing that I’ve found fit my budget or had the quality that merited the cost and time. Then along came Glide Gear… and they changed everything.
Somewhere in the space between amateur and professional there is a highly underrated category known as “prosumer”. This category ranges from low budget professionals to hobbyists who aren’t satisfied with what Best Buy or Walmart has to offer off the shelf. There is a commitment to quality here that is ever fighting with an all too low budget which isn’t financed by a large company. Many documentary and film makers finance their own projects and fit into this category. This category is filled with folks who can’t drop an extra $600 for a handheld Steady Cam option. These folks are in luck!
An Affordable Solution
Thanks to the folks at Glide Gear, I got my hands on a the SYL-3000, and right out of the box I was very excited! I was surprised to see that my SYL-3000 came in a nice case with cut-out foam. For some reason nice cases really appeal to me, so before I ever assembled the SYL-3000 I was already feeling good. After a previous experience trying to balance a Merlin 2, I knew that balancing was going to be a pain. So, against my man and geek nature, I actually read the directions.
After reading the booklet I thought I was ready to go. I got out my Canon T2i and began moving little discs and balancing the arms. Flop forward, flop backward, too much weight because of the battery, don’t forget the memory card. At first it felt like I was learning to walk a tight rope. I’d suggest making sure you’re well rested, fed and feeling patient your first time balancing because it is HARD. This isn’t a knock against Glide Gear, that’s the nature of a Steady Cam. The $600 Merlin was as complicated, so you won’t save this headache by spending $500 more!
After about 20-25 minutes of unsuccessful trying, I did what any geek would do when he can’t figure something out. I went to YouTube. The first search result I got was a guy from Canada who does a fantastic balancing tutorial which you can find here: (click me, I need attention.) Another 15 minutes of tinkering and I nailed it! I was finally ready to free my camera from it’s tripod and add motion to my catalogue of video making tools!
Oh glory day, what a wonderful device! Shooting with a Steady Cam is certainly an art, but let me tell you that once you learn that art, you’ll never look back! Once I got a good balance, my T2i began to glide effortlessly in my hand. Tilt and pan with just the touch of your finger. Whenever you walk around or move left to right your camera stays perfectly straight! Now when you move your camera, your SYL-3000 keeps your shots from being total garbage and you level up as a better videographer!
So what’s in the box?
I mentioned it was an attractive box, inside you have your SYL-3000, which weighs in at just under a pound.It’s made from non-rust stainless steel and aluminum parts so it can withstand any conditions you’d put a camera through (and more if you have a waterproof case). The SYL-3000 can handle any camera up to 3lbs, so this is something for the small camcorder and DSLR crowd. If you need something heaftier, look elsewhere, this isn’t for you.
You have 20 large counterweight discs and 4 small counterweight discs. The large discs weight 0.6oz each, while the smaller discs are less than half that weight at just 0.25oz each. Most of the time you should achieve near perfect balance with just the large discs and a slight forward or backward adjustment (the mount slides to allow for various lenses and differently weighted cameras).
There is also an additional camera mount for offset mounting if your camera is a funky shape and a very handy instruction manual. I never read manuals, but I read this. Please take my advice and read this one! The complaints I’ve read about this product have all stemmed from frustrated folks who couldn’t figure out how to balance their camera. This is a learned skill and takes time. If you get frustrated, take a break and try again, don’t send it back (once you get it, it’s a great product, but it WILL take time!)
The Final Verdict
I really like this product! I think Glide Gear is doing some really exciting things to help fill that space for prosumer videographers. The quality of packaging, the quality of construction of the SYL-3000, the detailed instructions and the great support this company offers makes me confident to recommend this product to you. For less than $100 you can significantly improve the quality of your video and for less than the price of a cheap lens you can move your work from amateur to professional with just a little practice and the help of the Glide Gear SYL-3000.
