3D-Printed Camera Slider Is a Cheap and Clean Build

If you want to make videos that smoothly pan from one side of a shot to another, there’s really no substitute for a camera slider. Sure, you could simulate it later in your video production software, but this won’t produce the subtle background movement that our eyes expect when moving towards or parallel to a subject.

Nikodem Bartnik — who creates excellent YouTube videos about a variety of electromechanical subjects — had previously cobbled together a motorized slider. Now that he has a 3D printer, he wanted to take advantage of it for a new design. After some consideration, he decided to forgo the motor here, as it was a bit too bulky for what he wanted, instead sliding the camera by hand. As seen in the build video, these shots look quite good, with the aluminum extrusion slider rails keeping his hand/camera moving in a straight line.

While this might not be appropriate for slow time-lapse sequences, it shouldn’t be too hard to add a drive mechanism if needed. For a parts list of around $20, it looks like a great option if you want something portable, or a good starting point if you’d like to add your own electronics. Parts needed can be found in the video description, and STL files for the four 3D-printed parts are available here.