GVM Great Video Maker Camera Motorized Slider,48"/120CM,Automatic Round Trip,Time Lapse,Panoramic Shooting,Video Capture,Slider Smooth and Stable,with Battery

SIMPLY OUTSTANDING RESULTS....!! Near SILENT motor, goes from ZERO speed to 60 m.p.h so perfect for ANY stylish movement shots. NOTHING gets in the way of the most outstanding quality tracking, dolly and/or JIB shots. Mount it horizontally on a tripod, adjust the 'center' rail (provides the perfect 'tracking target' lock) at both ends, mount your camera, adjust your wired-remote (provided) for the start and end points, hit 'record' and film your subject. You'll be AMAZED at how good and professional and advanced your results look. Add immeasurably MORE to your video work by producing more dynamic, more interesting and visually stimulating material. THREE motion settings (use the center rail and STUDY THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USING); 1. SIDE TO SIDE (parallel) tracking gives you equal L-to-R-to-L (endless) dolly shots across the field of vision. 2. PANORAMIC; set the camera head/ball-joint correctly (and set the center rail) and you'll get the 'tennis court' effect... a WIDE left-to-right Panorama - think, tennis court watching both players at both ends AND the spectators across the whole stadium 3. CENTER FOCUS (and here's the slider's REAL MAGIC).... center your subject (think talkin-head interviewee, or classical guitarist seated still on a chair) .... set the center rail extreme opposites at both ends; set the camera correctly; frame your shot; set the slider's travel distance (and speed); press 'record' and watch the resultant footage LEAP to life as the background subtly 'travels' around your subject as the camera travels 'around' the face, guitar, flower vase, whatever.... throw the lens into the right depth of field and push the background out of focus.... SPEILBERG....!! Do any/all of these AND have the slider run back and forward, side to side (or up and down for AMAZING JIB SHOTS) for AS LONG AS YOU WANT! Unit runs off included battery OR mains electricity (via included DC converter).. This thing does it ALL, and brilliantly. I have 4 of these now. JIB SHOTS...?? YES, as good as it gets, this STILL isn't the best bit. Put your slider vertical (on a tripod, attached firmly against a wall) and mount your camera at 90-degrees and watch as the slider effortlessly propels your viewpoint UP and DOWN at whatEVER speed you need, capturing filmic JIB SHOTS just like the pros.. Further; if you don't want to 'zoom' in/out your shots (using the camera's wide-telephoto rocker switch, or in post-production (costing you pixelation!)), just set this beautiful machine at right-angles (90-degrees) to your subject, aim the camera straight at him/her/it, hit record and watch your footage slide effortlessly toward/away from you to your heart's content. Cannot recommend this highly enough. NOTE: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS as to how to program the motor's movement. There is a SPECIFIC order to do it. Loads of (some good, some terrible) videos on YouTube, but the INSTRUCTIONS are EXACT. For MOVEMENT shots (detailed above); Make SURE your camera is secured to the ball-head AND screwed tightly (with the RED thumbscrew on the camera platform) at ONE far end of the slider or the other... THEN switch the wired remote controller ON. Only THEN loosen the camera platform with the RED thumbscrew. Select SETTINGS. Select START POINT. press Left or Right arrow to begin the slider's movement AWAY from the closest 'end' (of the slider). If you want maximum travel (and who doesn't?!), press the STOP/center button almost immediately. Press the CENTER button for 1/2 second. You'll see the 'numeric code' harmonize (there's two of them). Press the CENTER button AGAIN for a few seconds until the screen returns to the main settings menu page. THEN, using the down arrow, select END POINT, press the direction arrow TOWARDS the far/other end of the slider and watch/wait as the slider travels to the furthest point. TIP: don't go ALL the way to the end, leave about 2" for the platform to slow/settle/stop. THEN, press the CENTER button; the numeric code will harmonize. Press the CENTER button again for a few seconds (to register the position). THEN, using the down arrow, select NO/Reset. This solidifies the two 'end' points (of the slider's travel). THEN, choose your speed (using the UP/DOWN arrow controls.) I have found somewhere between 50-75% is the most effective for filmic effect. Slower or faster may be dragging/distracting but YOU are the director, so go ahead until you find the best speed for the scene. When you're ready to film, press RECORD on your camera then 'launch' the slider into action using the correct directional ARROW button (depending on where your camera platform is situated along the slider's length/rails. NOTE: If you mess up your programming; HOLD your camera with one hand (or LOCK the platform with the RED thumbscrew), switch OFF the wired remote programmer, and START AGAIN. You'll get quicker with practice but DO NOT TRY TO RE-PROGRAM the remote. It remembers it's previous settings so you MUST SWITCH OFF, and ON again, for a fresh start.

