Themis Gyparis

Well, Dave, things have changed rapidly over the last years. The dollar has lost way much of its "strength", so that today one dollar is 0.72 euro. Even the british pound is 1.10 euros. Additionally the import policy in our country is rather bad for every enterprise and VAT is at 19%, which deprives many greek companies of a fair competition with other European Union countries. Just consider this: our local Steadicam dealer sells the Flyer for the price of 7,000 euros no VAT included while at the same time Creative Video, UK's largest broadcast online store, sells it for £4,899.00, that is 5,443 euros VAT excluded, a price difference of more than 1,500 euros or 2,000 USD. Unbelievable, uh?

Well, Dave, apart from the fact that a new camcorder is certainly not an option, I must inform you that in Greece the Panasonic HMC150 is about 5,000 euros if not more and the Pilot is at 4,300 euros, a total of 9,300 euros, or 12,736.13 USD, way more than the Flyer price. Besides, I think it's better to look for a used one in good condition, especially now that the model has upgraded its post... :)

Again, thanks so much everybody, I can't believe how helpful you all are. Should I be able to afford it some time soon, I'll go for the Flyer, I think I'll have more options with it. Just for the record, today I started shooting for a new video with the Smooth Shooter and you can't imagine how many times did I miss the Flyer's boom range. Instead I had to change the arm connector bar's height again and again, as well as the springs tension... Charles, I wish I could operate a small system like mine the way you fly th Pilot on your review video. Too much practice, I guess...

I'll read carefully your review about the Pilot, Charles, although I'm pretty sure the one I saw at our local dealer was the Pilot and not the Co-Pilot. I remember specifically asking about it since I saw it came with a larger monitor and they said that only the Co-Pilot comes with a smaller monitor and that the one before me was the Pilot. Maybe they didn't know what they were saying, I don't know. So, you suggest the Pilot doesn't have much difference from the Flyer. But what about the camcorder weight? as I said mine is about 4,5 kgs with an IDX battery attached. Not only this but it's kind of short and long. Take a look at this image and you'll see what I'm talking about. And, finally, is it worth paying the extra cash for the Flyer and why?

As promised, I'm reporting back regarding the Flyer issue. Having some time to spare, today I visited our local Steadicam's dealer here in Athens. As it turned out, there was no way for me to try out the Flyer, nor was even one piece available at the time, not even for sale. As I was told, there was not much request for the certain product, so it was not available, not even for demonstration, nor where there any plans of new orders any time soon. Well, I find it pretty weird, to tell you the truth and frankly I'm not in any case determined to spend 8,000 euros on a product I haven't at the very least seen live. The dealer suggested that I try the Pilot instead, that was available for both exhibition and purchase, but actually, I didn't like it so much. I didn't have my camcorder with me at the time, but, as I understand, since it can handle a weight of 3,5 kgs max, as the dealer informed me, it's rather inadequate for my 4,5 kgs JVC-GY HD100 camcorder with an IDX battery attached to the back. Apart from that, I can't say I fancy the whole system much. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I don't like the fact that on its basic Pilot's edition the monitor is powered by AA batteries - even my Smooth Shooter has a better battery for its monitor. Surely there is a way to attach a professional battery, but as I understood, this doesn't come with the standard package. The worst part was the vest. No secure clips, just that adhesive-like material, totally uncomfortable from every aspect. As for the spring arm, it's surely smaller and different than the Flyer's, not allowing for so much freedom for both high and low shots, or at least that is what I saw. As such, it seems like I won't be able to try out the Flyer, at least not for the moment or even the distant future, as I get it. That's a pity... I really wanted to fly it...

You can be shure I'll let you know the very next moment, Charles. I checked the price here in Greece and, to be honest with you, for the moment it's out of my budget, since i recently bought some stuff for my editing studio. I think the best would be to look for a used one in good condition some time in the near future. I saw several ads within the forum, but the most price-intriguing ones were already sold. One of them was yours requesting a rig. Anyway, again thanks a lot for your responses and your help that I strongly appreciate. I wish I run into you at some point in the future, a workshop perhaps... I'll post back with my impression of the rig, hopefully soon.

