MYT 3-in-1 Slider dolly Review
I have been using the MYT 3-in-1 medium Glide slider dolly since last year end and feel I should share my thoughts.
Sabyasachi with MYT 3-in-1 slider
MYT works is a New York, US based company known for its innovative and high quality products. Its catchy tagline ‘Born out of Frustration’ written boldly across its products and the case gets many curious onlookers asking about it. I got the delivery of my slider towards end of October 2013. Since the package was about 4″4′ long and weighing more than 40 pounds, I was scratching my head as the cost of shipping to India was huge. In came IndiaWilds member and friend Sreejith who personally hand carried it from US.
Aesthetics of the MYT slider:
First thing that one notices is the aesthetics and the craftsmanship. MYT scores highly on the aesthetics. The two ends of the slider are made of wood, dipped with oil and sport the MYT logo. It looks rich and appeals to the innate aesthetic sense of filmmakers. According to MYT they choose wood so that it is not only unique and comfortable but also because wood won’t burn your hands in summer or freeze them in winter. They suggest not to use any petroleum product to clean as that would dry the wood. The aluminium as well as Gold anodized aluminium used in the slider makes it aesthetically pleasing.
MYT 3-in-1 slider with OConnor fluid head and wooden hand grip
3-in-1 Design of the slider:
This slider belongs to the Glide Line of MYT’s sliders and has a unique design and is highly configurable. It has a carriage built to take a high hat. This carriage has got nice bearings that slide smoothly on the rails. MYT calls it the sleeve wheel technology. The bearings are patent pending. According to MYT there is a plastic wheel that spins inside and places constant pressure on the glide track so that one gets smooth footage. There are many mounting points in the carriage. I use a wooden handle which is again aesthetically designed. This handle fits on the high hat and helps in smoothly moving it from side to side.
The high hat has four feet instead of the traditional three feet. The four feets of this high hat can be removed and longer ones upto 12 inches can be inserted. One can independently use this high hat by mounting a fluid head and camera like a traditional high hat. The high hat sits on the carriage of the Glide slider and can be easily locked or removed by a latch.
You can place the high hat on the skater dolly and use it on a table-top or on the floor like a traditional dolly. When you need that low angle and you are shooting in a location with smooth floors, this skater dolly will help you get some nice footage.
MYT Skater dolly on table top with Oconnor fluid head and C300 camera
This slider has rails at the top as well as bottom. So one can also shoot with the camera in the underslug mode. Since I didn’t plan to use the underslung mode, so I didn’t get those required accessories.
To prevent the rails from getting dented, there is a protective rubber sleeve covering which keeps the rails protected when not in use. I find it to be a good and easy to place.
MYT offers sliders with lengths from 3 feet to 12 feet with the longer ones being used in TV studios. Keeping in mind my mobility as I shoot most of the times outdoors either for wildlife, documentaries, corporates and independent feature films, I have opted for the 4 feet glide length. This makes the slider a little longer than 4 feet and the carrying case is large enough to not fit in most of the smaller cars.
Specs of my MYT 3-in-1 Slider:
I have picked up the medium version of the MYT Glide line with 4 foot travel length and this one has a maximum weight capability of 80 pounds. The rail span ie. distance between the two rails is 7″ which gives lot of stability while using higher payloads. So I can use any camera package on this starting from the DSLRs to my C300 as well as heavier cameras like RED Epics etc.
I have choosen the 100mm high hat for the slider so that I can place my OConnor 1030 HDs fluid head on it and smoothly pan and/or tilt as I slide it. And if I just need a panning shot from left to right or right to left without moving the fluid head much, then I can even use a 100mm half bowl and then place a small Manfrotto head and mount my C300 on it.
This slider needs to be mounted at the bottom from both the sides. One can use either two tripods or one tripod and another light stand. However I prefer to use my Sachtler tripod and another gitzo photo tripod. You can even place the slider on the ground with the smaller feet or on some firm support like boxes. MYT has designed some baby feet which can rest on table tops. Again those look lovely.
With such aesthetically designed and flexible systems independent filmmakers can pull off nice moves in style.
Carrying Case:
I bought the MYT soft-hard carrying case so that the slider can be checked in while flying. It comes with a soft top and hard sides and has wheels on one side so that you can pull it along on even ground. There are handles on both sides so that two people can hold from both sides and carry it. One can also hold it from top and carry it. At 465 USD the case is actually a bit costly. This handmade case has been manufactured by Tenba for MYT. So MYT is not ripping us with a no-name brand accessory. In film sets after a long day, one can make handling mistakes. So better to buy this and have peace of mind. It is also invaluable while travelling.
Cost of the MYT 3-in-1 slider:
The MYT 3-in-1 Glide slider medium with 100mm hight hat is 2295 USD excluding accessories. The cost of accessories quickly add up to a neat pile. J So one needs to be careful in figuring out the accessories for your intended applications and order, else it quickly strains the budget. Of course one can order some of the accessories later. Along with the cost of shipping and customs, the cost goes up quickly.
While shooting for a recent feature film, I was asked whether the same functionalities can’t be achieved by using a cheaper Indian or Chinese slider. The answer is if you have a critical eye and demanding requirements, then you can’t settle for less.
This slider is not meant for backpacking. So for hard treks when I don’t have assistants and porters, this slider is kept behind.
This slider can be used in one man operations if you don’t have a tonne of other equipment to carry. Else hire a porter. It takes a fair bit of time to unpack and set it up. For DSLR shooters, this is not a run-n-gun slider. If you are running for life or stealing shots, then this is not the equipment for you. Filmmaking is a deliberate process and one needs to make slow and measured moves. This slider gives a lot of flexibility and options. So I am pretty happy with it.
Cons: While flying the airlines charge excess baggage as well as charges for extra long items.
If you have any questions about the MYT 3-in-1 slider or sliders in general, you can ask in the comments below.
You can purchase the MYT 3-in-1 slider and other accessories from B&H using the following link at no extra cost to you http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/MYT_Works_3_in_1_Medium_Camera_Dolly_System/Ntt/MYT%2BWorks%2B3-in-1%2BMedium%2BCamera%2BDolly%2BSystem/N/0/kw/search/BI/19990/KBID/13252/DFF/d10-v1-t12
Sabyasachi is available for Hire as a DP for shoots any where in India.
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This was quite fascinating for me. I just have a regular SLR camera, nothing fancy. This looks like a marvelous piece of equipment.