With professional glidecams well over $200 for base models, I deemed it necessary to make a more affordable version for the amateurs out there. Plan on spending a weekend putting one of these together and they’re are plenty of DIY designs on google to start from. A little chestnut of information I will pass through is a trick on balancing a glidecam. This hasn’t been discussed clearly on other websites, but focus on setting the drop time two 2 seconds (i.e. time it takes for the counter balance to fall 90 degrees) and then leave the weights alone. Next, check for the tilt that will inevitably be left over after the drop time and use magnets to fix the tilt. Meaning change the virtual center of gravity of the camera by adding magnets to the opposite side in which the camera is tilting. This is visually seen below with the white connectors mounted directly behind the camera on the right hand side. This affords the user quick changes to the upper half of the glidecam for fine tuning of tilt. Now you’re ready for lights, camera, action!
Something else to note, using magnets to fix the tilt enables you to use the standard 3M adhesive stickers, that come with a GoPro, directly to the mounting plate. Otherwise, a clever mounting harness is needed to shift the camera left, right, forward and back.
