I've used the glidecam - I found holding it by the shaft worked better than holding it by the handle with the little gimbal on it. This essentially turns it into what PossibilityX made - and saves you about 300 bucks. It actually works great - the trick is to have a bit of weight as low as you can get it and be smooth.

Oh, one more thing - depending on how much shooting you will be doing with this thing your arm is going to get really tired.

Once you work out how to walk to properly use these things you can get pretty good without them. I did buy a Steadypod which is a multipurpose gizmo, stabilizer as well as monopod etc.
However pretty much all it is a Manfrotto monopod with some added weights and a head with tilt. Main reason I bought it is it folds up small enough to fit into my luggage.
No good for big cameras like the Z1, HC1 works fine on it.
Bob.

Funny you should ask. I built the unit PossibilityX (John) refers to about a month ago for my son Dan, who had a shoot scheduled in a wood lot tricked out for a haunted Haloween event. It took all of 30-45 minutes to build, at a cost of about $18. We added a light weight quick release plate to the top of the rig so the camera could be removed quickly, and to minimize strain on the 1/4" mounting hole on the camera.

Dan's report: the rig worked very well where there was adaquate light and where auto focus could be used. In low light situations there was no way to manipulate the iris control on a PD150, or to change focus and zoom. He said the rig is especially effective in wide panning shots -- 180 degrees or more, and that walking straight forward smoothly takes some practice. Take a look at the video clips on the web site John mentions to see what can be accomplished with a little practice. It's pretty impressive.

We're going to try a remote controller on the handle as a means of dealing with focus and zoom to see how that works.

You might also take a look at http://videouniversity.com/xlstablz.htm and http://www.homebuiltstabilizers.com/ this as well for additional ideas and "how to" information.

Jack

Hi James, I did buy the FigRig and I am quite satisfied with it although I did purchase afterwards a manfrotto lanc 521pro remote for my PD-170. I believe the remote is very useful, especially the rec button and the push auto focus button, mind you that the zoom feature is extremely smooth compared to the built in zoom. Without the remote, you always have to spare a hand to push your rec button and afterwards you need both hands to steer the rig, so unless you don't mind using the auto focus on the camera or have pre defined focus range, then you should be ok.

Regarding the FigRig itself, I see it as a tool for specific jobs, sometimes you will need a screwdriver and other times you will need a hammer, same goes with the FigRig, it does some incredible moves, altough part of the magic is you and your ability to walk smoothly. I did try shooting in the forest with it, it was not as smooth as walking on a wooden floor, I had to really define myself a clean path with no obstacles like rocks or any debris. But this is really amazing, you can shoot at floor level and raise your camera upwards like no other gizmo can do in this price range or even turn around people in perfect circles. It sets up almost as fast as you would setup a camera on tripod, it does have a quick release plate. The only inconvenience is that you should build yourself a stand or anything you can imagine to have it rest when you are not shooting or taking a break, because you just can't leave the camera and the rig sitting on the floor or a table, it will have a tendency to roll and put unnecessary pressure on the cam's microphone. It is excellent to follow people, you may shoot them sideways or you may even back-up as you shoot, move down from head to toe, the results are great and so is the feeling holding the rig itself, you are in control, just like driving a car but again, I use it for specific shots. It can get a little hard on the back after a while, but I don't see it as bad as the other pods.

Hope this info can help you!

Robert