This is for the 48” carbon fiber slider. First, since zi had the question myself: Yes, a good flathead tripod can work alone, even on the 48” and even with relatively heavy gear (May need to sandbag the tripod). I wanted one that I’d have no fear holding $2,000+ worth of equipment, so maybe went overly sturdy - this isn’t for traveling - but if your main concern is a singke tripod, it’s doable. After that success I’m trying to hook it up at the ends with monopods anyway, but thats due to where I want it and limited space. I got this: https://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-475B-Geared-Tripod-without/dp/B000BKE8TS/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&ref=yo_pop_d_pd_title Certainly can’t go wrong with it. As far as the slider, there’s tons of reviews, no need to add too much. I agree with anybody saying it’s high quality, it moves smoothly, adjustments are intuitive, etc., and things like the focus tracking make for very professional looking shots, whether you’re doing unboxing vids (or anything where you want to show off an item - It’s great to set a slow pan around something, or just to add something to a vlog. The panaroma mode is certainly useful for panoramic b-roll, but for those on a budget you can also basically simulate having more cams then you do. Have two subjects? If you’re switching to something full screen, you can move, preset to a spot to cover a different person when you switch back to the cam. Similarly, one subject can use it a lot like A,B,C cameras with the tracking, allowing that news-style cut where they look at different cameras for different angles. I’d also imagine if you sell stuff, this is a great tool for showoff. I’m running with a camcorder, but I’m sure you could use a DSLR and create one of those interactive images where you can “move” the cam. There’s really not much you couldn’t do if you try.

It does what it says, kind of. It is a motorized slider, with some nice features. But the most annoying thing about this is the nearly impossible task of getting it to run an even, dead straight line. Jesus. This is all because of the built in panning system feature that has been added to it. There are two knobs at each end, which can be adjusted to give this neat panning effect. While this feature is great for time lapse shots, or other creative shots, it is absolutely near impossible to get it to run a straight clean line for a simple cinematic "pan forward/backward" shot. This knob/center system that creates this panning effect are the real killing point of this product. If it had a better built in "default straight" mode that locked it into place, it would be an easy 5/5 stars for the money. The handheld is great, carrying case, wires everything, great. Just this panning effect. Man, not good.

This review is in my own words, and I bought the product with my own funds. This review relates to the wired-remote 48" version, not the newer Bluetooth model. I opted for the wired remote because I don't want to have to use my phone for a million things on a shoot. The battery dies fast enough as it is! :) The ONLY reason I bought this slider, is because I needed something quieter than my One Man Crew, which I paid more than $1,500 for a few years ago. With the plethura of great reviews online about the slider, nobody was talking at length about the relative loudness of the motor, but everybody was saying it was a great slider - and they were RIGHT! And let me allay your fears. If you're worried about sound, you needn't be. In my out-of-the-box initial tests, the thing is virtually silent (I can't say "silent," because nobody would believe me...but yeah...it's silent) up to about 92% speed. As you get closer to 100%, you start hearing the little hum. But it's nowhere NEAR the can-opener-like noise of the original One Man Crew, and it's a QUARTER of the price!! Plus, anything over 85% is going to be faster than you'll want for interviews, anyway, so you'll be fine with sound. I didn't even touch the manual. I took it out of the box, folded out the legs, put it on my counter, hooked up the remote, set the start and end positions, and I was ready to go. Five minutes. Now, granted, when I actually use it I'll put it on a tripod in the middle, and two smaller little tripods on the sides to make sure it's nice and solid. So, yeah...maybe ten minutes tops. If you're investigating this product because you need something quiet, solid, well-made, all at a practically unbelievable value, this is great. I'll revise my review if I run into any problems in real-world use, but right now I'm about as happy about this GVM Slider as anything I've ever bought for my video business. TL; DR: Buy it. You won't be sorry.

I'll start out by saying I really like this unit. It moves smoothly and does what it is supposed to. It makes my videos a lot better. The rails and the moving head seem solidly build and the ball head with camera on it are well supported. The motor, head, and rails all seem rock solid. Feels really well built. For the price, I recommend it, but, there are some pretty big flaws that you have to compensate for. 1) I tried using it with two tripods. If you look at the ends, the bracket is barely wider than the screw hole for attaching the tripod. There is just no 'bite' for anything to mount to. It creates tremendous leverage on the hole and it just doesn't feel sturdy. I just ordered some support arms to be able to mount it on a center tripod where there is more contact area. In the end, I just figure out a setup where I leave it on a shelf so I don't need the tripod for most of my use. That won't work for everyone and it won't work on location. The long unit (vs the shorter model) compounds the issue because the leverage is greater. It just was unwieldy to move and set up without worry about damage. 2) the remote arrived broken. There was a rattle in it and it would flake out from time to time. They immediately sent me a replacement. The overall feel of the remote is cheap. It doesn't match the build quality of the slider itself. 3) having to reprogram the ends of the looping feature is annoying, but I see how it would add significant cost to put a sensor in to locate the ends automatically. A tolerable cost compromise, but still time consuming with each shoot. 4) The motor is quiet but not silent. A good mic will pick it up. I have a shotgun mic pointed away from the unit about 5 feet away and get background noise. I ended up cutting two pieces of 2 inch foam and covering the motor with it, and routed the cord through the hole. It takes away a lot of the sound. I am a bit worried about heat, but in testing it, the unit stayed pretty cool over a short period. This is a decent fix for short duration shoots, but I would not do it for long periods without further testing. 5) The tracking feature relies on a little bracket that slides along the tracking control rod. The bracket is fixed to the bottom of the travelling head (a disk) with a pin. There is play in the linkage because the bracket is a few millimeters bigger than the rod. When it changes direction, it takes up the slack and changes the orientation of the camera by a few degrees depending on the direction of travel. It changes the framing a fair amount. I set the camera up with me on one side of the frame with some eye space looking off camera. When the slider reverses, I jump from the left third to about the center in a close up zoom shot with the camera about 6 feet away. I took a small zip tie and ran it through the bracket with the smooth side on the rod. It takes up most of that play and gets rid of the majority of the difference on framing based on the direction of travel. The unit really needs a slick shim installed in the bracket to remove that play. 6) I put the slider up on a shelf in my 'office studio'. The legs on the hard shelf creates a bit of reverb. It wouldn't do it on the ground, but pretty much any table will act as a speaker for the vibration. I just set the ends on blocks of foam with the legs folded and it gets rid of the resonance. Should be more dampening in the legs. Bottom line: It's got flaws, but each one is something I can deal with a bit of creativity. I'm not sure how it would work on location if you are a professional--the tripod mount issue is concerning, but it is not something I need so I'm not docking it for that.