Charles, I can't thank you enough for your info and your time. Well, you got me intrigued with the Flyer... So much that I can't wait to go and see it. I only wish our local dealer here has the ability to help me in that area, because on the last Photovision exhibition two years ago, he barely had the Flyer out of the box, so at the time I wasn't able to fly it - you see, he is not a Steadicam-only reseller, so it's higly likely that he lacks specific-staff to help me balance and try the rig. Anyway, I took some time to e-mail Mr Peter Abrahams on the matter of a Tiffen organizing a possible workshop here in Athens, Greece. His reply was very warm and he said he would contact their representative in the UK about this. Let's hope someday it will happen. By the way, I laughed a lot with your last message's intro :lol:

I mean I've only seen the rig on the web and I was always curious how it is possible that its very thin post could ever be functional, especially with a heavier camera like the one appearing on the product's leaflet...

Could you be more specific about the Sachtler arm, Charles, if I don't get you in too much trouble? What's better in the Flyer? There is a significant price difference between the two rigs, but I always thought the Stadicam brand was mainly to blame for that...

Wow, great links there, Charles, I can't thank you enough for them. Some of the best people in the business... it's almost a small treasure! Well, practically we're saying the same thing. Maybe I haven't been crystal clear about what I wanted to say but it all comes down to a matter of choice - and certainly a bit of ignorance at the time the Smooth Shooter was purchased. If I had my present knowledge a few years back I'd have certainly gone for a different, more descent rig. You see, I'm now 35 years old, I work as a freelance editor and camera operator, thank God my work-schedule is pretty busy, so time is actually money for me. Every time I look back and see how much time I have wasted balancing and re-balancing a faulty piece of equipment, when I could have cleared with this issue from the very beggining and focus on improving my skills, I really feel like a loser. I know in time even my stabilizer could give better results with a lot of work, but good tools are made to make our lives easier. Effort and tenacity are essential for everyone who wants to be good at something but so is a good head start. And in my case that wasn't an option earlier. Anyway, no more whining. I think the best thing to do is get rid of Smooth Shooter and look for something else. I really liked Sachtler's Artemis HD and DV Pro. I'd like to hear from you, Charles, or anyone who has ever possibly worked with this rig and lighter camcorders, like the JVC GY-HD100 for example. Any info is really welcome.

In fact, let me give you an idea of what I'm talking about. In the link below, you'll find a couple of shots I used on the final cut of a health-related video I made a while ago. Not proud of them but just consider I barely touched the post in order to achieve only necessary movement. This rig is as light as a feather... Just watch it... I'm really sorry about the aspect ratio issue :) Sample

Well, thanks for your replies. I didn't expect to get any since I think all of you have more serious things to do than post answers to complaining newbies, so I was kind of pleasantly surprised :) To confirm what you said Alec, that was exactly my point. Should I have known, I would never have gone for the Smooth Shooter myself. The thing is, as I understand now, all the other rigs from Steadicam, Sachtler etc. certainly balance and work way better than this piece of useless stuff I bought. I was mostly disappointed from the fact that all this time I thought it was mainly my operation to blame for the poor results, come to find out that it was never that, but simply a non-functional product - certainly it's no coincidence that the post was originally designed as a hand-only and not a body-supported stabilizer. It's very discouraging to do everything by the book and still not get acceptable results. As for Mr Garett Brown's skills, naturaly the inventor would be the the best operator, not putting aside the other "magician", mr Larry McConkey and many other accredited operators. I must disagree with something, though. I've watched the "Shining's" making of many times and Garret Brown's primitive rig may look like a broom compared to today's rigs, but it's certainly way more functional than the useless Smooth Shooter. Even then, the bottom weight of his system was a much more functional way to balance a rig for a fast motion scene than the stupid round pieces of metal the Smooth Shooter uses. Maybe mr Brown would handle the Smooth Shooter better than most operators - in fact I've seen him fly Steadicam's Pilot, also a light rig - but I bet even he would be very disappointed with the outcome of this poorly constructed system. That's why I insist that should one want to go into steadicam operation, it's nothing but a waste to even check Smooth Shooter's web page... Again, thanks a lot for your interventions

