Pro Moviemaker Spring 2020

GEAR MINI TESTS

MANFROTTO 60CM SLIDER £427/$439 manfrotto.com

SPECIFICATIONS Material: Aluminiumslider, PSU polymer wheels Top plate: Fixedwith⅜in screw Height: 4.5cm/1.77in Weight: 2.19kg/4.83lb Maximumpayload: 10kg/22lb

That’s the recipe for the Manfrotto 60cm slider. It’s small enough to be taken with you on many shoots, then quickly mounted to the top of your tripod with your tripod head on the top. Or you can just put it on to the floor or other flat surface. The only controls are a locking knob and a knob to adjust the tension to slow the rate of slide down. There are no adjustable legs to tweak the height when set on the floor, just a simple bubble spirit level to confirm it’s horizontal. Some filmmakers take their tripod head off their sticks and mount the slider directly in its place using the standard 3/8in screw fixing, then put the head on top of the slider’s carriage. Or if you have a second head, you can mount the slider to your original head using a quick-release plate for even speedier operation. But any extra connections mean there’s more of a chance of some movement creep coming in. Being just 60cm in length, it’s far less likely to make your rig topple over as can happen on longer rails, for which it’s recommended to mount the rails to light stands at either end. The 60cm is just the right size, when fixed to a sturdy tripod and with a mirrorless camera or small camcorder, to avoided tipping over. Just ensure your tripod is sturdy enough to do the job. The carriage runs on four wheels fitted with high-precision steel ball

Back when DSLRs hit the scene to allow filmmakers to create the hallowed cinematic look, one of the first accessories many newbies bought was a slider to give their camera some controlled movement. Where proper film crews used dollies and tracks for their big cameras, the smaller size of DSLRs meant small crews could use a simple slider to get some movement. Just mount your tripod head to the top and manually slide the camera along its length to create the movement you need. But of course, you had to practise being as smooth as possible. The humble, simple slider soon morphed into sliders controlled by everything from elastic bands to crank handles, then simple electric motors and now advanced motors that can be controlled and programmed via an app. That’s great if you want to create professional timelapses, for example. But for a simple, relatively short movement there’s little to beat the simplicity of a basic slider – albeit one made of quality materials with quality bearings to give a smooth slide.

bearings. The wheels have a smooth polymer coating which thankfully means they are virtually silent. Then just adjust the tension using the spring-loaded black knob to control the movement. In use, we found the slider was quiet and relatively smooth, but not as smooth as some higher-end models that we have used. And with the rails being made of aluminium which is light but can easily get damaged, you need to be careful to avoid any twisting or bending in use or in transport. The Manfrotto slider is a solid and decent bit of kit, that’s small enough to be useful and easy to keep with you for use when you need to add something extra to your shots. AD. PROMOVIEMAKERRATING: 8/10 It’s small and rugged but not the smoothest Pros: Simple to use, portability Cons: Nomotorised or geared options “In use, we found the slider was quiet and relatively smooth”

LEFT The short length of the slider makes it a sturdy base for your kit

PRO MOVIEMAKER SPRING 2020