Last month we test drove a Blackbird Handheld Stabilizer. This month, we strap on Glidecam's X-10 vest and support arm and test fly their re-designed HD-4000 sled made for camcorders that weigh between four to ten pounds. The Glidecam design is similar to that pioneered by Garret Brown, inventor of the Steadicam, but the HD-4000 can be used in either hand held or supported modes.

There are three basic components, the vest, the spring-tensioned support arm and the sled, together called a "rig" in operator parlance. There are differences that we will investigate below, but by far the most important is price. Many of the higher-end rigs designed for heavier camcorders, such as Glidecam's Gold-series, begin at 26-thousand dollars. The total cost of our X-10/HD-4000 system was only $2,998. Keep this price difference in mind as you read this review.

Easy Setup

Our Glidecam system came with two manuals; one for the HD-4000 sled and one for the X-10 which includes the support arm and vest. The instructions for the sled assembly are very clear and enough photographs document each step so that you might be tempted to not even read the instructions. With any counter-balanced camcorder stabilization device, it is a very good idea to read everything. Unless, of course, you don't mind dusting dirt off your dented camcorder.

The instructions for configuring the X-10 support arm and vest are equally clear. In particular, Glidecam gives a good amount of attention to adjusting and configuring the support arm. This is important since you can configure the support arm with two or four springs, expanding the range of weight it can support from a maximum of 9 to 18 pounds. For the best performance, Glidecam recommends operating the rig as close to the maximum weights as possible.

After unpacking all the parts, laying them out on our test bench and carefully reviewing all the assembly instructions, it took us less than four minutes to put everything together. This included attaching the telescoping post to the base platform, adding counterweights, inserting the telescoping post into the central post and threading the camera mounting platform onto the central post.

We added one of the several included steel plates to the quick release plate to give our 9-pound JVC GY-110 camcorder a little more mass and get our complete rig/camcorder close to the recommended weight of 18 pounds. The quick release plate does not have any anti-slip material or a locking pin so we had to tighten things down a little more than we would like with the standard 1/4-inch screw. Finally, we mounted the quick release plate to the camera mounting platform on top of the HD-4000.

Everything in Balance

Every counter weighted camcorder stabilization system requires you to dial in just the right balance for smooth and level shots. The Glidecam manual recommends balancing the sled by supporting it with your hand. While this method would probably work well for lighter systems, it was awkward for our 17.25-pound camcorder/rig combination. So we chose to balance the rig by putting it on the docking bracket post. The printed manual does not describe this procedure but it is an industry standard method of balancing.

Before we moved the rig and camcorder from the docking bracket to the post, we made sure all of the adjustable components were secure. We then firmly grasped the central post just below the pan gimbal bearing and picked up the rig to do a rough balance test. This tells us if we're in the balance ballpark. If the rig seems a little top heavy we could either add more bottom counter weight and/or extend the lower portion of the telescoping post. Be careful when extending the lower post because there is nothing to keep it from falling out. Even though your rig is in the docking bracket, it could cause the upper portion, with your camcorder, to tip over.

With our rig roughly in balance, we placed the gimbal handle on the docking bracket post and began our fine adjustment to get everything level. The fore and aft adjustment screw gives you a great deal of travel giving you lots of room for fine tuning. The side to side adjustment is a bit coarser, making it more sensitive to small turns of the adjustment screw.

Once the rig was level, we did a drop test. This test tells you how quickly your rig will return to level. We held it at approximately 90-degrees from the resting position and let it swing down. The time it takes the lower portion to swing past its neutral position is the drop time. Shorter drop times make the rig feel more stable but will cause the camcorder to tilt or roll when changing your rate and/or direction of motion. Longer drop times will reduce these tilt or roll problems but will make the rig slower to return to level. We like operating with a two to three second drop time.

One last balancing test is sometimes called, "dynamic balancing." By placing two fingers on the post just below the gimbal's pan bearing and giving a light spin in the vertical axis, you will see if there is any wobble indicating a need to redistribute the relation of the top and bottom masses. Our rig was quite stable but we did have to perform this test by holding it by hand as the docking bracket post is not far enough away from the stand to allow the rig to spin on its vertical axis.

Before we took our rig for a walk we made a few adjustments to the vest and support arm. For such a low cost piece of gear the vest is surprisingly well constructed. It was very easy to adjust the straps for a comfortable and all around secure fit. Three quick release plastic connectors get you in and out of the vest from either the right or left side. The vest's support arm mounting block can be flipped to allow for right or left-hand operation.

The support arm comes preset at the lowest tension settings, so we used the included Allen wrench to make an initial guess at a higher tension. To give you even more control over your rig's weight, the X-10 comes with both an aluminum and a steel arm post. Since we were still a little under the recommended maximum 18-pound weight, we secured the steel post to the arm. Once you have the support arm tensioned for your camcorder/rig weight, you don't need any tools for setup.

With the rig balanced and parked in the docking bracket, we put on the vest, slipped the support arm into the adjustable vest mounting block and hooked into our rig. The docking bracket allows you to easily slip the arm post into the gimbal handle. The edges of the bracket are somewhat sharp, so you may find it useful to file these down a little to keep from scratching the gimbal.

At this point one last set of adjustments are usually necessary that are controlled by four thumb screws on the vest's support arm mounting block. These give you control over front/back and side to side swing of the arm/rig assembly as a whole and are normally only set up once.