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so we shot at a big old tradition-steeped foundry for a long-term corporate documentary film about a “special project” (can’t say anything more about it right now) … it was the fist shooting day of many (10 or so) we will shoot over a period of time till july / august 2010…
this was the fist time we used the 1m glidetrack quite a lot with our 550D (mostly with Tokina 17mm f/3.5 & Canon 50mm f/1.8) just for the slider-shots.
i have to say even we used just one simple manfrotto tripod, we got (surprisingly) quit a lot of great shots even though the “system” got a lil unstable sometimes.
We used a simple Manfrotto 700RC2 Mini Fluid Video Head … just to have a simple and light vdeo head on the slider ( don’t expect too much panning & tilting action with this thingy though 
) … i tried it with my 701HDV … but it seemed like that this one was to big and heavy for a single tripod setup, so there you go.
next time i definitely will mount a LCD on the legs (with a magic arm or something) … it was kinda difficult do see what was going on in lower shots on the back LCD (certainly 
we also shot with a XH-A1 all the Handheld stuff and had one 1,2k HMI around – just to set a keylight in “darker” locations.
at a side note we certainly could have brought the “big guns” like more light, a jib, even e “bigger” cam, more accessory gear like mattbox, follow focus and all that stuff … we even had a nice Sachtler DV6SB, a shoulder support and LCD “standing by” in the car, but we had to move quickly on that location, no real “clean-space” to “park” all that stuff and it was just a 2 man show… so we decided to “travel light” for this one … and results are as good as we want & need it anyway … in the end it’s not about the gear you are using … it’s what you make with the gear you have and what “story” u are gonna to tell.
so that’s it about that…
Tags: 550D, Canon XH-A1, DSLR, glidetrack, HD-DSLR, HDSLR, slider
Michael, what tripod and slider is that in the photos? And do they work well for you?
hey dave,
its a Manfrotto Tripod 190XDB and the Glidetrack SD 1m ( http://www.glidetrack.com/glidetrack-sd.html )
so would i recommend this combination? probably not … but on the other hand it worked with some patients and “prudence” …
the 1m glidetrack is too long so it tips over if you go to fast or / and too far to the edges … and there can be some vibrations too … but if you go carefully and your tripod is in a low position / setting you can get away …
for this big / long glidetrack it is better to use 2 tripods like the Manfrotto
but you ain’t that fast with that setup … becouse you have to get a nice and “plane” setting with the tripods for the glidetrack to get smooth moves (that could take some time to get it right … but if you have the time to set this up you should go that way)
one side note … the glidetack SD or HD is a great tool for the money even it is more like the DIY sliders you can built by your own… the sliders form cinevate or kesser are much more smooth & pro and easier to handle … but for just “a few” shots and as a starter-kit the glidetrack SD or HD should be fine … oh and there are even 0,5m glidetracks / sliders … sometimes that short distance is quite enough, especially with lenses like a 50mm.
if you have any more questions … plz don’t hesitate
Cheers
Michael