Marco Solorio of OneRiver Media reviews the Konova Slider Support Arms. Can this simple device solve the issues for slider dipping and tipping?
Konova is a company out of Korea that manufacturers various products that range from camera support, to sliders, and so much more. One of their newer products, “Tripod Stability Arm for Slider” (in 1-arm and 2-arm kits) is something I’ve been very interested in for our heavier camera setups. I really don’t like dual-tripod setups for sliders, as they add bulk and remove the ability to arch-focus on a subject (the ability to limit the focus plane when sliding end to end).
After researching more about the Konova support arms, I decided to bite the bullet and buy the two-arm set, available on B&H and Amazon.
The support arms are one of the coolest and well thought out products I’ve seen come out in a long time. More than just an arm with attachments, the design and engineering in this product is actually very well thought out. Beyond what I was expecting actually.
Each end of the arm has a ball-and-socket joint, allowing the camera head to pan and tilt. Although the amount is limited, it’s enough to maintain arch focus when sliding on an interview person. This was a critical factor that ultimately won me over to buy this product. Rather than locking the slider in place, you still have a degree of mobility, while continually keeping the slider free from any amount of dipping down, or worse, tipping over.
And ultimately that’s really the whole point of buying this device; ensuring the slider maintains its position throughout the entire sliding motion. The Konova Slider Support Arms deliver and excel in this task.
[spacer height=”20″ class=””] [video_embed url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rquAoQuuQww” embed_style=”default” width=”770″ border=”yes”] [spacer height=”30″ class=””]One of the key design elements I felt was perfected, was how the top-section mounts to the slider itself. It uses a 1/4″-20 thumbscrew with a non-threaded sliding pin that perfectly fits in a 3/8″ hole. Additionally, the system holds together with notch and grooves so everything keeps from twisting around on itself. Again, everything was so well thought out and designed, that it prompted me to write this review.
When not using our Dana Dolly, our next largest slider camera rigging system includes the Blackmagic Design URSA on our Kessler Crane Cineslider, mounted to our Sachtler Video 25 Mk II tripod. Because of the Sachtler video head’s brute strength, I’ve been able to use this setup without support arms, but only half way from point-to-point on the slider. In other words, I wasn’t able to use the entire length of the slider without the entire system dipping or worse, tipping over. Without these arms, the system was a bit sketch unless it was strictly hands-on monitored.
In truth, only one of these support arms is really required, but I’m glad I bought them as a two-arm set, namely for the slider setup mentioned above or in case I want to use two lightweight sliders simultaneously for a shot.
No longer will I need to use our Dana Dolly for these larger camera rig setups when only a limited sliding distance is needed—which is most of the time for us, as I’m a believer that a little (slide) goes a long way. These Konova slider arms easily fit inside our tripod cases with the tripod. In all, this system is rock solid, easy to put together, compact, lightweight, and the cost is reasonable.
If I were to give a “tip” on using these arms, it would be to ensure your arm(s) is in as much of a vertical position as possible by mounting it to the furthest edge of the slider and the lowest point on your tripod leg(s), much like I’ve shown in the first image of this review. This will help ensure the arm is doing its job to eliminate slider dipping.
I don’t typically “rate” products with a star system, but because this product really hit every mark for me, I’ll give it a 5-star rating. For anyone that enjoys using their slider on a single tripod, I cannot recommend these Konova support arms enough!
1 Arm Support System ~$95.00 USD: B&H | Amazon
2 Arm Support Kit ~$175.00 USD: Amazon
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