Hello to everyone and a Happy New Year It's been quite a while since I last posted here in the forum and I kind of missed it, considering I received great help and encouragement from some of you guys when I first decided to go into steadicam operation. After quite a long time of reading, learning, noticing and mainly practising, I felt the need to share with all of you a personal experience that - although it's silly to admit so - should have occured earlier. I happen to own a Glidecam Smooth Shooter body-supported stabilizer, with a 4000 Pro post. I bought it about 2 years ago, mainly because of its price. My intention at the time was not to become a fulltime operator but to simply enrich my productions with a little bit of acceptable motion. Till then, I spent a lot of time not only working with my stabiliser, but also talking to professional operators and mainly watching their work closely in every movie I happened to see. I even bought a DVD and a book to help me get started. The thing is, even today, I'm still not satisifed... As a member of Glidecam's forum as well, I often receive posts notifications from people wondering how to balance their camcorders with the SS. Well, only recently I got the chance to fly both Glidecam's V25 and Sachtler's Artemis HD and all I can say, with absolutely no empathy towards the product, is that the Smooth Shooter is simply a waste of both time and money. My constant problem with the Smooth Shooter has always been its extremely poor construction, as well as how unbearably light it is, even if you add all of the extra weight provided. Its unacceptable way of balancing all these screws and the need to have a surgeon's hand in order to move the plates only a few centimeters back and forth, followed by the finding that it only takes a... strong breeze to bring the system off balance, are only a few of the whole system's disadvantages, not to mention the non-functional gimbal. God knows how much time I have wasted trying to balance a system after having it necessarily disassembled, in order to carry it on a shooting location. A few days ago, I paid a visit to the local dealers of both Sachtler's Artemis HD and Glidecam's V25 to do some testing with my JVC GY-HD 100. You can't begin to imagine how dissapointed I got when I found out it only takes me a few minutes to balance the camcorder on top and start shooting. With proper operation, both systems give good results and of course are somewhat forgiving to very light improper handling, contrary to the Smooth Shooter. I was so happy that I didn't have to worry that perhaps a... passing wind will blow out my well-aligned horizon... I could talk forever about this issue, but I don't want to waste your time or sound prejudiced. All I wanted to say is I'm convinced that, regardless of experience, anyone who claims he has ever made a decent shot with Glidecam's Smooth Shooter is not telling the truth. It's such a pity because Glidecam is a great company with really good products, including the V-25 and the Gold System and I believe the Smooth Shooter is really a vilification of its good image. My advice towards anyone who wants to go into steadicam at any level, is to not go for the Smooth Shooter but instead look for one of Glidecam's, Steadicam's, Sachtler's, MK-V's or other respectable manufacturer's more advanced models. That way he will not lose courage or think he does something wrong, as I did for so long... Forgive me if I sound offensive or prejudiced in any way... It's just that should I have known the disadvantages of Smooth Shooter, I would have saved time and money to spend on something that was really worth it rather than feel a fool that I do something wrong every time. May the new year bring to all of you health, happiness and anything else you desire. :)

As always thanks to each and every one of you personally for your immediate and full replies. I wish I could afford a workshop but I have to be honest, I can't, at least not for the moment. I'd be in it in a second should one ever took place in Greece, but I'm afraid that will never happen... Anyway, I can't thank you enough for all your advices. Next target is constant practice since I can't do anything else and... my silence till I have something I feel is worth showing. Again thanks for everything and I wish all of you the very best

