18Jan Konova Roller Bearing DSLR Slider – Review
Ok, I have to keep adding ‘Roller bearing’ to the description of this DSLR slider. Everyone keeps throwing in names like Igus and GlideTrack, but it’s not the same. Those guys don’t use actual ‘Roller bearings’. I know all about the Igus based sliders, and you can find my version on this blog. My current fixation is about this particular ‘Rolling Bearing’ slider. If you’ve ever tried an actual roller bearing slider, you might not go back. The problem is that even the cheapest Roller bearing slider will run you close to $500 bucks. This is why I was excited to see something a lot cheaper show up online.
So here it is, and what do you need to know? For starters, it’s a great deal. Even after posting this slider up, I haven’t seen anything else that can come close to this as far as features, build quality, and price. I’m sure i’m going to start getting some ‘I made mine for this price…’ comments, but unless you’re selling it, i’m not considering it as a readily available option.
This slider has a solid rail, no flex. It has 1/4×20 & 3/8″ threaded tripod mounts in the center, and on each end. It also has 1/4 x 20 & 3/8″ threaded mounts on the sides for ‘vertical’ mounting. It comes with adjustable legs/feet that can be removed. There’s also padded platforms that allow it to be used directly on any surface without worry of scratching or marking the area. There’s a brake to lock down the carrier when it’s not in use. It also comes with a very slick looking quality travel bag. The Slider moves very fluid with zero lash and can be adjusted if need be. It’s also very lightweight, but feels like it can slide even heavier cameras than a DSLR.
There is one thing to note. The platform is designed only for a 3/8″ mount. This means you need a fluid head or some type of camera mount. You can’t mount the camera directly to the platform. Not a deal breaker since most sliders require this anyway. The unit slides so easily, it would work perfectly for motion timelapse rigs. Any small motor can easily pull a heavy camera through it’s entire rail. Overall it’s more than I expected for the price. The first actual ‘roller bearing’ slider to break this price point, and here it is.
So another great cost saving product first introduced here on Cheesycam.com. If you want to show some support for what I do, hook a brotha up and link back to this article!
Konova DSLR Video Camera Slider
Konova Slider – via Amazon
KONOVA K Slider 3080 NA-8
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January 18th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
AWESOME!
the Weifeng fluid head that you turned us on to … it works perfect on top of this baby.
THANKS EMMM!
January 18th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Did you get a tracking number as I have no been given one and I’m it hasn’t been marked as posted. (I purchased on the 10th)
January 18th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Wow! This looks fantastic! I can’t wait for mine to arrive and start playing. Thanks Emm, for your blog and allowing me the opportunity to get in on this $$-friendly slider dream! (I am obviously just slightly excited).
January 18th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Just curious, can this be motorized cheaply?
January 18th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
@Chris Wilmshurst – No tracking, just showed up. But showed up fairly quick I might add. They are a legit company and if you ordered on eBay like I keep suggesting, nothing to worry about.
January 18th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
@beeber – Yeah I threw mine on first thing. Totally rocks, and better than small tripod heads that jiggle.
January 18th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Emm,
Did you get the 80cm? I realized they offered longer after I ordered. They want $50 to upgrade from 80cm to 100cm. Opinion?
January 18th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
I bought the 100mm version and just received an email that they are sending me the 4 bearing one. I will keep you posted. BTW I went to the NorCal meetup at Irish Bank Friday all the way from East Bay and couldn’t find anyone. I asked the bouncer and several groups and all looked at me like I was smoking something. Hopefully we can make a Bay Area Filmmakers Meetup group and meet somewhere quiet. Maybe next time.
January 18th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
@Chris Wilmshurst – I’m in the same boat (purchased on the 10th but no indication of shipping). But I recall the gini rig delivery being the same sort of unsure, though ultimately very satisfying and quick delivery experience. Sounds like folks are starting to get theirs so I think we’re in for something good!
January 18th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
@Vincent – I’m sure i’ll be looking into some type of motor to add. Even a tiny one can pull it across the slider.
January 18th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
@Jeff – I didn’t make it out to Irish Bank. They were there though. I opted for the shorter slider. Mainly because when it’s too long, it’s a pain to travel with. This is a good length.
January 18th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
@Herb – I like the smaller units to travel with. If it’s too long, it’s awkward to pack up and might be too long for one single tripod to manage.
