DSLR Slider

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Konova threw up a few Timelapse teasers of their Motorized upgrade kit a few days ago. With a motorized attachment, you will definitely get more consistent movement time and time again as opposed to operating by hand. One con of course is the added noise from said motor.

With all the questions coming around, I thought I would put together this video talking about the differences in the Konova sliders, and how you can get the upgrade kits to work. Basically, figure out if you're using the K3 or K5 slider. If you have the old K3 (old feet) you need the updgrade kit. Lastly, you need to figure out the length of the slider you have. The kits will mount on both the K3 or K5 slider if they are the same length.

A few people have already placed orders on the kit, and hopefully we'll get to see some reviews on this soon. Motorizing a slider is one of the most sought after DIY projects with sliders, and if you don't have the time or the knack, the new Konova Motorized upgrade kit is available, but it's going to cost you (approx $360) a pretty penny (Click here for info on Konova Motorized Upgrade Kit)

Konova Upgrade Kit
find-price-button Konova Motorized Upgrade Kit for Konova Sliders

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Varavon Slidecam Lite (2)  Varavon Slidecam Lite (3)

Varavon Slidecam Lite (4)  Varavon Slidecam Lite (1)

I shoot a lot with smaller cameras, and i've tried plenty of small camera sliders. The IGUS was the best thing working for me when I cut it down to about 24", but now it's all about Varavon's new Slidecam Lite. This thing is very light, but solid. I'm very pleased with the overall build and finish of the product. The only thing I wished they would have provided is a seperate pouch for the legs. Everything is placed inside the slider bag, but once you unpack the bubble wrap you'll be putting the legs in with the slider. I feel like the aluminum legs will be scuffing together. It would have been nice to see separate pouches for the legs like what Konova provides.

Adjust Varavon Slidecam Slider Friction Bearing
[Update] Here's a link to the Slidecam Lite manual on how to adjust Friction with the Bearings (click here).

I don't plan to use it for much more than my small vacations and casual travel plans, but it feels like it slide a normal sized DSLR with a wide lens pretty good. This thing is not too short, not too long, and easy to hang on my camera backpack. I'll have a video up soon where I show what's in the bag and have it next to the larger Konova K5 Slider for size reference. If you like shooting with smaller cameras, but still want all the creativeness a slider, this Varavon is definitely a must have in the gear bag and it only took a few days to get here.


Varavon SliderVaravon Bearings
find-price-button Varavon Slidecam Lite Video Camera Sliders

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There were a few questions on whether or not the Varavon Slidecam Lite had a brake system. Although the video always shows such a robust setup, the Slidecam Lite is a completely new slider product for Varavon targeting lightweight cameras. The more affordable Slidecam Lite is offered as small as 24" for the growing market of people who travel with small lightweight cameras. This new video just posted today, shows a bit more of the features including the brake and how the legs are assembled. This new version is the smallest of several different Sliders from Varavon, and they can be found via eBay (click here).

Varavon SliderVaravon Bearings
find-price-button Varavon Slidecam Lite Video Camera Sliders

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Just a quick look at the Konova K3 and K5 sliders. Average users won't notice the difference, but the K5 is overall heavier, has a larger inside rail, and larger bearings inside the carrier. So the new upgraded legs with the unusual platform design was something Konova planned several months ago (way back in November). The notched out platform on each end of the new sliders are used for attaching future upgrade kits such as the Crank Pulley system and (not yet released) Motorized Upgrade Kit.

If you don't already have the new legs, you can purchase the upgrade kit from Konova's website. The new legs should also come with the new Carrier stage that is designed to align with the Crank Pulley belt guide (as in the video). If you are planning to upgrade the legs on your slider, you might want to wait until the Crank Pulley system is officially available to see if they might offer some type of 'Upgrade Legs + Crank System Bundle'. The new Crank Pulley system should be available in a few weeks, and I have no exact pricing yet. Some are saying it might run approximately $150 dollars. [Update] The new Crank and Pulley system is Available Now.