Hello everyone once again About a month ago I made a post in the newbies section concerning the operation difficulties I had with Glidecam's Smooth Shooter and the 4000 Pro post. Back then I had expressed my disappointment and I questioned my choice to go for the certain rig. I got a lot of responses and I'm very thankful for all of them and I tried to put in practice everything that each and every one of you had to offer from his personal experience. Since then I kept practicing and practicing, each and every day. I employed all the advices I got. As time went by I noticed improvement in my shots and I started to understand better what I had to do. Extremely light center post touch, slow moves and turns, a ballerina-like walk in some cases, the list goes on and on... While I was able to tame the "dynamic balance "beast" up to a certain point, till today my constant problem lies in stops and starts in a move. I worked hard on this but till this moment I still find it difficult to make my steps invisible in a move. Steadicam as I get it is about imitating camera move on a rail, even if it means going up and down stairs or moving from one room to another. I don't want to waste your time, because I know most of you would more than justly prefer to analyze a technique with an experienced operator, other than answer the same question again and again, so I get to the point. I think the problem lies in the rig's weight. It is light as a feather even with my JVC GY-HD 100E attached on top and every move needs surgical precision. Honestly, I don't think anyone could be able to make a decent shot with this certain piece of equipment... So what I ask is this: Is it possible that a heavier rig with a bigger camcorder would produce better results even for someone who has only been into steadicam for a few months? It can't possibly be just my skills to blame and I know there's a certain reason for which the price difference of my rig compared to big professional stabilizers is so big... Not that I can afford it, but it would be good to know :) If anyone has actually worked with this certain rig or a similar one for smaller camcorders, I'd be more than happy to hear from him, even see some shots he's made. I know you all would suggest a workshop and maybe it would make a difference but, honestly, I don't have the time or the money for it. I'm not a quitter, my ardency for steadicam work is enormous. It's what I always wanted to do and when I saw the price on Glidecam's Smooth Shooter, I figured this was the chance I was always looking for. By now I'm not so sure... Any answer would be greatly appreciated. If it turns out it's only my skills to blame I'll accept it, put it behind me and give up on my "dream" once and for all. But I want to know if a larger rig would help me.... Please be both blunt and honest... I can take it :) Thanks a lot in advance. I wish I didn't bore you again with a subject like that. It's the last time I do it. It's just crucial for me to know...

Hello everyone I recently switched my arm connector bar on my Smooth Shooter vest to a higher position, mainly because I wanted to lift my post up in order to be able to shoot in level people or objects that are my height or taller and because the post's height can't be changed from above the gimbal. My question is: does that affect shooting in general? I'm asking this because on a previous post about the Smooth Shooter a friend here in the forum suggested correctly that maybe my problems with this certain rig may also be affected by my body position. So I only have to guess maybe it is also attributed to the new arm connector position, which is now closer to my stomach than my torso? Am I right? Does this affect shooting in general? Below is a picture of the SS vest. The circle shows the arm connector bar's factory position and the arrow where I put it afterwards. It's very convenient, of course, because together with the arm bending upwards I can shoot tall people very easily, but I wouldn't like it to affect my shooting in general. Have a look vest foto Thanks in advance

Thanks so much, Charles. Your contribution was indeed very helpful since you had operated with SS in the past. It's good to know I didn't throw my money away. The truth is that several times after a good balancing, the post is in perfect vertical balance but tends to turn to the left or the right when I leave it untouched to stand on the arm. I guess something's wrong with my balancing in the first place, because - and that's kinda weird - the post with a jvc gy-hd 100 attached on top balances perfectly on its vertical axis with 14 plates to the back side and only 1 plate and the monitor and battery to the front. :huh: I'll try re-balancing and report back Thanks a lot