January 18th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Oooh, just ordered. I used an igus slider last weekend and while it worked great it was hard to keep smooth consistent slides. This looks like it will handle some awesome smooth motion slides.
January 18th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Can’t wait to see your crazy set up with different mounting position/angle.
Some test footage would be awesome.
These people should send you free products for preview
Huge thanks !
January 18th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Thanks for sharing that with us. This is an excellent video gear site
Is there any place where we can see some of your video work?
January 18th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Thanks, looks like I will buy one!
January 18th, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Is it quiet?
I’ve tested some rails that were bearing based and they have all been noisy due to the metal/metal during slides.
There is a reason why Kessler went to a polyurethane method…dead silent.
Chris
January 18th, 2011 at 5:43 pm
@Express35 – Yeah there’s always a trade off. It’s not distractingly noisey, but there is noise from the rollers.
January 18th, 2011 at 6:14 pm
Random question…for the tripod head… is there a difference between the 717ah, 717, and 717b…?
I can’t tell if they are just different names for the same thing from different sellers or if they are different models.
January 18th, 2011 at 6:19 pm
@J Hanna – Yes sometimes there is ball mount, and regular 3/8″ mount. I just added a new post with everything you should need for a great sliding experience…
January 18th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
Curious, why worry about noise? If your shooting an event you’d likely dub audio over what the camera records and if your shooting a sit down interview wouldn’t you have a separate audio system?
I shoot weddings among other things and my 4′ slider is way too long. I never use the whole length and it’s always clumsy to use. 80cm seems perfect.
I mount a 577 receiver plate directly to the all my sticks, that way you don’t have to worry about the camera losing level when you reach one of the slider ends (when using one center tripod). I also mount a 501 plate to the bottom of all my manfrotto heads. ultimate flexibility!
January 18th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
What was the original price when you first posted it Emm? Looks like it’s at $285 now.
January 18th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
@Zach – $275. Supply and demand, but still a great price. They are also adding an extra bearing to the new design, which might account for it.
January 19th, 2011 at 8:35 am
@Emm
Thanks Emm, did you get the 80cm version? Is it long enough for you?
January 19th, 2011 at 10:10 am
What kind of weight do you think this slider will support? It mentions DSLRs in its description but do you think it is capable of handling larger video cameras like the Sony EX-1 or EX-3?
January 19th, 2011 at 10:23 am
@Dan – I could try it with an EX-1. Let me see if I can hook up with my buddy and test it. I’m sure it can though..
January 19th, 2011 at 10:24 am
@Zach – Yeah it’s perfect. I have another on the way too. I ordered two long before I posted it on my site..LOL.
January 19th, 2011 at 11:37 am
did you got any import charge? i am in Canada wondering if i will have to pay import charge or tax?
January 19th, 2011 at 11:57 am
@Romeo – No import charges for me in Cali.
January 19th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Hi Emm,
Do you see any (easy) way of installing a motor to this slider?
I’m about to get one, but first would like to make sure that this will be possible.
Also on you movie, you moved the camera quickly, which created the noise, but in fact the usual way during filming is to move it slowly. Do you hear anything when moving it slowly left/right?
January 19th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
@PT – There’s plenty of mounting points for a motor. Just gotta find the right setup. For sure the Rotisserie motor for slow Timelapse pans would work great. When moving it slowly, there’s not ‘as much’ noise but there’s obvious noise in every slider including IGUS dry stuff.
January 20th, 2011 at 3:30 am
I just ordered one. But I’m worried about the sound it makes. Do you think it’s possible to dampened the noise level? Change the roller bearings?
What length is the best length. Will a 1 m (39 inch) be too bulky to travel with? Will the tripod hold the slider when it reaches the ends?
January 20th, 2011 at 5:07 am
@John Johansson – if you’ve ever used those $1200 dollar sliders, they make even more noise than his one. You just have to have some experience with other roller bearing sliders to appreciate the price point.
January 21st, 2011 at 12:58 am
Thank you, Emm! Got mine today and it is indeed a great slider. However, I don’t find these 2 props/adjustable legs in the package. Did anyone else have the same issue? I just emailed them about this…
John
January 21st, 2011 at 4:22 am
emm you’re so dope. I <3 you.
This article/post rocks. I need scrounge up $500 stat!
January 21st, 2011 at 8:32 am
I received mine yesterday- thanks for the tip, Emm!
