Creating super long slider or dolly shots is something many timelapse photographers and filmmakers dream about doing. For some, hyperlapse techniques and a lot of post production work is the answer. For others, that’s far too much work. When you look at the whole process, you can quickly see why. For others, the solution is a cable cam zipline type system. It works with the Syrp Genie (review here), to provide you with a level of control that is otherwise difficult to achieve. Until now, though, these have been DIY solutions. In fact, you can see our own DIY Syrp Genie cable cam here. Today, though, Syrp have released their official cablecam, the Slingshot.
It’s seems a pretty elegant system, solving many of the issues you may face were you to build your own. Syrp’s goal was to make the Slingshot as toolless as possible for two main reasons. First, having quick releases instead of tools makes setup and teardown much faster. Not having to carry those tools also saves valuable space and weight in your bags. This allows you to take it to more remote locations more easily.
Indeed, it has very few components to it, and the toolless design should definitely increase on-site workflow speed. The basic Slingshot doesn’t come with the Syrp Genie, which is fortunate for those who may already own one. There are other packages available, with extra components for added functionality.
On its own, the Slingshot runs freely along the track. Adding the Genie gives you control over the distance and speed of travel for the camera as the Slingshot traverses the cable. This basically gives you a single axis of motion linearly along the track. The Genie allows travel along tracks of up to 100m (~300ft) in length.
Adding a Syrp Genie Mini (review here) into the mix gives you rotation along the Y axis. This allows the camera to rotate and remain locked on a subject as the whole rig moves horizontally. This is the Pan Track kit.
If you want to add a third axis of control and be able to also tilt up and down, you can add a second Genie Mini.
Whether you go with the solo Genie or add one or two Genie Minis, all of them can be controlled via a single app interface. Betwen this and the portable toolless design, this should make life pretty easy. Syrp have released a second video going over how to set the whole thing up on location.
It does look like a very cool piece of kit. The introduction of new regulations and common sense restricts drone use in certain conditions. So I can see this being a popular alternative at those times. For festivals or other venues where the camera may rise above and over crowds, this is a much safer and legal option. It also allows you to mount a significantly better camera than most drones, too. I’d be interested to see how well it handles wind, though. Even with well tightened cables, that’s going to play a factor in the smoothness of your footage. I’d also be keen to see how smooth it is for video. Several 25m, 50m and 100m kits are available, offering varying degrees of control. The 50m and 100m kits also include the standard 25m cable for when you don’t need quite such long distances. Which kit you go for will depend on exactly what you need, and also which Syrp products you may already own.
25m Slingshot – $98925m Slingshot Genie Ballhead Kit – $1,88725m Slingshot Pan Track Kit – $2,15550m Slingshot 3 Axis Kit – $2,812100m Slingshot Pan Track Kit – $2,873100m Slingshot 3 Axis Kit – $3,102
You can find out more about the Syrp Slingshot and order on the Syrp website. So, what do you think? Are you happy to go short distances and stick with your slider? Will you continue to just use hyperlapse for longer distances? Or is this already on your wishlist? Let us know on the comments.
