Kamerar 23" Slider Review

I was first turned onto the Kamerar slider by DSLR Video Shooter, Caleb Pike.  The short slider come in at $99, which I thought was a deal!  I am happy with the size, as I wanted something that was easily portable. With a short slider, adding foreground elements adds a vaster to the sense of motion in the shot.

This slider is friction based, not the coveted roller bearing design.  Previously I had eyed Konova k2, which was $219, a bit out of budget.  Friction based sliders use little pads that rub up against the rail to smooth the slide.  Damaging the rail could be detrimental to the integrity of your slider.

Overall, it is pretty smooth. As this is my first interaction with a non-DIY, built slider - it seems to hold up well. It feels professional and lightweight in your hands.  Fast movement are nearly impossible, the slider preforms best with slow movements.  I started dragging a finger behind the carriage to act as drag control and for stability.

These shots in the video below were made with the d5100, with a 20% warp stabilizer added where marked.  Next time I will take off the battery grip to make the center over gravity a little lower to help with some unintentional shaking.  I also read that the locking mechanism on the side of the carriage what rubbish, but in my experience it holds up really well (no pun intended).

I will also get some rubber bumpers or something to put on the ends of the carriage to stop the extrusive thud that happens when you reach the end of the rail.

Sliders, Ball head, Quick Release Plates, Camera, etc., all  this stuff adds up weight wise.  Be sure to have a steady tripod to support a lot of weight.  I'm using the Pearstone VT-2100, and it's barely hanging on.

To pair with the slider, I also purchased the DMKFoto Heavy Duty Ball Head with Quick Release Plate for $20.  This thing is trash.  It feels solid and is heavy, which adds weight to the slider helping smooth it down, but the locking mechanism is garbage.  To re-position the camera, you unscrew the knob and have to hold the base in place while with the other hand move the ball joint.  But for $20, what do you expect.

Bottom line: Great, little, cheap slider.  Use the money you're saving and put it towards a good tripod and ball head.

Total setup = $120

Recording Voice Overs, "Cheaply" and Professionally

I once saw a video comparing the audio from a rode video mic into camera, H1, and camera audio.  But towards the end of the video he plugged the rode in the H1 and it sounded amazing!  So that is what I am going to experiment with today.

Rode Videomic vs Zoom H1 from Matthew Pearce on Vimeo.


The Rode Videomic has been a fixture on top of my DSLR since I started shooting.  Most times just running straight into the camera.  I have never been failed but I am contemplating upgrading to the Videomic PRO, but that has been put on the back burner.  Also, the H1 has been the best thing a $100 could buy.  Simple interface, but most importantly great audio.  I just sold a Tascam DR-40 because of a lack of 3.5mm input and I rarely use XLRs.  So for now the H1 is my man.

Today I am going to use a Manfrotto table top tripod to hold the Rode, Rode toH1 using a 10’ rode headphone jack extension.

Total: ~$260

I would also like to say all these items can be used in multiple applications, decreasing the cost per application while maintaining professional quality.