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
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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
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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
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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
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• 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

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• 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
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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:

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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

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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
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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.

Operation
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Now that you have completed your balance training, it is time for the fun part:
Operation. The Glidegear SYL-1000 Camera Stabilizer is not only a camera
stabilizer, it is a much easier way to hold and operate a camera for creating
dynamic shots. With this powerful stabilization system at your disposal, you
can create scenes that bend to your will and your filmmaking ability will now
be able to match your imagination.
Operating the Glidegear SYL-1000 Camera Stabilizer is just like riding a bike,
once you have practiced and obtained the muscle memory, you will have this
advanced filmmaking skill for life. You will be able to make magic just like the
pros in Hollywood.
There are just a few fundamentals, tricks, hand-positioning technique, and
preparation that we should cover to complete your education. After practice,
these techniques will become second nature. These are just the things you
can enjoy with the entry-level Glidegear SYL-1000.
WARNING: After you become practiced with your Glidegear SYL-1000
Camera Stabilizer, you will not want to film without it ever again!

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Hand Positioning
Two-handed Position
This is the most recommended way to operate the Glidegear SYL-1000
Camera Stabilizer. With this hand positioning, you will be able to achieve
smooth and precise scenes. If you are just starting out, learn how to shoot
with this position first.
Please note that some of these photos show the Glidegear SYL-3000, which has all the same
parts and is operated in exactly the same way.
Hold the handle with your primary hand and aim the camera with your
secondary hand on the gimbal joint grip. This technique does require some
practice, as the force needed to rotate the camera with your secondary hand
is very light. You will have to utilize fine motor skills and be aware of inertia
as you are rotating the system. You will want to start to apply turning force in
the opposite direction before you actually want the camera to turn that way
because of the inertia of rotation must be overcome.
Use the thumb and finger around the gimbal joint grip like a drum brake to stop
a pan, release the pressure the instant the camera is aimed at what you want.

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Try not to let your operating hand touch your support hand unless you are
experiencing fatigue, in which case you can interlock the pinky of your
operating hand with the fingers of your support hand much like a golf grip to
help support the weight of the camera. If you are experiencing fatigue, you
should seriously consider purchasing our body harness, this will render the
system virtually weightless.
One-handed Position
This operating technique is not as precise as the two-handed position and is
not generally recommended, however, it can be extremely helpful when you
need a free hand to give sign language, move objects, open doors, etc.
Rest the bottom of the handle on the hypothenar eminence — the prominent
part of the palm — of your support hand and hold the grip with your second,
third, and pinky finger. Grip the Gimbal Joint grip with the thumb and
forefinger of your support hand. When you pan the camera, use your entire
arm as the crank with extra pan range and control using your forefinger and
thumb.
Tilt by using your forefinger around the Gimbal Joint grip as shown so you
won’t cause any extra rotation or panning movements. Practice using your
entire arm as a lever and the forefinger and thumb as a guide for the lever
when tilting up and down, this is very high level Glidegear Camera Stabilizer
work and much easier accomplished with the two-handed operation, and
even easier with the use of the body harness.
The one-handed operation can also be helpful for extending the reach of your
shots, shooting in crowds, and high overhead angles, so it is worth having
this skill in your bag of tricks.

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Body Positioning
Forward Position
This is the bread and butter position you will be using for 95% of your shots.
This can be defined, roughly, as operating the camera forward, more or less
aimed in the same direction as the forearm of your guide hand. Forward
position is the best for straight ahead shots and shots looking from side-to-
side. Use the forward position when following somebody, backing up, and
other general shooting angles.
Two-handed Forward Sweep
Hold the grip with your dominant hand. Stand with camera facing ahead but
not too far out in front of you. Move the camera from left to right so that the
body arc of the Glidegear Camera Stabilizer rests beside your body. Going
from left to right and back again, you will see how the guide hand will pass in
front of your body. Practice this without bumping into your body or anything
else.

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You are in the forward position, now let’s try a mobile shot. First, make sure
the camera is trimmed to level with your guide hand and practice walking
briskly for a few hundred yards and feel how best to isolate the system from
unwanted movements. Once you are in motion, steady with your guide hand,
then virtually let go. Even if the frame wanders a bit and you end up with the
camera sideways. This takes practice to achieve optimally effective operation.
Now as you are walking and lightly touching the gimbal joint grip to guide it
in the direction you want to aim the camera — ultra light, fine practiced control
is warranted. Avoid the death grip on the guide; that will result in unwanted
lurching from side-to-side, up and down, and all other directions as well.
Reverse Mode
This mode should only be used two-handed. Hold the grip with your dominant
hand and rotate the camera around to generally aim in the opposite direction
of the forearm of your guide hand.

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You will basically put the camera in forward mode and then rotate it until it is
pointing backwards without bumping the wrist of your guide hand. You can
use this method to film somebody else walking toward you or even yourself
while you are walking through a beautiful setting giving your narration or
demonstration. This method is great for when you need to shoot backwards
but want to see where you are going.
Please note that this mode can be dangerous if you are not wary of your
footing and other obstacles. Always scout your terrain and plan your shot
before you attempt it. It is better to keep the camera a bit lower and tilt your
head down to see the LCD monitor.
Booming
Booming is the act of increasing and decreasing the height level of the
camera. Doing this effectively without unwanted tilt is an art that must be
practiced. Try it with the two-handed position; raise the system higher and
lower while maintaining slight touch on the gimbal grip knob and avoiding
unwanted tilting. Now, do the same thing while adding some tilting with the
forefinger and thumb of your guide hand. Your guide hand must rise and
fall in sync with the support hand. When booming, it helps to use the pinky
interlocking grip of your guide hand and support hand that we previously
mentioned in the hand positioning section.

