Glide Gear TMP 500 Universal Video Camera Tripod Teleprompter 15mm Rails w/Carry Case

This is a review of the TMP 500. As you will know, what this kit gives you is the angled partially reflective glass and triangular lightproof box needed to project text in front of the lens for a presenter. The TMP 500 is not the cheapest but at £140 it can still be classed as low-cost.The essentials of a teleprompter or autocue device are a tablet (e.g. iPad) or phone, the semi-reflective glass, a light-proof box and a frame to keep it together. Of course, the tablet is not provided, you are expected to use your everyday device loaded with one of the many teleprompter/autocue apps.THE GLASSThe glass is clearly coated as you would expect and so does not suffer from the double-reflections that ordinary glass gives. It works as well as any glass I have seen in such a device, consumer or professional. It is about 244mm x 192mm of reflective area, about 312mm across the diagonal. So that allows for a tablet screen of up to 244mm x 136mm to be reflected. It loses exactly 1/2 stop of light. A more costly model would perhaps accommodate a larger screen and so be usable further away. In practical terms, modern style is wide-angle close to the camera so this is unlikely to be an issue for most.LIGHTPROOF BOXThe lightproof box comprises two elements A three sided part that with the glass forms the front with the box shading the glass and preventing light from above being reflected into the camera's lens. The three sides fold flat for storage and are zipped together for assembly. This did not sound promising but actually works well though you have the same need as you do with a coat of exactly aligning the zip ends to get it to glide shut. The second element is a velvet cone that seals the first part to any lens. It has a drawstring to seal around the optic. This all works fine, and in fact is one of the best I have used. It has the same issue that all of these devices have that you can't easily see to locate the lens and stop it banging into the glass when mounting and adjusting the camera.THE FRAMEFinally then, the frame. The glass is mounted on a yoke which incorporates a clamp for the bottom edge of the tablet. The yoke sits on rails. The rails then also hold the camera support behind, and a clamp for the top edge of the tablet in front. The rails are 34cm long which is fine for a mirrorless 35mm camera but may not be long enough for an over-the-shoulder video camera. However, this is where this unit's unique qualities come to the fore. The rails are standard 15mm diameter mounted 60mm apart. So, you can extend them or swap them using standard parts. The threads for extending them measure 12.58mm (pitch approximately 2mm). You could even exchange them for lightweight carbon versions if you wish.ASSEMBLYYou flip the glass over from its storage position and tighten screws to set the angle - so there is some angle adjustment there. You then add the other clamp for the tablet and once the yoke and tablet position are set you can add the camera support. The yoke holds both rails and it is most vital that this is tightened well using the rather nice but small thumbscrew levers. The other two items are then the adjustable parts with just one similar fixing each. This does work OK, but you have to remember to set the rails up on the yoke first, and that means using the tablet and clamp to get the sizing right. Of course you can mark the position for later assembly. To some extent then the room you have for the camera is set by the size of tablet. an ordinary sized iPad with a 35mm camera and a large-ish standard zoom lens work fine.The whole thing then has to be put on your tripod plate and attached to the tripod head. This is the only part that I felt let the assembly down. While they do have 3/8 and 1/4 mounting holes, there is no hole for the index that you get on video tripod plates, and the underside of the yoke is utterly smooth with no groves or even rubber like they have to prevent camera slew. So getting a firm, untwistable connection between yoke and standard 1/4in screw-on plate is impossible.The camera attachment can be mounted pointing forward or for larger lenses/cameras, backward. It actually accommodates a greater range than you would guess. There is a rubber top surface to help keep the camera untwisted and a thumbscrew for attaching the camera's baseplate. The camera's mounting height can then be adjusted by way of another thumbscrew and I reckon 35mm style cameras would fit even with their optional battery boxes added below their baseplates.CASETruly the best thing about this model is the case. It is a hard thick-walled plastic case with close-cell foam packed around the various parts. The valuable and fragile thing here is the glass, and the protection from the case is impeccable. The case is not small at 36cm x 41cm x 21cm, but I would say it is ideal as it is not a heavy metal flight-case yet is rigid enough to provide a lot of protection.ADDITIONSI bought a remote control to go with this and it is a pity that one is not supplied. For me it's essential. This is a BlueTooth device that controls the app. You will need an app, and it is essential that it is the sort that can display the text in mirror form. I downloaded the one to go with the remote that I purchased. The yoke has a couple of mounting holes for adding attachments on its side.CONCLUSIONI would guess that this model is around 20% to 30% more than the cheapest alternatives you are looking at. What makes this model worth buying are firstly the case, which is well worth having if you do any travelling at all. Then secondly, the rail system which make this far more adaptable than similar models.If you will never travel and do not need the adaptability, then maybe look elsewhere if you can buy cheaper. This is not the choice if you want the smallest, lightest, mount-on-the-lens style versions either. The type that get used with cell phones. If you are after a tablet-sized model though and value the flexibility that rails provide, at this price there is nothing to touch it. Even if the rails are not important to you, the case should be as I'm sure it is about the best out there.

