$14 Steady cam

Hi Everyone,
I've heard of the $14 dollar steady cam and searched for it on google and Im thinking of building one soon.

Check it out here
http://www.digitalmovie.com/Features001.htm

Has anyone else built or used these home made steadycams?

Id really like some feedback =)

 

Not yet, but I am planning to build one this summer

 

I built that steadycam...works nicely. Still takes a steady hand and practice but it makes a huge difference.

 

I built one, and it works really well. It stablizes the shocks up and down, not as much left to right. It works really well for me going down stairs and stuff. I wouldnt recomdend using it with heavier cameras like the xl1 for long periods of time. It gets really heavy and strains your arm. Oh and besure to tape up the handles really well or use some sort of grip, because that gralevinized steel is impossible to wash off your hands.

 

Great stuff!

Im wondering if adding weights to the left and right hand sides would help?

Ive seen this done on hand held catapults where the weight is distributed equally left and right with weights that screw on and a bigger weight for the bottom.

You can see this here
http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/ishop/877/shopscr596.html

But I think instead of the side weights facing forwards they could maybe face downwards at an angle?

Any ideas?
Maybe someone might have tried this

 

lord_darth_vader built one of these. it works great you can run at full speed and the video is smooth as silk.

 

IIRC there have been tons of threads on this. I still want to build one sometime.

 

I built one and it works very well, but it surely does take a lot of practice. Take a LOT of note where each of your hands are. Any difference can destroy the balance and make it as if there's no steadicam at all.

~Neszis~

 

I also built one and it works well.

 

I've put up some pics of my full rig i'm in the process of building(nearly finished).
Here.

 

Okay.. I never quite understood how a steadycam works.

Anyone care to explain?

 

This site explains how a steadicam works.

 

Mind you, the "$14" version is only a stabilizer, it's not a true Steadicam. For one, Steadicam is actually a brand name.. there are other manufacturers (like GlideCam) that build similar devices. What the home-made versions do is nothing more or less than keeping the camera level. The extra weight also makes the motion slightly more stable, but that's simply a side effect, as it has more momentum than the camera itself has. But without the full body rig that gives you not only stabilization and smooth movement, but also the freedom to do anything you want with the camera.. it won't really be a Steadicam, and you won't get the same results. If these little home-made stabilizers were as good as the full body rig, they'd use 'em in Hollywood. But they don't..

I don't mean to shatter dreams or anything, but I'd rather people not get the idea that they can build this little gizmo from Home Depot parts in an hour and get the same sweeping shots that are possible with a true full-body stabilizer system.

 

Thats right Jedi2016 keep using the dark side

Well I think for a stablizer at $14 its still not bad.
Ive seen the shots that have been taken using this steadicam and they are a great improvement to just holding the camera. They may not be yielding results of those used in hollywood but Im betting they are a hell of a lot more value for money than the hollywood ones =P

So I would suggest anyone to build it

How many people agree with me?

 

I don't recall saying it wasn't useful, I was simply pointing out that it's not a Steadicam, it's a stabilizer. Those are two different devices. Fact is, it is quite a bargain if you can get it working properly. B&H sells similar stabilzers for several hundred dollars.

 

You know whats really bad
Well in American you guys have Home Depot
and the English wing of Home Depot is called BnQ

And guess what!!
They didnt have the parts I needed for the "Stabilizer" how bad is that??? And the size of that place!

Im going to have to go to a smaller local store to find the parts I need.

 

for me i just attach the cam to the tripod, hold onto the trip and then that helps to balance it.... just takes a little practice and a few takes

 

Mine was $23

How does he figure galvanized pipe is $1.50 apiece? Mine were $4.50!

Either way, it's worth it. For the price and the 20 minutes it took me to assemble it, it's great.

 

I built that one also. It works well, only I use a 5 pound weight, and that may be the problem of it swaying when moving up veritcally, not sure though. I still need practice holding it though, and I get muscles by the end of it.

(I couldn't find a stupid 2.5 barbel weight. Stupid Canadian Tire!)

 

we buildt one, it works great, cost us exactly $13.78 to build. Cant believe how much it helps.

 

How would the $14 steadycam compare to this? (Besides price, of course. )

 

The steadicam Jnr has a gimbaled handle(to allow paning and tilting),an adjustable camera plate(moves forward,backwards,left&right)for balancing and an optional monitor,those are the main differences.Plus it probably weighs a bit less than the $14 steadicam.
It's probably not fair to compare it with the steadicam jnr/glidecam,but there are plenty of commercial versions of the $14 steadicam which are really no better(ie .no gimbal,monitor etc).
One thing to remember with the hand held stabilizers is they get heavy when used for prolonged periods,unless your fairly strong/fit,you won't be able to hold out for very long,which is why i decided to build a full rig(Vest,arm,sled(with monitor).