18Dec Shark Slider S1 – First impressions
I think the Shark Slider S1 is now my new favorite motion device. It showed up right before I left the country so I’m just now getting a chance to play around with it. Beautifully constructed, ultra smooth operation, extendable to 47 inches of travel, and it breaks down into a nice 31 inch bag.
The carriage on the Shark Slider S1 is made from a solid piece of machined aluminum and uses V-bearings to travel across a very nice set of 22mm carbon rods. Build quality and design are excellent and travel motion is smooth a silk. This is quite possibly one of the nicest sliders I’ve seen for under $1000.
Travel on the Shark Slider is controlled by this medium sized flywheel attached to a toothed belt. Once you’ve locked the belt into the carriage, the flywheel allows you to ramp up with a smooth start and slow down your cameras travel toward the end of the slide. It works almost as good as the $3500 slider I tested at NAB last year.
The price tag on the Shark Slider is a bit higher than offerings in similar lengths from Konova. A 47 inch Konova slider will set you back around $540, while the 47 inch Shark Slider will run you $640, but the extra $100 is money well spent. The Shark Slider folds down into a 31 inch travel bag making a lot more convenient than the 47 inch Konova slider and with the Shark’s flywheel system, motion is much easier to control. 640 dollars is a big investment for a slider, but the Shark Slider is well worth considering. So far i’m very impressed. I’ll be taking the shark slider out with me on a shoot I have coming up this weekend, footage and full review to follow. I’ll have to be careful not to go overboard with the slider shots.
Tags: 47 inch slider, Flywheel slider, Konova Slider, Shark Slider S1
December 18th, 2013 at 11:58 am
Wow, the first slider that has really impressed me. Most just look like overpriced metal sticks, but this thing actually looks beautiful.
December 18th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
I was not expecting it either. I actually went out of my way to schedule a project this week just so I could take it out for a practical test drive. I’ve used sliders with belts and tensioners, but the flywheel design really makes a big difference.
December 18th, 2013 at 7:40 pm
Any recommendations for a fluid head to go with this?
December 18th, 2013 at 7:48 pm
I normally use a Manfrotto 503 head with heavy sliders and a heavy duty light with a magic arm for a second support. I was planning to do the same with this.
December 19th, 2013 at 1:55 pm
I’ve noticed that you and DSLR Video Shooter review the exact same gear around the exact same time. Hmm ; )
December 19th, 2013 at 3:29 pm
I don’t know, I don’t follow DSLR video shooter, I take it they are reviewing this slider? Are they also working on a review for the c100, the TP-Link TL MR3040, the VS-3 monitor, and the Sony RX10? Did they just finish up a review of the Viltrox DC-50? If so than maybe they follow me? 😉
December 19th, 2013 at 5:34 pm
It’s probably more likely that companies are sending out samples or offers to review to multiple reviewers at the same time. That’s why you seem to see a bunch of reviews on the same products pop up on YouTube at the same time. Plus, there’s just so much new stuff that’s worthy of being reviewed at any given time.
December 19th, 2013 at 11:43 pm
I do get review models this time of year, but 2/3 of the items I review are out of pocket. I either buy them or rent them and if I like them I keep them, if I don’t they end up on ebay. For example I bought the Viltrox DC-50, Sony V55, Canon c100 (after a few test shoots), TP-Link, DSLR controller, and all the EOS-M gear. The VS-3 monitor was a review model, as was the shark slider (though I’ll be buying both as soon as I send the review models back). Because of this practice I own a lot of kit, more than I would normally, and I buy and sell a lot of kit. Reviews are more real if you have skin in the game like my rant about the Canon c100, i’ve rented it a few times for different jobs, but owning it gives you a different perspective.
December 20th, 2013 at 2:19 pm
How would you compare this to the Philip bloom slider? I have been looking you buy a nice slider and this one looks awesome but I am worried about weight restraints as I move on in my career. I am currently shooting with 5miii but from time to time rent a much heaver camera like a red scarlet or if need for the job?
