Glide Gear SYL-1000 Platinum Manual instruction

GLIDEGEAR 1000 VIDEO & DSLR CAMERA STABILIZER
D 1MO EL SYL- 000 Platinum
Setup and Operation Manual

Glidegear 1000 Video & DSLR Camera Stabilizer
2
Congratulations! You are now the lucky owner of the Glidegear SYL-1000, the
number one pick for serious hobbyists among the Glidegear Camera Stabilizer
selection.
Before you start, let us remind you that effective stabilization requires that
you balance your specific camera with the Glidegear Camera Stabilizer. You
will need to invest a few minutes to get to know the equipment but there’s
nothing to worry about; it’s a just a little game of weights and balances.
Camera stabilization is both a dynamic science and a true art at the same
time; the essence of which, Glidegear has captured in its products. Actually,
Glidegear had gone one better; it has made it simpler. This is true for the
Glidegear SYL-1000. With this precision-engineered camera stabilizer, a
balanced camera is easier to achieve than ever. You can see for yourself the
clear difference between a stabilized, professional-quality moving shot and
the standard hand-held, jittery one with the best proof of all, a video. See it for
yourself at: http://youtu.be/Jozyg7T2N5k
Made from non-rust, powder-coated, stainless steel and aluminum parts,
the Glidegear SYL-1000 Camera Stabilizer is cause for extra congratulations.
With your Glidegear Camera Stabilizer, you now have a gadget that weighs
less than 5 oz., capable of balancing a camera. So, whether you are using an
iPhone, a DSLR camera, or a camcorder, the Glidegear SYL-1000 Camera
Stabilizer has you covered. So long as the camera is between 1.0 oz. and 3lbs.,
your Glidegear SYL-1000 will have no trouble balancing it.

Table of Contents
3
Overview ...................................................................................................................... 2
A Brief Tour of the Glidegear 1000 ......................................................................... 4
Expanded View of Parts ........................................................................................... 5
Balancing Your Glidegear 1000 ............................................................................... 7
Troubleshooting ....................................................................................................... 10
Operation .................................................................................................................... 11
Advanced Glidegear Technique ............................................................................. 21

A Brief Tour of Glidegear 1000
4
To start with, let’s identify the Glidegear SYL-1000’s main functional
components. It is important to get to know the parts by name and sight
especially if or when you should need a replacement or a spare. No need to
start unpacking the unit, why not try to stick to reading this comprehensive
guide first?
Amateur video is usually unstable because video cameras do not have the
built-in stabilization that your brain does when walking, jogging, going up and
down the stairs, etc. Because your camcorder does not have this capability,
any slight movement will have a dramatic and usually, unpleasant effect on
your footage.
The Glidegear SYL-1000 Camera Stabilizer is not only an amazing solution
to this dilemma, it also provides an ergonomic way to hold your camera to
take those spectacular shots and produce smooth, fluid motion that can rival
those taken by trolleys, dollies, cranes, and jibs. The Glidegear SYL-1000
removes your camera from the camera support, and when balanced correctly,
will float it in the air while giving you enhanced ability to frame and aim your
shots.
The Glidegear SYL-1000 is your gateway to professional quality camera work.
With this latest Glidegear Camera Stabilizer, you can finally dim the lights on
jittery shots and shoddy, shaky framing. Now, you can indulge your inner
filmmaker without having to spend a whole lot for equipment. All you need is
your existing camera and the Glidegear SYL-1000.

Expanded View of Parts
5
• Camera Cushion Strips and Gross Adjustment Screw – Fore and Aft:
Your camera will mount onto the camera cushion strips and the gross adjustment
screw forward and aft for a secure and protected grip.
Camera Cushion
Strips
Gross Adjustment Screw -
Fore and Aft
Fine Adjustment Knob
Counterweight Arm
Counterweights
Handle Grip
Gimbal Joint

6
• Gimbal Joint and Handle Grip: The design of the Glidegear SYL-1000 Camera
Stabilizer is engineered to stabilize the camera by moving the center of
gravity below the camera and under the actual gimbal joint. The gimbal will
not permit any angular disturbance to pass through it, so the shakes and
bumps caused by your hand or anything attached to your hand will be
absorbed by the gimbal and isolated from the camera. The handle grip
meanwhile is an easy and ergonomic way to hold your equipment for as long
as you need. Now made even more comfortable with its improved cushioning.
• Counterweight Arm: This allows you to distribute the mass of the system
along the horizontal axis. If your camera has most of the weight to the right
side of midline, then you would need to adjust the counterweight arm to the
left appropriate to obtain level condition along the horizontal - X-axis.
• Counterweights: These allow you to balance the system along the
vertical-Y-axis. This is totally going to depend on the weight of your camera,
which for the Glidegear SYL-1000 should not exceed 3 lbs., and general rule
of thumb would be to start out with ¼ or less weight of your camera on the
counterweight arm and then fine tune from there. For example, if your camera
weighs 1 lb., then you would start with about 3 oz. of weights and then fine
tune by adding or subtracting small weights from there. Your Glidegear
SYL-1000 Camera Stabilizer comes with 6 pieces of large weights (0.6 oz.)
and 3 pieces of small weights (.25 oz.)
• Fine Adjustment Knob: This is an advanced feature and allows for a fine
adjustment of the fore/aft balance of your rig.
*If your camera is 6 oz. or less, you need to use a small camera adaptor or the
system will not balance.

