$40 Steadicam...you seen this?

[Mickey Munday]

has anyone here ever used this guy's method on building your own steadicam for cheap or bought his $40 steadicam??

if so, what was your experience with it and how do you think this steadicam would hold up with a DVX100?

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/

[mikkowilson]

It's a joke that breaks every principle of how a real Steadicam works.

- Mikko

[Mickey Munday]

i figured it may be too good to be true but can you tell me why you say it is a joke and what the difference between a "real steadicam" and this cheap one? he's got some footage on the website and it looks pretty smooth would it not give the same results with a dvx100?

i don't know anything about steadicams except what they look like (glidecam pro, etc).

[mikkowilson]

Heh, first off, A Glidecam isn't a Steadicam, it's a knock-off.

The demo footage on his site doesn't shake all over the place like a handheld camera, which is fair enough, but it's MILES from being smooth like true Steadicam footage it.

The Steadicam works on a principle of distributed balanced masses, that are then isolated from the operator by way of a gimble while providing a control point at the systems center of gravity.
The $14 contraption is horribly horribly out of balance, meaning that you are fighting the rig the whole time; and it has no gimble, or other sort of isolation from the operator, meaning that you still have to hold it steady for it to work (unlike a Steadicam, which you can quite literally run & jump around and it will barely move).

- Mikko

[stinkpot]

And the picture of him filming something in the toilet speaks volumes...

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/files/final.jpg

[ryan brown]

And the picture of him filming something in the toilet speaks volumes...

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/files/final.jpg

HA!!!

[Mickey Munday]

lol, that's pretty funny, but what do you think about this footage he did with it: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/ebay/two_cams2.mov

[NOMADIC]

...also, its a little handycam on that "murder device" , not a dvx or a hvx.... plus if you have a 35mm adapter mounted... plus a little lcd monitor... try to hold it up for more than 2 min and your arms are going to get really tired.

[Mickey Munday]

...also, its a little handycam on that "murder device" , not a dvx or a hvx.... plus if you have a 35mm adapter mounted... plus a little lcd monitor... try to hold it up for more than 2 min and your arms are going to get really tired.


that's what i thought at first until i saw this link: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/ebay/two_cams2.mov

that looks like a dvx or sony cam. not everybody uses 35mm adaptors.

[vidled]

You should buy it and report back & include some footage.

[Mickey Munday]

a guy at my job just ordered it today and he has a dvx100. i tried to play devil' advocate with him about it but i don't know enough about it or steadicams to say anything of signifigance. our job footed the bill so i guess i'll see how it works soon enough. i'll post his footage. i'm learning a friend's varicam for the next couple of weeks so no way am i testing it, lol.

[PaPa]

you do about the same without buying his package. Just grab one of your tripods, add some weight at the bottom, and now you have the same thing ,except you can adjust the length of the rig and have a tilt/pan head.

why spend the dough?

[JasonFox]

This was actually one of the first things I built after getting my DVX. For the money, it works great. I don't use it now that I have a heavier rig (Brevis, etc.), but as long as your goal is smoothER and not steadicam perfect, it ain't bad. Although you will need/get beefy arms.

[HBlack]

I built one, and it wasn't too effective. I think I need to make it bigger though.

[Logan LeBlanc]

I'll sell you mine, Micky.

[DM_rider]

This is what you get for $40? yikes... that maybe costs $10 max at home depot... maybe less...

what a joke
http://littlegreatideas.com/steadycam/kit_parts_big.jpg

[novelt]

what a joke

um he's charging $40 for him building it for you and shipping it to you. it plainly says on his page that the rig is $14. ;)

by the way i built one though i made a few mods to mine. like a 45degree arm. i attached a monitor and i recommended the platform for larger cameras. now add the camera, the monitor, and the wide angle lens and that thing is heavier than hell. but if you're using it for a few quick shots then it's not a problem. i though shot a volleyball tournament using it and well 11hours wasn't my cup-a-tea, but i managed. the next day i took my tripod and switched between the two. i haven't perfected my waling around with it, but overall use it was great. especially comparing shots not using it. when i first built it i was running up and down my hall and there was no shake. even when i bumped into the "water closet" door...you can hear the thud, but there's hardly any movement in the shot.

[DM_rider]

um he's charging $40 for him building it for you and shipping it to you. it plainly says on his page that the rig is $14. ;)


I guess my point is that putting those parts together is a matter of buying the right parts and screwing them together, it looks extremely easy even for someone that's not super handy. It just doesn't seem worth $40 to have someone build that for you...

[J.R. Hudson]

Well

Factor in going to the store; Home Depot and a Sporting Goods place for the Plate and bike grips

Gas, time and energy spent there and back, coming home, putting it together

Let's say that takes you 2 hours or so total to do it all

Is your time worth more than $20.00 an hour ?

[Kdawg]

True John, and the fact that this guy has made and used it effectively. I do not think I can get that steady footage with that item. It would take practice, however the whole idea is to do it without the ois enabled to get the highest pixel count, and smooth not jittered progressive footage. The cheaper steadycams like the merlin use a rotational gymbal along with the counter weight.