February 26th, 2014 at 6:39 am
Hi dslrfilmnoob – I’d be interested in how this compares to the PB pocket slider too, you’ve used both if I remember – because I used this Shark slider this week a friend purchased it too replace a horrible slider – the iFootage was incredible and if paying double the price for double the quality is what I’ll get buying the PB pocket slider I’ll do that. But if not for £600 ($880USD) I’ll buy this, are you still using this and is there anything you dont like having now used it and owned it for a couple of months?
thanks love the site, your work time and music are so appreciated – keep creating!
December 20th, 2013 at 6:17 pm
Got mine last week, amazing piece of gear, loved it and can’t wait to see your footage Deejay. Peace
March 1st, 2014 at 2:04 pm
For anybody that’s interested, the Shark slider is on sale for a short while. I just picked one up myself.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/331062930832?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
March 1st, 2014 at 2:14 pm
It’s a great slider.
March 29th, 2014 at 3:07 pm
I am working on a documentary about the live and works of Leo Baekeland. For that reason I bought this Shark Slider bundle to fix macro shots. It’s offering an extraordinary quality. Gearcontact.com informed me that their second fly wheel option will be available ‘very soon’. Also ‘very soon’ they will present additional motorizing equipment for this slider. Perhaps at NAB? It’s hard to wait. Strange enough the Rollei technical department is totally unknown with this information. Rollei connects its name to the Ifootage products but gave me a DIY solution to add motorizing. A last wish; please include a small hand crank instead of fingertip control.
June 13th, 2014 at 7:51 pm
Hey DeeJay,
Now that you had a chance to put the slider through its paces, can you tell us what you like and dislike about its real life applications 🙂
One of my big concerns is that the rails are exposed, I’ve used the Kessler before and once it has been damaged, its all over.
June 13th, 2014 at 8:03 pm
I’ve been meaning to finish up the review for this. The slider is great in real life applications, use it all the time. The only issue I’ve run into is that when it’s full extended with the extra set of rods it can twist it both sides aren’t level. This doesn’t hurt the slider but it does cause problems as you get to the end of the slide. The other issue is the time it takes to change out the belt when going from short to long. It’s not that big of a deal if you are using it in the short format or the long format all day, but if you need to switch back and forth it can eat up time. Otherwise I’d say it’s a great slider, I like the flywheel design much better than the kessler friction design.
June 13th, 2014 at 8:20 pm
Thanks DeeJay, What is it like to travel with? I have the Konova, and it fits nicely into my tripod bag because its so thin.
June 13th, 2014 at 10:05 pm
The case is a much larger, but you end up with a smaller length. Probably wont fit it into your tripod bag.
January 7th, 2015 at 1:58 am
After a few months of working with the ifootage slider, I have to say, yes it is quite heavy, but its nice to get the shot done in one take.
Have you seen the Parallax bar featured in CheesyCam? I’s seriously considering add that to my arsenal.
June 14th, 2014 at 4:28 am
I find although it’s carbon fibre it’s still not that lite, we have a alu kessler stealth slider and it’s lighter the carbon shark slider.
If you’re in the USA the shark is a good deal but in the UK it costs about the same as the kessler stealth and the steal his a far better slider. One issue we had with the shark was that the rubber chain ( I don’t know what it is) got warped and we couldn’t use it for a while we were in a field on a hot sunny day, the next day it was fine so it wasn’t permanent.
February 5th, 2015 at 6:02 am
Great review. I’m really tempted to put down the cash for one of these!
Also, thought I would let you know that these have pretty much ripped off your review haha.
February 5th, 2015 at 10:14 am
My stuff gets stolen like that all the time, but thanks for the heads up!
October 26th, 2015 at 3:34 pm
Comparing this to the Konova K7 with flywheel. I’m concerned about the weight capacity of this one at 5KG compared to the Konova at 30kg.
I was thinking of using my usual Sachtler fluid head whichis about 2kg alone I’d need a ball mount plus camera lens and matte box… I have some math to do.
Should I be worried?