I made an unboxing and testdrive video over at http://www.filmersblog.nl or straight to Vimeo:
http://www.vimeo.com/19029979
I jumped on the deal right away. Why? Because I trust your opinion. And you haven’t let me down!
(I didn’t mention anything about the noise, which seems to be a concern, but I can assure everyone it’s very quiet.)
January 21st, 2011 at 10:01 am
@Jason – There’s a long waiting list building up right now. Gotta get on the ball!
January 22nd, 2011 at 7:19 am
Second test with the Konova: http://www.vimeo.com/19061081
Interesting to see that it was not as much the fact that the slider was mounted on 1 tripod, that cause the camera shake at the tele end, but the fact that the camera and tripod head are sitting on relatively narrow rails. It might get better if you mount directly on the carriage, ie foregoing the tripod head, at the expense of losing composition options.
January 22nd, 2011 at 9:34 am
emm what is the fluid head and where can I buy it?
also, the feet, the length is about a foot, can you fold them?or the only option is to take them out?
January 22nd, 2011 at 9:50 am
@Sigmund – You can only take them out. You can’t fold them. You can find everything you need here: http://cheesycam.com/slider-tips-and-mounting-solutions/
January 22nd, 2011 at 8:02 pm
Do you know how much this slider weighs? Or can you compare the weight to another slider?
January 27th, 2011 at 2:49 am
Hey folks, I jumped on this deal when Emm originally posted it, and it finally got to me. Unfortunately, the screws that hold the top plate to the bearing sled were stripped, one severely. So, I can only put three of the four hex screws back in (and those three were kind of rough). The remaining hole was too badly stripped to let me put the screw back in.
I contacted the seller (Frank) about the problem and he has thus far been responsive to my complaint by email, but we haven’t yet gotten to a resolution. His engineer asked if I’d accept replacement screws, which I declined. Maybe the slider isn’t a user serviceable part?
I also found the slider to be rough at first, but it smoothed out after a break-in period.
Anyhow, I thought the Cheesycam community might want to know before buying. I’m curious if any one else has had any problems. I’ll post an update as this issue evolves. No matter how good a deal, it’s not worth much if it doesn’t work as expected. I hope to get my slider fixed soon.
Thanks,
January 27th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
hey, kepano, thanks for the heads up. i’m hoping this isn’t a common issue. if other folks who ordered one can share, that’d be cool. i’ll do same once i receive mine.
January 29th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
UPDATE: Turns out the slider plate can’t be field serviced. I was curious how I’d get the lower plate off the rail, thinking maybe I’d crank in/out the tension mechanism. The end caps are fixed, so you can’t just run the slider off the end of the rail. So, Frank has offered to send me a new slider. Don’t know if he’s sending me the whole kit or just the rail/slider (sans feet/tools/bag).
I’ll let you all know if/when I get it. Like I said earlier, Frank has been responsive by email, so I’m optimistic. Hope they’re not too backlogged…
January 30th, 2011 at 12:28 am
Hi, Emm, how long did it take for your slider to arrive? I received a notice that mine was shipped so I’m just trying to figure out when it might arrive.
Hey, Kepano, sorry to hear it wasn’t able to be fixed but glad that Frank offered a replacement; good customer service is as important as quality
January 30th, 2011 at 12:41 am
@Thuan – MIne came in less than a week. Then again I ordered mine before they got real busy.
January 31st, 2011 at 7:17 pm
Mine shipped today!!! Yippee!!
January 31st, 2011 at 11:06 pm
Got my slider today!!! Says it was shipped on Friday which means it only took 3 days? I purchased it a little over a week ago so I waited about 2 weeks total.
Upon initial testing, I’m definitely glad I got it. These are just some of my first impressions. I’m trying to put together a video review that’s a little different than what’s already been posted. I’ll try to get that done as soon as I can.
Pros:
- well built overall; solid construction
- easy to set up (attach feet, attach tripod head, adjust tension if needed, and you’re ready to go)
- smooth slider action (I was able to operate it with 1 finger with ease)
- feet attach (fairly) easily
- great carrying case (for the most part)
- slim profile
Cons:
- was missing a washer on 1 of the feet (not a big deal overall but would be nice to not have missing parts)
- had difficulty unscrewing one of the feet from the slider; took a few times to finally get it smooth
- feet must be removed in order to fit into the bag
- if you attach a tripod head (which I did using the 717AH) you won’t be able to use the supplied carrying case
For the last ‘Con’, I attached a Manfrotto 577 quick release base plate to the unit and a tripod plate to the bottom of the tripod head. That allows me to quickly remove the tripod head for transportation. I’m still fidgeting with this set up so I’ll share an update once I get everything set.
