Thanks for all the

Thanks for all the information Dan! I've been eying the Edelkrone slider for a while, but sadly, it's outside of my budget for the time being. I've heard really good things about the Varavon and Konova sliders, both of which are bearing based (I think I'm going to stay away from anything that's friction based), and a 39" varavon is $256 bucks, so I think I'll START with that. 

I've been doing a lot of research on jibs, and I really think that I could build a decent one (between 4 and 8 feet) for relatively cheap. I could probably do most things with a slider, but there are times when a jib is irreplacable. 

I probably should mention that I'm shooting on a NEX-5N (and loving it, btw). 

I've heard good things about many of the cheaper "steadycam" rigs. Are there any particular models that you like? Obviously, the Merlin's and Glidecam's are the gold standard. I'm wondering if there are other models that are as smooth, but cost less money. I'm even contemplating building my own electronically stabilized gimbal rig, but it's still twice as much as some of these handheld systems. 

Thanks again!

Brian