Have you tryed to operate the sled without touching it? This will reveal a lot, if it's in correct static balance won't go anywhere.....in this way you'll discover quickly if it's your touch affecting the shot. Don't give up, keep us informed on your improvements that undoubtely will comes with perseverance and practice. By far the best words I've heard in this forum! Many thanks are in order to each and every one of you who replied to this post, but Fabrizio must get a special credit for the warmth of his reply :) Well, neighbour :D (Greece, Italy and Egypt are really close geographically, right?) my intention is just that: to practise my best and as much as I can. I'll try re-balancing my system and give some shots without touching the post. If only I had the money to attend a workshop, but, unfortunately I can't afford it for the moment. I happen to have have a series of exercises on a Steadicam's leaflet (walking the line, over the shoulder, the switch, the reverse switch etc.) that I plan to work on as much as I can. I believe this will help in the long run. As for your advice to contact an operator near me, Fabrizio, I actually did, long before I become a member to this forum. And you know what? I couldn't have made a better choice, because the guy I turned to for help, proved to be not only perhaps the best here in Greece (I'm sure and abroad considering he operated for several films in Europe and the States) but also a wonderful person, always there when his cell phone rang. We didn't know each other before but still we met a couple of times and we communicate frequently. It's just that I don't want to take advantage of his readiness to help or be a burden, because I know that he works a lot, and as such I often turn to this forum for answers. Thanks again to all for everything, especially Fabrizio (you are certainly entering my friends list). I'll practice as much as possibe and hopefully get back with better results. C U all soon

My apologies, too, Alec. Thanks for your advice. I hope I'll be able to find the time and, most important, the money for a workshop. Looking forward to the next post, with the wish that I'll have some progress to mention. C U all

Well, Imran If you had read my reply correctly, you'd have noticed that I never refered to Mike or anyone else by the term "actual operator". In fact I used the term "experienced operator", which I have no doubt that Mike is, something that I'm not so sure about you. That's because I believe that a true professional is a combination of someone who's very good at his work but also extremely unassertive as a person. Apart from the fact that Mike can speak out for himself, I'm sure he understood exactly how I meant what I said, which was in no way offensive, unlike your "advice" to check out Mike's resume, which I'm pretty certain is big... Is yours? Also, I never assumed that a gorilla grip could ever be the way to handle a shot. I may have minimum knowledge and experience but I do know that. If you really wanted to offer some assistance you would do so by checking the link I placed and comment on it. Thanks for all your advices, but you haven't shed any light in the drakness, all you said I've heard before.. Finally, Mike, I'm sure you absolutely understood what I said. I'm just a nobody guy in the stabilizers area, trying to make his way through information like yours. Again I'm deeply grateful for that info and I hope I didn't offend you in any way.

Mike and Amando Thanks a lot for your immediate responses, that I strongly appreciate, as always. Well, I can't say I haven't tried all these things you mentioned over and over again. As for the comment that "an experienced operator would make it work great", I wouldn't be so sure about that, Mike. Most operators get an actual grip on their center post, so I only have to guess that fingertip control would be a nightmare to them. For the workshop issue: I also think it's a very good idea, but from videos I've seen on the web, none of the rigs that the new operators exercise on is a Glidecam Smooth Shooter or even as light as that. I think that says something, don't you think? Just check www.glidecam.com and look for Smooth Shooter (X-10 arm not included) and let me know what you think. OK, I think I'll take Amando's advice. Below, you'll find a link to a portion of a video I shot and edited 2 months ago, for a big hospital here in Greece, concerning the presentation of a new MRI department. THey wanted to present not only the machine but also the waiting room and the friendly environment. I only kept the steadi shots of the video and left the audio out to give you an idea. The hospital's marketing dept liked the whole video a lot and were actually especially impressed by the stability of the certain shots, which was good for me. But if you ask me I say these shots are unacceptable, even for commercial video. Thank God for dissolve in the editing procedure, it made me look a litle better :) Anyway, check the link (it's better to download the file, the preview mode is bad) and if there's anyone who has actually worked with the Smooth Shooter, I'd be happy to hear from them. Here it is Steadishot Thanks so much in advance