Konova sliders and upgrade parts can be found online (click here)
Konova-SlidersKonova-upgrade-kits
find-price-button Konova Sliders, Upgrade Legs, and Crank System

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Konova released a series of videos showing off some of the update kits available for their current sliders. One video gives a sneak at how their new Crank handle will attach to existing sliders. Oh and yes it was pointed out that they incorrectly spelled Crank handle to 'Clank Handle'. Hopefully they correct that soon. [Thanks Kelly]


Konova sliders and upgrade parts can be found online (click here)
Konova-SlidersKonova-upgrade-kits
find-price-button Konova Sliders, Upgrade Legs, and Crank System

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Wondlan Slider Kit Mini DV Rail

Wondlan seems to be on a roll with releasing products, but not so much when it comes to pricing them against already successful existing products on the market. This time they are offering a new DV Mini Slider Rail (not really mini), so far in lengths of 80cm and 100cm (32 inches & 39 inches). The new Wondlan Slider Rail probably wins for the 'most unflattering pair of legs' i've ever seen on a slider, but I guess they wanted solid support for their low Vertical positions.
Wondlan Vertical Slider
find-price-button Wondlan DV Mini Slider Rail

Now the pricing isn't per say 'terrible', and it is around the same pricing as the smaller Konova units. But in my mind, unless you have something very different to offer, Konova's slider is leading with a huge head start and proven performance. Konova has also laid out some future groundwork and have been showing motorized and crank additions to their K3 and K5 sliders that should be backwards compatible.

Even Varavon has released their latest Mini Lightweight slider, that appeals to the Micro camera market. The only thing that could possibly make a difference is the bearing carrier design for Wondlan. The Konova carrier can be a bit finicky and takes some adjustment, and Wondlan's does appear to be different. We'll just have to wait and see who's got the better slide. You can find those new Wondlan Sliders online following the link (click here).

Wondlan-Carrier
find-price-button Wondlan DV Mini Slider Rail

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Jason from mnwebco shares his DIY motorized mod for the Juicedlink DIY Slider kit and shares a few examples. He basically uses all the same equipment as a previous mod from Vimeo member Gary Bagelman (except for tripod head). If you want a list of all these parts, and further instructions, you can find them at the bottom of the JuicedLink Cookbook page (click here).

juicedlink-slider
find-price-button JuicedLink DIY Slider Kit

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I don't know exactly when it happened, but it happened. Although i'm a big fan of the Konova slider, I always wished they had a smaller version than 31". At 31" inches, that was just a little bit too long to pack in some of my bags when traveling. So recently they just started listing a smaller 60cm / 23.6" version which still has the new leg / feet design. Having a shorter run slider also makes it easier to balance on a single tripod.

In fact I even went as far as cutting down one of my IGUS rails because I really wanted something down to the 24" length. At just over 23" inches, this slider can be worn with the tripod carrier of your backpack. You can start to find the shorter Konova sliders popping up online (click here).

Konova-24-inch-60cm
find-price-button Konova K3 60cm 23.6" Video Slider

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Konova Motorized Slider

There's been a huge variety of video camera sliders in the past year, but if you're still wondering what slider to get, maybe the Konova is one to look forward to. Highly regarded as the best bang for the buck, they are still adding in more options. I knew they had been working on a crank pulley and motorized accessory for quite some time, but Mark pointed it out that they are recently showing these options in their listings. [Thanks Mark].

From what I know, these upgradeable options are being designed to work with the existing K3 & K5 sliders if you already have one. I followed up to find out the Crank will be released first followed up by the Motorized upgrade. Target ETA end of this month. If you can read Korean, you can get more info and see more images of the new options only on the actual Konova listings following the link (click here).

Motorized Crank Pulley Slider Konova
find-price-button Konova Slider Upgrades Crank and Motor Accessory