The best camera sliders for video and filmmaking in 2026: make your sweeping shots silky smooth

A good camera slider is one of the simplest ways to give your videos a polished, professional edge without breaking the bank. Smooth tracking shots and controlled camera movement instantly elevate production value, and a well-balanced slider makes achieving them easy.

From mirrorless and DSLR systems to smartphones and action cams, today’s sliders – along with the odd compact dolly – come in a variety of sizes and budgets, giving you flexible options for adding dynamic motion to your projects.

Of course, a solid tripod with a quality fluid head remains the foundation of any filmmaker’s kit, but if you want to add depth, energy, and cinematic style to your footage, a slider is essential.

They’re especially effective for product videos, letting you track towards a subject to show off textures under the light, or set the slider vertically to capture both height and depth. You can also use them creatively, like dollying back to reveal a hidden detail in the background. Compact, lightweight, and easy to carry, a slider is one of the most effective tools for making your videos stand out.

Sebastian Oakley

For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. He spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in black and white.

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Best camera sliders: the full guide

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Best slider overall

This carbon fiber slider offers great value, providing an impressive 80cm (31.5in) of camera movement along its 80cm (31.5in) rail. There is no physical controller provided, and instead you control the movement via an app on your phone. We were particulaly impressed on must how easy to use, and we were able to get it working without any need to refer to the instructions.

The ER1 comes with short built-in legs that are a total lifesaver for tabletop or ground-level shots, especially since the leveling feet help you get everything perfectly straight. It’s also super flexible when it comes to mounting; thanks to the standard screw threads on the ends and the bottom, you can easily pop it onto your favorite tripods or light stands. Whether you want to mount it right in the center, at a steep 45-degree angle, or supported at both ends for a rock-solid slide, you’ve got plenty of options to get creative.

Crucially, operation smooth and silent, with no jerking of the carriage carrying the camera. The build quality of the rail itself also very impressive, although the quality of the supplied case is not particulary great

For the price, this is an absolute steal – offering features that some rival manufacturers would charge you twice the price for.

Read our full Neewer ER1 Motorized Carbon Fiber Camera Slider review 

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Best slider with built-in controller

Constructed from aluminum alloy, this range of motorized sliders is lightweight and designed for video and time-lapse photography. There is a range of rail lengths to choose from, from the budget-friendly 27in (68cm) to a 48in (120cm) option that is not that much more expensive.

The Accsoon slider also supports vertical shooting (as well as horizontal and 45° movement), unlike the Neewer ER1, making this the perfect all-rounder for a motorized slider right out of the gate. It comes with an built-in controller – but there is an app to allow wireless control, which will be more useful in some shooting scenarios.

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Best premium slider

The Edelkrone SliderPLUS v5 PRO Long is designed with movable rails that travel during a slide. This gives you extra travel distance while keeping the slider compact – perfect for tight spaces or when you need a compact solution while traveling.

Used on the ground or another surface, it has a travel length of 1.3 feet and supports up to 40lb. Mounted on a tripod, it provides a travel length of 2.6 feet with 20lb loads supported, so you can work with some pretty heavy camera rigs. The movable rail design also works well for dolly shots: since the rails move along with the carriage, they won't get in the shot as you dolly in and out.

The SliderPLUS v5 PRO Long is a manual ball-bearing slider, but it does support the optional Slide Module v3 attachment for motion control, and other Edelkrone motorized add-ons can be incorporated, for fully synchronized multi-axis motion control operated via a single iOS/Android app. So you’ve got a compelling upgrade path as your videography ambitions grow.

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Best slider for smartphones

Rhino’s ROV Everyday is a beautifully crafted motorized slider that is the perfect fit if you’re after a high-quality option for your smartphone or action cam. With its unibody CNC milled rail, 24-hour battery life and lightweight body (clocking in at under 1kg), its specs read like a slider dream perfect for travel or just having in your bag, just in case it's needed.

The ROV accepts DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, but also ships with a handy phone mount, and it’s with smartphones that it really shines. Phones that feature three optical zoom ranges (such as the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max), can take the limited sliding range of 20cm and work wonders with it.

There is an app for remote control, although that of course means that you’ll need a second phone or a tablet if you’re filming with your phone. But if you’re after a great automated choice to elevate your videography with your mobile or digital camera, it’s definitely worth checking out the ROV Everyday. If you need more range, the slightly pricier ROV Traveller offers a full 40cm of travel.

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Best budget slider for smartphones

A miniature slider designed for the smartphone filmmaker, the Swing doesn't give you a very long tracking range, or particularly fast camera movement. But what it does give you is a highly portable and easy-to-use slider system that comes with everything you need in the box. It's pretty affordable too, and the JOBY Motion app makes it easy for even total novices to get to grips with.

Using the app, you can precisely choose the start and end points of your motion, meaning your compositions can get very precise indeed. You can easily set the Swing up to run through a timelapse sequence, and the supplied GripTight ONE phone mount keeps your phone snug and secure on the slider.

Folding down to 17cm and expanding to a length of 42cm, the JOBY Swing is an ideal slider to throw in a kit bag and take out on a day's filming. It doesn't give you a great deal of versatility, but that's an unavoidable trade-off for such a compact slider. It always tracks at the same speed, which restricts your options, but does make it very easy to produce multiple shots with a consistent look and feel.

Read more: JOBY Swing Complete Kit review

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Best dolly for smartphones

If portability coupled with affordability is what you are looking for, the Andoer L4 Pro is a three-wheeled wonder. It folds up small enough to fit in a small bag or even a big jacket pocket. Unfurl it, and you can thread on a ball head and a smartphone grip for an excellent mobile dolly.

Smartphones like the Sony Xperia Pro 1 and action cams like the DJI Action 4 have excellent image stabilization, and this makes them perfectly suited to the L4 Pro, which is only as smooth as the surface it’s traveling across.

Thanks to its size and remote control functionality, you can get fantastic motion shots in extremely tight spaces, and what’s even better is that with its repositionable wheels, it also offers a lot of versatility.

While it’s definitely best suited to smaller cameras – it won’t take a C500 cine camera with a 70-200mm lens – you’ll still be able to get a mirrorless camera on it with a 50mm lens onboard if the need arises.

In some countries, newer version - the Andoer L5I - is now available which is essentially the same but offer stepless speed adjustments (rather than three presets).

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How to choose the best camera slider

This roundup showcases a variety of slider styles, reflecting the diverse nature of this category. One of the picks isn’t strictly a slider at all, but a dolly – a wheeled system with adjustable parts that make it highly adaptable for different types of movement. Some of the more advanced (and expensive) sliders use precision bearings for ultra-smooth motion, while budget-friendly options rely on simple friction. 

A primary consideration is how long you want the rail to be. Longer rails allow for greater camera travel – but are therefore bulkier to carry around. In reality, a tracking shot can look impressive even with a short amount of camera movement.

The maximum payload is also important. With motorized sliders in particular, the size and weight of the camera has a limit – so you need to know the model and lens you are likely to be using. The weight limit decreases significantly if the rail is not used horizontally – and some sliders are therefore not suitable for vertical camera movements (aka crane shots).

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