TDE Blog

So got a nice little surprise the other day. Just before Xmas on a whim after reading about it on dvxuser.com I decided to order a IndiSlider Mini from IndiSYSTEM’s.  To be honest I didn’t specifically have a job in mind for this, and really just bought it because of the old argument ‘it’s too cheap NOT to buy it’. For $99 US I figured worst case scenario I figured it would be useful to position the camera on a tripod head quickly, even if I didn’t use it for actual tracking shots.

I had seen the Phillip Bloom was using the competing product from Glidetrack, it is significantly more expensive and to my eyes, seems to be overly complex for what it has to do.

There are two options with the IndiSlider, the basic package which is just the track and sliding attachment or the Pro kit that adds two feet so you can table mount the track if you dont want to mount it on a tripod  as well as a ball tripod head. strangely enough I had just picked up a lightweight tripod with the exact same head, and so went for the base unit, figuring I could make my own legs for table top use.

And that was it, I ordered it and promptly forgot about it, until Mr FedEx man arrived at my door with a box containing the IndiSlider.

Off to the local hardware store for some aluminium tubing and a few rubber feet and with a few rounds on the hacksaw and drill press I had put together two feet that would attach to the mounting screws already tapped for the feet that you get with the Pro Kit.

I also picked up a small tube of graphite powder as I figured even the the action seemed pretty smooth, a small dusting of graphite powder couldnt hurt, and might just make it even smoother.

So what to shoot, well I figured that my cat has a habit of sleeping on our dining table for days at a time, so I set the track up on the table and left it there, figuring he would eventually take up his position right in front of the camera and I’d be good. However, what was that thing about not working with children or animals, it was like the cat had an agent and didnt want any shots leaking to the press, he found each and every corner of the table that wasnt in frame to sleep.

I was eventually able to convince him to sit still long enough for one shot, which he preceded to walk out of half way through. So I eventually gave up, shot some tracks of a vase (they don’t move nearly as much, nor do they have that ‘why do you continue to try my patience’ look that cats have). I then decided to annoy the only other living things in the house, namely my wife and our dog. She’s an author and is well known for her writing style which consists of our Pug ‘Tubs’ sleeping underneath her as she taps away. Luckily, whilst she also has the ‘why do you continue to try my patience’ look, she is less inclined to move. And so I was able to get a few tracking shots, and a few track and pan shots at the same time.

So the verdict, its about an 8 out of 10. I was able to get some very smooth shots, although occasionally it would stick a little in the middle. That being said, back and forth a few times and your bound to get a usable take. I probably will get a Glidetrack at some stage, if only to satisfy my curiosity as to how much better it is at 4 times the price give or take. In the meantime, this will definitely become part of my kit.

This entry was posted on January 17, 2010 at 5:27 am and is filed under DSLR Video with tags D300s, Evan Butson, Glidetrack, IndiSlider, IndiSYSTEM, MicroTrack, Nikon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.