GripGear vs Andoer $150 Camera Slider Smackdown!

You buy cheap, you buy twice...
But first, what am I drinking?!?
Tonight it's 'The Wood' Lager from Laurelwood. A very light beer at 4.6%. Some of you seem rather concerned with the health of my liver, so I thought I'd give it a break tonight.
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In this episode:
Grip Gear’s Movie Maker Set: amzn.to/2zzpmuH
Andoer 31" Carbon Fiber Motorized Slider: amzn.to/2h3h7QU or www.ebay.com/i...
Neewer Fluid Drag Head: amzn.to/2gziHJF
Emart 600W Studio Light Kit: amzn.to/2y1ObP1
Up first is the Grip Gear’s Movie Maker Set. A small motorized slider and 360 timelapse camera primarily designed for smartphones and pocket cameras. It features two 12” aluminum tracks via a break-down design, an 8-speed drive with ¼” ball head on board, IR remote, and convenient ¼-20 threads for mounting on tripods. A 550g capacity is the limiting factor on this, and it seemed to move my smartphones just fine. That's all it could move though. Even my Sony NEX-5r with kit lens weighed in at 675g. The slider was able to move it perfectly flat, but struggled quite a bit with even the slightest incline.
The entire package feels flimsy, and whenever the motor moves across the center divider, there is a noticeable ‘bump’ in the footage. I’ve tried dozens of times to align the two tracks perfectly, but have never really achieved a clean result.
If you’re using an iPhone with optical stabilization, you can’t disable it. Usually that’s not too much of a problem, but when shooting on this slider, there is a noticeable ‘jell-o’ effect to the footage.
The Andoer 31” Carbon Fiber motorized track slider with follow focus was a nice follow-up purchase. I was able to pick this up, brand new, on eBay for just $143. And this was not a one-off purchase. The seller was US based, and had plenty in stock.
Compared to the Grip Gear, this is, well, incomparable. Aside from the fact that they both hold cameras and are contain aluminum, there is nothing similar about them.
For the price, I’m in love. I know there are better solutions out there. There are drawbacks in this kit, such as the DC motor used instead of a stepper. But the ability to move my camera and lens kit (weighing in at 2.5lb!), combined with the smooth panning, follow focus and orbit abilities, make this an absolute winner.
Thanks again, and I’ll catch you next time.