Body Clearance
With practice, you will learn the moves that will allow you to create flexible
and dynamic footage without making unwanted contact between the
Glidegear Camera Stabilizer system and other parts of your body. Bend your
elbows sideways to avoid hitting them with your Glidegear equipment as
you boom up and down. Move your guide hand out of the way as you make
extreme camera rotation pans and then grab the gimbal grip knob again after
the arc passes the midline of your two-handed grip.
For extreme shots that require booming and tilting up and down, you may
want to make the Glidegear SYL-1000 Camera Stabilizer less bottom heavy.
This will increase the drop time and make it easier for you to aim your camera
with your guide hand while booming.
Shooting Stairs
You can really make awesome stair shots with your Glidegear Camera
Stabilizer if you make it less bottom heavy as described above. Also, when
incorporating booming up and down, remember to remain level with your
target subject; plus, fine-tune the tilt as needed with your guide hand.
If you were in forward mode and following someone up the stairs, you would
want to tilt the Glidegear Camera Stabilizer slightly upward. Maintain level
with your subject by using the boom range of your arms. This method is more
effective and easier than trying to compensate for the change in framing with
just tilt and no boom. Booming is more accurate, has less camera movement,
and produces higher quality shots.
If you feel like shooting your subject from the front while walking up the
stairs, then you should precede your subject in reverse mode. While in
reverse, tilt the Glidegear Camera Stabilizer down just a bit with your guide
hand while using the boom range of your arms to maintain the target framing.
Do not try this technique without some practice runs. As you are combining
many techniques while going up the stairs backwards, it should not be
attempted without some practice.
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Handling Positions For Shooting And Resting
The Glidegear SYL-1000 Camera Stabilizer behaves as anti-gravity device,
but obviously it is not really able to escape the force of gravity. Therefore, it
can become tiring after long periods of shooting. The entire system can weigh
from 1 lb. to 4 lbs., so it will vary greatly depending on what equipment you are
using. The number one method to deal with fatigue is to use the Glidegear
Body Harness; this will allow you to rest the weight of the unit onto your body
and it will literally become weightless in your arms. This will let you take hours
of footage without ever experiencing fatigue in your arms.
Here are some suggestions for avoiding fatigue if you do not have the body
harness:
• Use alternating hands and share the load. This will take some practice as
you will have to learn to operate the Glidegear Camera Stabilizer with your
other hand, i.e. your support hand will become your guide hand and your
guide hand will become your support hand. With a little practice, you will
become adept at switching hands, which should allow you about twice the
amount of time of shooting without fatigue.
• You can also share the load with your guide hand by using the interlocking
pinky grip as discussed above. Grip the pinky finger of your guide hand with
the grip fingers of your support hand, and you can then help share the load
with your guide hand and support hand. Be aware that this method may make
it more difficult to pan effectively with your guide hand as it is now connected
to the support hand.
• Rest the elbow of your support hand on a desk, table, or chair while shooting
when you do not need to be in motion. You can easily flip away from the
resting position and become a motion cam without any visible bumps or
shakes thanks to your Glidegear Camera Stabilizer.
• Hold the Glidegear close to your body and shorten your moving shots if they
are not necessary. If you are holding the Glidegear out in front of you, your
arms will fatigue much faster than if you are holding it close to your body.

Whenever possible, you should be standing sideways to your shot. Be careful
not to bump the arc while working so close to your body.
Shooting While Driving Or Riding
First of all, let me say that we do NOT recommend operating the Glidegear
Camera Stabilizer while driving any car, cart, scooter, ATV, etc.; in short, any
vehicle. Camera Stabilizers are known to have the ability to produce some of
the most outstanding footage possible. This is a great way to replace track
dollies or see the world and your fellow passenger, or driver smoothly with the
motion of the vehicle apparent through the beautiful moving scenery in the
background. Vehicle technique is almost exactly the same as normal
Glidegear Camera Stabilizer shooting except that very long periods of
acceleration may induce some instability into the Glidegear system. This is
very rare and probably would never be an issue for the normal user. However,
if you are taking some extreme shots, then you can resolve this problem by
making the system just a little less bottom heavy. Try removing one small
counterweight at a time until the system becomes stable during long periods
of acceleration.
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Two-handed shooting with a light touch on the guide works best. Support the
Glidegear Camera Stabilizer with your dominant hand and pan and/or tilt with
your guide hand and let the gimbal take out the angular shakes and bumps.
One-handed shooting would be recommended if you are in a precarious
shooting situation where you cannot be belted such as boating, bicycling, on
horseback, on a motorcycle, etc. One-hand operation is also recommended
for “vehicle” shots that require agility and balance such as skateboarding,
rollerblading, skiing, snowboarding, etc.
Remember to rehearse your vehicle shots before attempting them. You will
need to compensate for cornering and braking, so, practicing the shot
beforehand will prepare you for this.
While shooting your vehicle shot, make sure the space around you has
been thoroughly cleared, even a minor collision with the Glidegear Camera
Stabilizer could be exaggerated and dangerous with vehicle shots. Relax your
arm to make it as flexible as a spring; the Glidegear will do the rest. You will
be truly amazed at the quality of vehicle film you will produce by following the
above guidelines.