02Jul Konova KSD 2000 DSLR skate slider – First impressions

Camera sliders are a very handy way to add motion to your film. A decent 3 foot camera slider can set you back over $300, but if you are working on or near a smooth flat surface, you can easily get away with using a much more affordable skate dolly. These skate dollies are also great for product shots and other controlled environments.

At a price of $99 the Konova KSD skate slider feels very well made. The 3/8″ captive bolt works well with most video tripod heads and the 1/4 20 female threads at the front of the unit give you a good location to mount a flex arm. The cast aluminum frame adds a little heft to the unit making it feel very solid in the hand.

All of the nuts and bolts appear to be stainless steel which adds to the quality feel. I’m actually somewhat surprised the Konova KSD skate slider is only $99 while the comparatively junky Pico skater slider is the same price.  Build quality and design is well ahead of the other skate sliders in this price range.

The degree marks for the turn radius are well labeled and easy to read and the adjustment knob is large and snugs down nicely.  The wheelbase is also much larger than other skate dollies in this price range, which should make the Konova KSD skate slider a bit more stable when using larger cameras.

The included bag isn’t anything to write home about. It has a small amount of padding but fits the Konova KSD skate slider well enough. It’s good enough to keep the dust off of it, but it probably won’t do much to protect it if you travel a lot.

My shooting schedule is finally starting to slow down again, so I might even get to a full review of the  Konova KSD skate slider in the next few weeks. Right now at the top of my list for review is that Viltrox DC-50 monitor.

Tags: Dolly, Konova KSD 2000, skate slider