[jmc]

I built one of these for my little panasonic handy cam, and for those little cams, this works great. Their dimensions are so small that tilting them off-axis takes almost no force at all, so trying to hand-hold those is very jiggly. The point of this rig is to increase the force required to move the camera off-axis.

Because of the inherent imbalance in the base design, I added a second handle to form a cross, with weights on each side, plus the bottom. My only regrets were that I didn't practice enough before my shoot, and it could really, really use a quick release. Trying to unscrew it to move to a tripod took way too long.

What is important to realize about this device is that the samples you see on his site are as good as you can get with this thing. If you need smoother than that, you'll need a better rig. So for someone like Mikko, this is unmitigated $*!%, but for someone like me, it was worth the $20.

[Arson]

basically this just adds some weight to your camera . it can be replaced by carrying a $2 sandbag

[JasonDexter]

i built one and it worked for me. it might not be as smooth as an expensive authentic steady cam, but when you have $2.00 budget you have to do what you have to do. some people in here sound like snobs.

and i do believe this is the DIY section.

[Mickey Munday]

lol...

[GuyS]

I built one of these initially. The basic principle is that it changes the centre of gravity from close to the camera and your hand to a point lower down the rig. By changing the center of gravity you can definitely get an improvement when shooting handheld. It will dampen movements. Unfortunately there is limited control.

I have since purchased a Merlin Steadicam and would suggest investing your time learning the benefits of a true steadicam.

[brandonburtner]

I made one of these this summer. These days $14 won't cut it since black iron has gone up so much, but I think mine was like $25. I used to work on a construction yard so cutting the pipe and drilling the caps wasn't a problem, I used their equipment. For a guy with no money that wants to get some decent footage, I think it is a great little device. I use mine once every few weeks. Best $25 and 30 minutes I've ever spent. I have also made and sold 2 of these things since I made my own. It's not professional, but not all of us are lucky enough to be professionals yet.

"...also, its a little handycam on that "murder device" , not a dvx or a hvx.... plus if you have a 35mm adapter mounted... plus a little lcd monitor... try to hold it up for more than 2 min and your arms are going to get really tired."

Well I mean, if you have a 35mm adapter and an LCD monitor, you can probably afford something a little nicer than this glidecam.

[JasonDexter]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4b7mMZSR2Pk

heres one i did with mine, no one behind me guiding me, it could have been smoother but it was take 4 and i was tired..all opinions welcome

[vidled]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4b7mMZSR2Pk

heres one i did with mine, no one behind me guiding me, it could have been smoother but it was take 4 and i was tired..all opinions welcome

That's pretty darn good!!! Kudos.
Not too fond of the music, but I am partial to single (or long) takes/shots, and this was very well executed, so again, kudos to the artist, the cam op & director. Well done!

[mikkowilson]

Looks like good handheld operating.

- Mikko

[Mickey Munday]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4b7mMZSR2Pk

heres one i did with mine, no one behind me guiding me, it could have been smoother but it was take 4 and i was tired..all opinions welcome


that was pretty cool. ...but here's the million dollar question: what kind of camera was used?

did you use the same materials as the asian guy in the website did?

[JasonDexter]

dvx100b
used the same equipment but I painted my pipes
and i added bicycle grips

with more practice im getting better. I forgot to mention also on that shot i had a radio stuffed in my waist band so he could lip-sync to, which made it harder to control the thing.

im flying out to vegas today to film a commercial, but when i get back ill up;load a different version of the same sons with alot more walking and tell me its not really smooth

[novelt]

jasondexter...

that was good. i have one and i say it's worth having. besides as pointed out by someone else this is the DIY section. so everyone else who's basically hatin must realize they're making no sense at all :) i mean seriously why even have a DIY section just to hear somebody say "go buy the real thing" :grin:

[karapetkov]

"DIY or DIE" :).

...

I wonder if the author of this line isn't here somewhere ...

[snowleopard]

Two other things to know here are that one of the hardest things to do with any Steadicam isn't to run like mad, but to do slow, flowing and circling shots. With these cheap, non-gimble units (or poor gimble units) panning can be very abrupt and jerky in spots. Watch closely and you'll see it. Footage looks smooth, then a slightly jolting bump in a pan.

[ullanta]

I guess my point is that putting those parts together is a matter of buying the right parts and screwing them together, it looks extremely easy even for someone that's not super handy. It just doesn't seem worth $40 to have someone build that for you...

Not quite - the parts don't all come screwed together. The $40 goes towards bending the U-shaped piece precisely, and drilling a hole or two through the metal end-caps. For those without tools to do these things, the $40 is worthwhile; if you don't have the tools (or don't want to deal with it), $40 is not a bad deal.

Anyway, I have one of these, and as has been said - it's a good and useful DIY solution, but not as good as a steadicam.

