The Best Slider Money Can Buy - The Rhino Slider Evo and Arc

The Rhino Slider Evo and Motion Controller is in my opinion the best slider system on the market. It's incredibly robust, shockingly simple to setup and use, and best of all, it's all powered with an internal battery in the controller itself. The new motorized pan head Rhino Arc takes this system to the next level. 

I personally have the 24inch Rhino Slider Evo Carbon. It's super light weight and could in theory be used without the motion system, but I never want to go back to manually pushing my camera. The "motion" system adds a motor and a controller to this slider. By simply attaching the motor on the mount on the right side of the slider, you'll be able to control the side to side movement of your camera using the color screen on the Motion Controller. The controller connects securely to the motor via a standard Ethernet cable. If you want a short cable you can use the one in the box or you could swap it out for a longer one. I personally like the short one because the controller conveniently snaps onto the side of the motor using magnets. 

The remote literally could not be easier to figure out and use; it only has two buttons and the color screen walks you through every option. In less than one minute your slider will be moving the camera with perfect precision. Once you use it one time, you'll never want to go back to a manual slider. 

This system has now gotten even better with the creation of the Rhino Arc. The Arc is a small cylinder that screws onto to camera mount and allows the camera to pan from right to left. When combined with the slider, you'll have full control over sliding from side to side and panning from right to left. 

The Arc unit itself also has an internal battery that allows it to run for hours without being plugged in and it doesn't add much weight. Even if you don't want to use the Arc for every shoot, you won't have any issue permanently leaving it attached to your slider. 

I Only Have 3 Complaints About This System: 

1: The Arc needs to be plugged into the controller via a small, somewhat proprietary, cable. As the slider moves from side to side this cable can become tangled in wheels. It can easily be overcome by wrapping the cable around something to keep it out of the way but it is annoying at times. 

2: The cable from the controller to the Arc does not transmit power and our Arc seems to die before our controller does. It would be nice to only have to plug in the controller to charge both units but to charge both units you need to plug them both in separately. 

3: The remote charges using a somewhat standard AC adapter but the Arc charges via mini USB. If they have to charge separately it seems like they should accept the same cable. 

Conclusion

It's rare that I come across a product that is this well designed. The Rhino Slider Evo with Motion and the Arc is such a pleasure to use that I recommend almost any videographer immediately go out and buy it. If you're shooting the next Hollywood blockbuster, this may not be hefty enough to hold your rig, but for 99% of video shooters, this system is the ultimate in both convenience and usefulness.

The inclusion of the Arc is a fantastic upgrade but the standard Rhino Slider Evo with Motion is where the true value lies. The ability to set a camera to automatically slide from side to side during an interview will enhance the quality of your footage more than almost anything else. If you think the Arc might be overkill for now, I would still suggest you buy the Evo and Motion system and simply add on the Arc later if you decide you need it. This entire system is totally modular and allows you to only buy and use exactly what you need for each shoot. 

If you're in the market for a new slider and you're wondering if it's worth paying extra for a motorized version, it is. I've used other motorized systems that are big and bulky, confusing to use, or require an external battery, but this system doesn't suffer from any of that. It's currently my favorite piece of gear and I bet once you try it, you'll never want to go back to attempting these moves by hand.