This was my first time using a teleprompter. Overall it was a good experience. My main complaints are how limited it can be to move the camera + make the screen visible for the person reading the teleprompter.I also thought the mounting system for the camera was poor. It worked just fine for me because I wasn’t moving the camera around to multiple location or a busy area. I would want something sturdier in that case.

I bought this teleprompter to build into a DSLR video rig for making YouTube videos. I'm using SmallRig components built around a 15mm rail setup, so I thought that this would be a good fit for my camera system. Unfortunately, this unit was disappointing.First, the quality of the GlideGear components leaves a lot to be desired. The fit and finish is nowhere near the quality of other 15mm rail accessories, like SmallRig, Camvate or Niceyrig. The GlideGear's tolerances on these rail components is sloppy and difficult to mix and match with different brands of 15mm accessories. With SmallRig, everything slides together like butter, with this GlideGear unit, you're constantly fighting with the rails to line up with your accessories and mounts.Second, the frame that holds the mirrored glass is flimsy and not even level with the tablet screen. If you're thinking of using this with a shoulder mounted rig, don't bother. The glass bounces all over the place if you move the camera at all. Second the metal is so flimsy, the glass frame is not square relative to the tablet screen. These need to be square with each other, or your reflected text is skewed on an irritating angle.Third, there is no ability to adjust the angle of the glass so that the presenter can easily read the text on the teleprompter. This is a huge flaw, since you need to think first about the teleprompter being at a readable angle before you frame your shot for the video. If you make the framing look good, the teleprompter is at the wrong angle, if you make the teleprompter visible, the composition of your video frame is off. Not cool. This tool is supposed to make your video production easier, not harder.Fourth, the lens hood that is pictured in the Amazon listing is not what is delivered in the box. In fact, all of the Amazon photos should be updated since they don't match the product I received. The lens hood I received was not the nice square fitted unit that is pictured in the photos. It was a sloppy nylon sock that bunched up and would often obscure the corners of the frame if you weren't super careful. Take a look at the product images on Amazon and compare them closely to the customer images posted in the reviews. The hoods don't match, in two photos on the Amazon product listing shows that you can adjust the angle of the mirror. Even the gold hardware in the pics is black when you unbox it in person. Not good.Fifth, the camera mount is badly designed. There is a single 1/4" threaded screw that connects the camera to the platform. It's difficult to tighten down the camera, and there is no option for a second screw to make sure that the camera doesn't twist out of alignment and stays in place. I added a quick release plate to the GlideGear camera mount -- it needs that second screw mount to keep things aligned. The best option would be to scrap the included camera mount completely and replace it with one from Camvate, but that's an extra $60 to get one that works properly.Sixth, The included rails are too short to use with professional lenses. I built this camera/teleprompter rig around a full-frame DSLR, and wanted to be able to use it with my 16-35 f/4 and 24-70 f/2.8 zoom lenses. It works fin with smaller lenses like my 50mm or 85mm prime lens out of the box, but the zooms are what I wanted to use for this project. The included rails are not long enough to fit a mid sized zoom lens, camera body and tablet into this teleprompter. You could buy longer rails, but that's another $30 you'd spend to make it work.Seventh, the bag is junk. It comes with a bag, but it's basically useless. It's awkward to load and unload the teleprompter. Everything flops around when folded flat. It doesn't offer much protection. There are two big pieces of styrofoam floating around inside a cheap zippered bag. It's poorly constructed.This product does work as a teleprompter, however it needs some serious design revisions to make it a quality product. I've returned my teleprompter, and I will be spending more to buy one from a different brand that is designed properly.

Once set up, performance wise, it's a very strong performer. I use it with a BMPCC 4K and the extra adjustable platform is an essential upgrade above the model beneath it... and the superior plastic case is obviously another big plus for transport.I have to admit, it does all feel a bit fragile until it is setup - and I'm not entirely convinced on the camera platform - I would have liked to have seen dual locking vertical legs... but it's been stable with just the one.You can't really complain for the money. I'm getting the results without the ridiculous outlay of some of the more expensive offerings... and I've never been one for home brewing things like this.The rails do give some scope for rigging, which is always a nice addition. The black hood seals around the lens perfectly (in this case a 24-70 2.8 zoom). Just be careful of the lens hitting the beam splitter glass - but that applies to all teleprompter setups I guess.Just take your time when setting up and putting it away, store it properly and you'll be getting great results in no time.

Very good service et exactly the product was waiting for