Mikko - I'm not going to claim this is anywhere near as good as a steadicam, but it's not as bad as you say... compared to handheld, you are far more decoupled from the camera. The way I hold this contaption (with my hand UNDER the crossbar) the whole thing kinda "floats" on the hand, like a super-cheap "meat gimble". (Floats heavily, sure)... I've toyed with the idea of modding the thing so that I could put my hand in a better place and "float" the rig on ball bearings... but haven't gotten around to it...

[novelt]

so that I could put my hand in a better place and "float" the rig on ball bearings...

hmmm sweet now you've got me thinking...

[CameronMcC]

anybody ever do a ball bearing version

[ESTEBEVERDE]

that was pretty cool. ...but here's the million dollar question: what kind of camera was used?

did you use the same materials as the asian guy in the website did?

The "asian" guy!?!?!?


Really!?!?!


WTF difference does it make that he's presumably Asian????

[DeeVeeX]

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/ebay/two_cams2.mov
It is a DVX. I might look into it a little more. If I do, I'll let you know what it's like.

The only problem is that you actually have to tilt the whole device to tilt the cam...that is kind of awkward.

[Mickey Munday]

The "asian" guy!?!?!?


Really!?!?!


WTF difference does it make that he's presumably Asian????

i'm half asian jackass get a life

[Batutta]

That "asian" guy also did this--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOOCY5Bc_OA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s5EvhHy7eQ

[ESTEBEVERDE]

i'm half asian jackass get a life



The "asian" guy!?!?!?


Really!?!?!


WTF difference does it make that he's presumably Asian????


And WTF difference does it make that you're "half asian jackass"???? ;-)

[Rentafilmer]

Hey everyone,
I'm a student in the mechanical engineering program at U of Min.

The goal of a steadicam is to be a static system. This meaning you want the torque of the system to be zero (no rotational motion about the center of mass) no matter how you accelerate the system. The best way to do this is to put the center of mass at the point where you will be exerting a force on the system. This point is the handle of the steadicam.

This is the most important part of making an effective steadicam.
I havent made a steadicam but I ended up reading through this post and thought my two cents may be helpfull.

If your having problems with your steadicam try holding it horizontal to the ground (with the camera attached) and balancing it in one hand. Where your hand is when it is balanced is the center of mass and where you should hold it when you are shooting.

Hope this was helpfull.

[morgan_moore]

I dont think it is a total joke - this method can improve your footage

The design is a bit wrong though

The holding hand kept loose actually works as a kind of gimbal

The camera should be as close as possible to the camera not raised like this example because a small move will move the camera a long way round the pivot

WHile I like the bar out the side it should be weighted (both sides) to make unintended rotational movement more difficult

Also that bar should not be held onto - rotational movement should be controlled with the other hand at a position near the lens and 'gimbal'

Of course a real steadicam is in another world I however am not convinced about small steadicams on light cameras - very tricky

Of course a heavy weight will kill your arm and back - lighter weight - longer post is better - but a long post means you may kick it or hit something - guarenteed non smooth shot

[hoarp001]

The reason this design appears to help the footage is because it eliminates the camera rolling, which is the most disturbing axis of movement to see. Because of the extra wight it helps to dampen sharp jerky movements but it is not as effective as a proper steadicam...

[Brickhouse Media]

I built one of these a few months ago initailly for my little Panasonic 320. It was pretty heavy with my DVX but I'm pretty big so no prob. I covered the pipe with foam pipe insulation. I like the way you can flip it and get the camera good and low. These things are inexpensive and do make a difference.

[snowleopard]

The holding hand kept loose actually works as a kind of gimbalThis is the principle behind the Streadytracker (http://www.steadytracker.com/steady10.html). While not an ideal unit, it's easy to get used to as it has no actual gimbal. It has a proprietary pad of sorts that you put your hand under, and it works pretty well. It's drawback, just like any other without a gimbal, is in rotation shots, and 360's are almost impossible. Start watching this clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F532ozvACGg&) at :15, and for five seconds you can see how well the unit really works, until at :22 you can see the "flaw" I'm talking about. ANY steadicam unit with no gimbal, even the Steadytracker and it's pseudo-gimbal pad, are prone to this. The Steadytracker is also prone to dutch shots (if you like them, cool!)

Compare that footage to this clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW4Qm9mpuSc), done with a Glidecam that has a gimbal, and the pans look much more smooth. However, gimbals are trickier to get used to, especially when not part of a full (vest) unit (going from word here, not experience), and you must hold the entire camera & unit with your arm. My experience is also that the higher the prices, the better the gimbal. The Glidecam 4000 and Merlin have nice gimbals that aren't as prone to drifting, or overcorrecting as lower end units.

Shooting with a very wide angle lens, or slowing the footage down, both assist in smoother motion footage.

A bigger key than all of this is practice, practice, practice. Bill Butler and Mike Chapman shot all the boat shots on Jaws hand held. They got to that level of skill from practice.

[Isaac_Brody]

Please keep this thread on topic and take into account that this website has an international user base and it's easy to unintentionally offend people.