Overview: As described. Experience: Complete package, can be used without any accessories. full control of time lapse and slow motion panning. Controls are simple but a bit time consuming to set up for auto mode. The ability to control pan to achieve centering on object or to achieve a 120 degree panorama is easy to use and works flawlessly (you can only set 2 points at either end). No slop in idler wheels so it tracks flawlessly motor driven and fully manual, yes you can slide manually if you want... Silent drive motor perfect for video. Compatible with my Sony A7IV camera and FDR AX700 vide camera. Very please with videos shot with this slider. link to video shot with this slider using manual control and 1 percent speed full travel: https://youtu.be/7Zvd5cIIczI I do recommend a sturdy ball head to make life easier, I am using a ULANZI Ball Head with Claw Super Quick Release Design, Professional Metal 360° Rotating Panoramic Ball Head with Cold Shoe, Up 44.1lbs Load https://www.amazon.com/Release-Professional-Rotating-Panoramic-44-1lbs/dp/B08NC2KF52. Also a single tripod can be used (must be heavy duty) My Cayer which is rated at 13.2 lbs flexes 2 degrees from end to end with a 5lb load mostly from the play in the rubber contacts on base and camera quick release plate. 2 tripods supporting both ends totally make rock solid but that's a lot to haul.

I bought this slider to add some production value for my video production business. I was looking for a motorized slider to ensure easy and smooth motion opposed to my manual slider. It works beautifully. The speed ramps down so you don't get any jarring stops. I also love that if I'm working a shoot on my own I can set the slider to auto and can do the pull focus myself. The rod brakes are awesome as well. This is a bar in the middle of the slider that you can adjust that will allow you to shoot a following (parallax) shot or a pan (left to right) shot. Amazing! If you center the bar the camera will stay straight as the slider moves left to right. Also, you can program the slider to start and stop anywhere you want on the track. If you choose "auto loop" mode it will run continuously until you stop it. I recently used it on my first shoot (pictured) which was an interview. I set the start/stop in the positions needed, set the rod brakes to follow and also set the speed to what I required. It turned out great. It added subtle movement to the interview while the subject stayed centered. The controller takes some getting used to. There are directions but you just need practice before your shoot to save time. The slider is a wonderful addition to my gear.

UPDATE: I changed it to 1 star because the controller screen stopped working after 10 days and won't turn on. I will update if/when I hear back from the company. If not then I'm returning this and never buying GVM stuff again. ORIGINAL REVIEW: If the company spent 15 more minutes on programming this then it would have been perfect. When you initially turn it on and run it, the centerpiece will violently hit the end “wall” and keep pushing to go further. This is because the motor doesn’t know that it hit the end. I hope I didn’t ruin the motor, because the instruction pamphlet never mentioned anything about this. So before running it, you have to program the start/stop locations to be a few inches before the “wall”. Good luck, because the program screen isn’t that intuitive, and the only way to set the start/stop locations is to do it in real-time as the slider is turned on and moving. But it gets the job done, I guess. Overall, it’s great after the start/stop locations are set. It’s also very quiet. And so I’m pleased with it.

This is my first motorized slider. Loving it and looking forward to doing some interesting shots. It came with everything described on the website, and a carrying case. I’ve read some reviews saying the tracking doesn’t work. It does work, but you have to find the right distance and angle and run a few tests before actually shooting the footage.

Good price

as promised

out of the box this thing gave me problems, The slider stops sliding on mid pass, makes awful grinding noise, and vibrates like a jack hammer. I've been trying to contact customer service for at least a week now and can't seem to reach anyone. Their online chat is unresponsive and their telephone number goes directly to answering service.

The motor already died. Reached out to GVM to request to buy a new motor, and was told I need to order the entire slider again. Warranty only lasts 1 year.