Glidecam HD-2000 Review and Videos!

Glidecam HD-2000 and the Glidecam forearm support brace

About two weeks ago I received a package with the Glidecam HD-2000 inside to 'test drive' and review. Now a few days later, I'm already addicted to this stabilizer!

Balance and setup
Setting up the Glidecam HD-2000 for the first time was an absolute breeze. The first thing I did, was mounting the camera (Sony NEX-FS100 with the 16mm f2.8 pancake lens and ultra wide converter and a smaller NP-F770 battery, without the side handle attached to the camera) on a Manfrotto (MN-357) Sliding Plate Adapter. Then I tried to find the center of gravity and marked the spot underneath the sliding plate. This spot should roughly be placed on top the central post. You do this by attaching your camera (or in my case with sliding plate adapter attached) to the quick release plate of the HD-2000. After that, you can start the balance process. I started out with the side handle attached to the camera and used 3 counter weight plates on each side of the Glidecam. By telescoping the base platform in and out I got the right drop time and was able to fly the camera within minutes after unboxing everything.

Glidecam HD-2000 Camera Stabilizer

Unboxing the Glidecam HD-2000 camera stabilizer and Glidecam Forearm Support Brace

Today I received a package from A.F. Marcotec with something really cool inside. It's a camera stabilizing system: the Glidecam HD-2000 with the Glidecam Forearm Support Brace. Thanks to Thomas Howie, Vice President of Sales & Marketing from Glidecam and René Shoukier from A.F. Marcotec, I'm able to 'test drive' this camera stabilizer for a couple of days!

Short Movie: Old Jet Fighter (MiG-21 F-13)

MiG-21 F-13 jet fighter

Old picture of the actual aircraft in use!

Two weeks ago I was filming in Noord-Holland and when we drove from one location to the next, someone spotted something very unusual in the backyard of an old farmhouse. This old jet fighter from the Czech Air Force, I believe a MiG-21 F-13 Fishbed. I thought it was pretty unusual so we stopped and I went to see if anyone was home. Luckily the owner answered the door and I asked him if it was OK to film his jet fighter in his backyard. He had no problem with it, so I went back to the car to change lenses on the camera.

NEX-5N with 18-200mm lens - Footage

Location to capture footage with the Sony NEX-5N

Two days ago I was at the beach and decided to bring my Sony NEX-5N with me and shoot some footage with it. Just to see what this camera is capable of. I simply used the internal microphone and recorded in AVCHD, 50i 24M (FX). Lens I used was the Sony E-mount 18-200mm from my NEX-FS100.

Importing the footage into FCP is the same as with the NEX-FS100 and editing is simple and fast. I decided to leave the footage ungraded and just show what the camera is capable of. You can see the result in the video below.