23Dec Shark Slider S1 in the wild
I took the Shark Slider S1 out for it’s first round of shooting and so far it’s been pretty impressive. I’ll post some test shots once I get the footage in but everything I shot on set looked great. The flywheel sliding action really does an excellent job of achieving nice smooth moves.
On a side note, if you plan to use the Shark Slider for a bathtub shoot, fully extended it’s about the length of a normal sized bathtub. In order to fit the slider and stands into this tiny little bathroom we had to work with I had to assemble it in the 8 inches between the sink and the bathtub. It just barely fit in this space but with a 16-35mm f2.8 lens we were able to get the fx shots we needed.
After 20 hours of shooting with the Shark Slider the only real complaint I have is leveling. Fully extended the round travel rods have a little bit of flex to them. If you don’t have both tripod stands holding each side flat, the rods can twist just enough to bind up the slider towards the end of the slide. I started out using a Manfrotto magic arm for one side of the support, but the little bit of flex in it’s design was enough to mess up a few slides. Once we figured this out I switched over to two heavy duty tripod stands and that solved the problem. Not really something you would think about, but something to keep in mind.
I’ll post some slider demo shots from the shoot after Christmas. The Shark Slider so far is still one of the best sliders I’ve used for under $1000. Also special thanks to Jazmyne Van Houten for putting up with almost 3 hours in a bathtub while we set up and shot the special effects scenes.
December 24th, 2013 at 12:45 am
The vlogger Nitsan on Youtube came up with this idea as a DIY mod for Konova silders. If you have the crank kit, you can replace the handle with a weight and it acts the same way to smooth slides.
December 24th, 2013 at 5:15 am
Thats a good idea, the only problem is that by the time you add up the cost of the handle and slider you’re within $80 or so of the 47 inch shark slider. Unless you get a really good deal on a konova 47 inch slider that is.
December 24th, 2013 at 4:07 pm
It’s a pretty good option if you already have a Konova slider like I do. It’s okay so I wasn’t sure if I’d sell it and get the new Cinevate slider or something like this.
December 24th, 2013 at 4:55 pm
True, if you are already invested it’s not to bad of a move. I wonder if a balanced flywheel could be adapted instead of a gym weight. Maybe I’ll give it a try before I sell off my Konova.
December 24th, 2013 at 8:03 am
Love your site. I visit this side and a few others like every five hours. Lol
So. I have the glidegear’s 47″ slider that I got for $149 and just discovered this Revolve RAM. http://www.revolvecamera.com/products/pre-order-ram-motorized-slider-add-on-kit
Which can attach to any slider. What is your opinion on this?
December 24th, 2013 at 8:53 am
As with most of the motorized slider attachment idea’s i’ve seen, they don’t demo motor noise. Loud operation doesn’t affect timelapse, but it’s a problem for video solutions, especially when the motor is mounted directly below the camera. Any demos of the 60 rpm motor in action with audio available?
December 27th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
The flywheel is awesome, and i had previously seen the konava mod and did not want to buy the crank kit. because it seemed a bit goofy. I’ve already ordered the shark slider, but want to know how the slider compares without the wighted wheel? Is it smoother than the konova with no flywheel?
Do you think it would be easily manageable in its shorter form on a single tripod? looks like when it slides to the weighted side, the weight plus the camera would cause some major droopage?
January 16th, 2014 at 11:46 pm
Deejay I was wondering how you did your slides on this slider? One guy online uses his finger to push the flywheel in a circle which looks the same as using a crank. I never thought cranks looked very good. Another guy just gives the carriage a little shove. What works for you?