Hope that helps. And for those who bought one, enjoy! For those who may be on the fence, go for it!
January 31st, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Also, I purchased the longest version of the slider and you’ll definitely need to mount it to two tripods to keep it it from leaning.
February 1st, 2011 at 5:44 am
@entienne01 Thanks so much brother. I purchased the longest one too so any tips and suggestions are much appreciated!
February 1st, 2011 at 10:59 pm
I’m messing around with the feet and trying to figure out a way to keep them attached and fit in the bag for transportation.
I want to add some height in between the base of the feet and the slider (where it attaches), maybe with some rubber stoppers. That way, it’ll clear the endplates when I twist the feet to align it with the slider for transportation.
But this set up will still be too long to fit in the bag. So I’m thinking of drilling an additional set of holes a little closer to center so that when I turn the feet, it’ll line up with the ends of the slider and fit perfectly in the bag. Now I just have to find a local machinist?
February 6th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
are they still available ?
February 6th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
@Archie – Yes, they are back online. The link is valid. Thanks.
February 14th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
There is one thing that confuses me about mounting the slider vertically on the tripod to do a full vertical slide. What is stopping the camera from simply rolling down the full length of the rail? In other words; can you control the resistance of the slide and if so how well does this work in achieving a smooth and constant slide in the vertical direction?
February 17th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
Just got the slider today. The bearing plate is extremely wobbly. It looks like I got the four bearing model. I tried tightening and loosening, but it makes no change.
Anybody else with an issue like this? I did contact Frank. Just waiting to hear a response.
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Not sure if anyone mentioned it– but I emailed Frank about roughness in my slider. He sent me instructions (albeit in Korean) about how to remove the carriage and adjust the position of the bearings for best contact with the rail. Emm, I’ll email it to you if you’re interested in posting it.
February 23rd, 2011 at 6:10 am
hey emm,
we found a new way to mount the konova slider
http://vimeo.com/20158559
April 1st, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Just got my Konova Slider in today. Wow, took only 5 days to ship! Now that is FAST!! Immediately out of the box, It was already smooth, and not wobbly like some people were mentioning up above. WAAAAAAY better than my DIY IGUS slider. I knew they made different lengths, but for some reason I thought the default length was 100mm. How well, having a compact slider of this size will make it that much easier for run and gun anyways (weddings, events etc.) I figured if I needed to dolly anymore than a couple feet, I would be better off using an actual dolly system. Thanks again Emm for the kick ass Konova recommendation!!!
April 5th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
I sleep with my konova slider… It’s that good to me
April 5th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
@Paul – That two timing slider! I thought I was the only one sleeping with her…LOL.
April 6th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Does anyone know what brand the rail or carriage is? Or if there is any writing on the rubber wipers? I love the Konova slider, but it’s waaaay too long for my needs… I was hoping to make a mini version that’s like 12″ long.
Thanks for any help!
April 6th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
@Cody – You might be able to make a smaller version from these: Linear Guide Rails and Carriage
August 14th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
Why no one word about the LENGTH??
Their website says 10000mm rail.
Funny.
November 14th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Great job with your site. Very useful. Tried clicking on the link but it came up error. I’ve seen these but they’re always way to expensive. I’m considering this one.
Thanks!
November 14th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
@Rob – Thanks, fixed the link. Good looking out.
March 22nd, 2012 at 11:14 am
I’m from Canada and I’m looking to buy the Dot Line DLC 47″ Camera Slider from B&H in NY and its at $150 so way cheaper and still does the job.
March 28th, 2012 at 3:44 pm
Awesome! Does it fit any tripod? Or do I need to buy a specific one for it?
April 13th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Just updating my previous post. I got the slider (from B&H Video in NY but also available with cheaper shipping at filmtools.com) and it’s not as smooth as I had hoped. I don’t know if I need to use some lubrication thing on it to make it slider more or not.
It’s smooth enough but could be better. If I tilt the slider on a slant, the sliding part doesn’t fly down which is what I would’ve loved.
Still worth it though