Balancing Your Glidegear 1000
7
Once you’ve mounted your camera on the Glidegear SYL-1000 (with battery
and memory card), the unit must be balanced to achieve optimal and effective
image stabilization. The center of gravity (COG) of the entire system must be
manipulated to be just below the fulcrum (gimbal). Usually this means you
need to have about 1/4 of your camera weight on the bottom (counterweight
arm) so that the system is slightly bottom heavy. Let’s take just a minute to
understand this:
Try to balance a shallow bowl on the end of your thumb. You will find this very
difficult to do. This is because the COG is above the fulcrum, your thumb, in
this example:

8
Now turn the bowl upside down, you will see this becomes much easier. This
is because the COG is now below the fulcrum in this system and you can
even move your thumb from side to side without having the bowl fall over:
So, the key to effective balancing of your Glidegear SYL-1000 is to make sure
the COG is just below the gimbal joint. You can achieve this by distributing the
weights such that the system is slightly bottom heavy. As a general rule of
thumb, it is a good idea to start with 1/4 of weight of your camera or less and
then fine tune it from there by adding or removing weights appropriately.
Although the pictures and explanations are pretty clear, we can do you one
better, you can also watch our video on balancing Glidegear Camera
Stabilizers at: http://youtu.be/Jozyg7T2N5k

9
With the small camera adaptor, the Glidegear SYL-1000 has the capability to
stabilize cameras from 1 oz. (28 g.) to 3 lbs. (1.36 kg.).
Always begin your balancing with the batteries and memory card installed in
your camera. There are three axes of balance that need to be achieved:
vertical (Y-axis), horizontal (X-axis), and fore/aft (Z-axis). To keep it simple,
better do them one at a time.
Vertical
For this explanation we will start with the vertical balancing. You can simply
start with all weights removed and keep adding weight until the system is
vertically balanced. The large counterweight discs are 0.6 oz., and the small
counterweight discs are 0.25 oz. It is an important point to make that the nut
that holds the weights in place also has weight and when fine tuning your
system, you may improve the balance by the addition or removal of one or
both of these nuts.
Horizontal
Next, make sure the horizontal is balanced by use of the counterweight arm.
Some cameras will have the mounting hole well off to the left or right of the
center of mass of the camera. To compensate for this simply loosen the
attachment knob and carefully adjust the counterweight arm to the opposite
direction that the system is leaning. You will know the horizontal has been
balanced properly when the system is completely level along the X-axis.
(Hint: use a small camera bubble leveler for precision).
Fore-and-Aft
If your camera is way out of balance in the Fore and Aft department, you may
want to make this adjustment first. Simply slide the camera forward or
backward along the mounting cushion strips with the gross adjustment
screw.
This process will be a little different for every type of camera so it always
takes a little fiddling and fine-tuning adjustments. So, how do you know if
your system is balanced? Your system will be balanced when it is completely
level and you can move right to left and forward to aft without the camera
tipping over, and with negligible pendulum effect from the bottom of the
counterweight arm.

Troubleshooting
10
Symptom: System doesn’t balance, too much pendulum effect
Possible Diagnosis: Bottom Heavy
The most common among beginners is to make the Glidegear Camera
Stabilizer bottom heavy. Due to the many weights that come with the
package and the lighter, newer cameras, it is a common error to have too
much weight at the bottom. If this occurs, remove all the weights and start
over from scratch, adding one weight at a time.
Symptom: System doesn’t balance, camera tips over or hangs up in the wrong
position
Possible Diagnosis: Top Heavy
If you have repeatedly removed weights and the Glidegear Camera Stabilizer
never seems balanced, then perhaps the system is top heavy (COG is above
the gimbal joint). In this case it will never behave properly and often times will
try to flip upside down. Fortunately, top heaviness is easy to fix, simply add
more weight to the bottom. Systematically add one weight at a time and do
the drop test (as seen on video) after the addition of each weight.