Hello everyone Some months ago I bought the Glidecam Smooth Shooter with the 4000 Pro post. At the time I didn't have the knowledge base around steadicam as I do now, but I have to confess a stabiliser at the price of the SS was quite tempting comparing to those of other companies such as Tiffen's. My camera is a JVC GY-HD 100 and I bought the stabilizer mainly to work with this certain camcorder. Here's where troubles begin. Since I bought my rig I practised and practised and practised... I also tried it on several shots trying to keep the frame as accurate as possible. At first I was very disappointed by the outcome, which was only natural, considering that "because you buy it, doesn't mean you fly it". I totally understand that. What's absolutely unatural, though, is that even after several months of practising and several shots, the outcome is still unacceptable from my point of view. My main and biggest problem is that this certain stabilizer is irritatingly touch-sensitive! OK, I understand the manual says that the center-post should only be handled with fingertips but I swear to God it feels as even by... blowing on the post, it will lose its dynamic balance... I've spent hours with this rig and I really don't think its my skills to blame. It's just too light! I've tried adding and removing weight, adjusting and re-adjusting drop time, tightening and loosening arm tension, I move like a.... ballerine and still sooo much sensitivity is practically "killing" every shot I make. Oh, and I don't even begin to think about shooting with a cable atttached. What I'm trying to say here, keeping it brief, is that inertia is a big case with this piece of equipment. Also, there are a lot of other issues, such as balancing, in which fine tuning is a nightmare with this set of 8 screws (4 to the side, 4 to the bottom). So I am asking it straight forward: Did I buy a piece of crap? Please be absolutely honest. It is just not good for a stabilizer to be so motion-sensitive. I wish I had the chance to test my camcorder on a bigger rig to compare, but I don't. So, should I just sell it and move on to buy something else, perhaps heavier? If even the slightest touch has so much of an impact on balance, I wonder how I'll ever be able to follow a moving or even a running person... Please, be very very objective.

Wow! Well, Robert, I just found some time to download the Balance Primer... Honestly, I don't think I'll be able to even begin reading it with all these math... :) Any other suggestions? Some more practical advices would be greatly appreciated. The workshop is the best solution but none is held in my country...

Thanks a lot, Robert. No actually I haven't seen the notes yet, although I have spent endless hours reading and talking to people on the web. I think it's time I set my mind down to it and start doing some practical work. The most useful thing I did was to meet our very best steadicam operator here in Greece, Michael Tsimperopoulos. I think I'll arrange one more meeting, but first I'll also check what you said.

Hello again to everyone Ok, just a few days back I made my very first shots with my Smooth Shooter and 4000 Pro for a 2-minute corporate video. As I was the main operator, I prefered to use steadicam shots as an alternative, knowing there was a strong possibility they may not turn out to be as good or even usable at all. Well, the guys that offered me the job from the company were impressed from the outcome, but I can't say I feel the same way! Only natural, you may think, but... Balancing still remains a problem with this rig. By now I know for sure I am doing something wrong, because the camera seemed (to my eyes) to shake horizontally more than needed, even with the slightest moves. What I mainly noticed while balancing, was that, although the post seemed totally straight from all angles when left still with camera on top, after a few seconds it started turning very slightly on its horizontal axis and stopped a few degrees further (vertical axis remained perfectly balanced). What could that mean? I don't know if I'm accurate on describing the problem. I know a light rig like mine has little inertia, but I've added enough weight on top and bottom (within arm limits, of course) and, although, the results are better, they are still not what I expect , despite the fact that I try to move as smoothly as possible. I suppose there is still something wrong with balancing. Or with me, that could also be the case. But is normal the fact that the post balances perfectly with extra round metal plates added ONLY on one edge of its bottom, while three big metal plates are added on top? I mean, could the monitor attached on the other side work as counterbalance to so many plates on the other side? ... cause it certainly does in my case.... Notice, that 've tried moving the camera back and forth to compensate. Even when fully pulled back, it still leaned forward... (a JVC GY-HD 100) Also, I saw better results when making the post longer, even though drop time was barely one second. I know this is wrong, but the post was much more stable, although I practically couldn't do anything else with it other than turn it left or right - vertical moves impossible... What can I do about all these? Sorry about the long topic, but you guys are my most useful and accurate source of info. I want to go deep in steadicam shooting and although with such a rig that would probably turn out to be impossible, it just may be a good start. Please sympathize with my newbie questions and subject irrelevance . ANY answer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance :)