Neewer 23.6 inches/60 Centimeters Carbon Fiber Camera Track Slider Video Stabilizer Rail with 6 Bearings for DSLR Camera DV Video Camcorder Film…

I am primarily a still photographer, but occasionally shoot videos as well. Hand holding while maintain a perfectly even pan and straight horizon can be tricky at times. The unit seems sturdy and reasonably well built. For this device to work well though one must take care to level the tripod and adjust the slider screw for a even motion. For those who create video on a regular basis, the motorize version of this device may be a better purchase.

I have to admit that for the price, I didn’t have high expectations for this slider. After a few uses, I’m surprised that it works as well as it does. The movement is very smooth and and the resulting video looks great. Moving the camera to get smooth video takes a little bit of practice, but if you’re looking for 5-9 seconds of footage, it’s actually quite easy. The length is just about right. I could actually use 48-60″ but that would be heavy, hard to balance and difficult to transport.

Why not 5-stars? For most shots, I need to put this on a tripod. Because of the length, it actually works best with two tripods, however moving the entire setup is difficult with two tripods attached. I ended up using just one tripod since I never seem to have a torso-height length of table or countertop handy to use the legs on the slider. The problem then becomes keeping 5-7 lb. of camera and attached gear from tipping over the entire rig when the camera is at the far ends of the slider. Adding weight suspended from the tripod helps, but then another problem becomes apparent—the slider flexes. As the camera moves, the slider flexes just enough to give the video the feel that the camera moved along an arc. To correct the flex, I added support arms fixed to the tripod legs. It works, but now the whole rig is nearly as unwieldy as having two tripods.

There’s a clamp on the slider car that keeps it from moving. I’m concerned that the clamp could damage the carbon fiber tubes, especially during transport. The zip-up bag that comes with it, provides minimum protection of the slider and does nothing to hold the slider car in place. A decent plastic double rifle case does a better job of protecting the slider while also keeping the slider car held in place.

So now, after spending an additional $90, this slider is now more usable and easier to transport.

I purchased 3 different types of sliders on Amazon to try out – with flywheel, with parallax rod, and one without either. Of the 3, I only liked the flywheel type because the weighted wheel gives some resistance and smoothness. Without it, you’re left to nearly zero resistance, and purely managing the movement with your hand. For me, it is impossible to get a proper smooth motion this way. I may be able to do so with significant practice, or setting up a rig like a pulley system or other improvised motorization, but I really can’t think of a good and practical way of implementing those. I did try a string tied to the plate to pull instead and it didn’t make a good difference.

I would recommend for manual sliders to keep it shorter – maybe 24 inches or less. It would possibly give a short useable clip in that case.

As for this product, I thought the construction itself was fairly good. However, 2 things really annoyed me: first, the locking screw for the slider had some kind of grease filling the screw hole. If you aren’t careful, this can get on your fingers. I’m not sure if this is normal or intended; second, the carbon fiber rails had odd dark spotting along them in random pattern. It almost looked as though it was someone’s greasy fingerprints. But on closer inspection and feeling them, they seemed more like remnants of adhesive. They may or may not have also contributed to a little less smoothness.

I really did like the ability to adjust the 2 inner bearings at the bottom of the plate, which seemed to help just a little bit with keeping the smoothness and resistance of the plate a little better. However, it has very limited ability to address these qualities and certainly cannot provide the same quality as a flywheel slider. I would say perhaps it was a tough better than a slider without these, but I wouldn’t call it a night and day difference.

Lastly, the central mount for the camera/tripod head is of significant importance. On another slider, the screw for the mount came out and got stuck in my tripod head. I don’t see that happening on this one since it’s mounted as a bolt from the underside of the sliding plate. However, the screw was maybe not the best length, as I could not fit my camera on top at a position i liked without significant play, affecting my video. You almost have to consider adding a quick release mounting plate to the base plate itself.

Overall disappointed – if I were to buy this type again, it would be a much shorter travel friendly version, and I hope that it would be a cleaner copy.

 Faisant des vidéos sur YouTube, je voulais et j’avais besoin d’un slider pour réaliser des plans sur du matos plus fluide.

Et bien d’emblée, je suis très surpris par la qualité de ce slider, surtout provenant de chez neewer.

Le paquet était bien protégé, toutes les pièces ce trouvaient dans la housse du slider. Déjà avoir à une housse à ce prix là, c’est vraiment top et quand même bien pratique.
Il y a également un petit sachet avec une clé allen, 2 embouts de protections pour les pieds et un convertisseur 1/4″ vers 3/8″.

Du coup, j’en viens à la tête, à la plaque pour poser la caméra ou une tête. Je n’avais pas vu que c’était du 1/4″, alors ça convient pour la plupart des reflex par exemple, mais on ne pose rarement un reflex/camera directement sur un slider… Généralement on passe par une tête/rotule pour pourvoir axer la caméra librement.
Hors ma tête manfrotto reçoit que les vis 3/8″ mais pas de panique, vu qu’ils fournissent le convertisseur 1/4″ à 3/8″ donc tout vas bien.

Les petits pieds pliables de chaque côté du slider sont très pratiques, à hauteur maximal, tu gagnes 10 cm. Sinon le slider s’utilise également sur un trépied, pas besoin d’un gros trépied, pour dire j’utilise un des plus petites trépieds de chez manfrotto.
Après j”ai pris la version 60cm, si vous prenez le 100cm ou 120cm, il faudra faire attention sur les extrémités et peut-être soulager le trépied pour ne pas être déséquilibré. Mais pour être honête, 60 cm, c’est largement suffisant pour un mouvement travelling.

Côté pratique, évidemment le slider n’est pas motorisé, mais le roulement à bille sur tube en fibre de carbonne fonctionne bien et glisse très bien. Il faut un peu de pratique pour arriver à un mouvement fluide et constant surtout pour les mouvements au ralenti.

Petite astuce, allez à vitesse normal pour être bien fluide puis ralentissez la vitesse au montage.

Les pas de vis au bout des pieds permettent également de faire des mouvements verticaux. Il y a également un niveau à bulle et la molette sur le chariot permet de le vérouiller. Et ce n’est pas une friction.

Bref énormément de possibilité avec ce slider.

Je recommande sans hésitation surtout pour ce prix imbattable.

Si vous avez jugé ce commentaire utile, merci de cliquer sur oui, vous me ferez plaisir 🙂