Has anyone attempted a DIY Stedicam?

[araujofh]

Hello guys,

I am going to attempt to make a DIY steadycam. Similar to the one found on this page: http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/

Has anyone tried it?

How fluid is it?

Would it be better to buy one? Like the Flowpod or Glidecam?

Thanks in advance

Fidel

[Anhar_Miah]

thanks for this link i'll keep ma eye on this. :D

[GenJerDan]

I went out and bought all the stuff to make one myself...

The hard part is the mount up top, unless you want to cannibalize a tripod.

I gave up and bought a SteadyTrackerXTreme. :D

But I will make my own dolly and jib. Found a surveyors tripod kit for $30. Heavy duty, so should work great for the jib mount. And It came with a laser level, so I've been driving the cats crazy with the little red dot zipping around the apartment. That alone was worth the $30.

Dan

[taubkin]

It's not very fluid, but if you have the skills you can get some good shots. I don't have them, so all I got was shaky handheld fotage...

[ian lucero]

watching the footage gave me the ole "crooked neck" You know when you watch footage that is not horizontal. That's what i found with all the test footage was that none of the shots were horizontal. I hate getting crooked neck. I think the same "fluid" shots demonstrated here can be done using just the DVX's handle and practicing your "walk". It seems like you can get pretty good at using DIY way. I'd like to see some footage where the person actually Practiced the shots to make them more fluid.

cool either way. shit $14 how can beat that if you're on a budget?

[dubeux]

I made myself something similar to that one. Gotta practice to be able to shoot something fluid, but I like it. It´s rather simple, but the weight at the bottom really helps.
There's lots to discuss about. If you wanna go further, check this:
http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/

And if you wanna dive into theory, check these:
http://www.regnstrom.com/flystand/
http://videoschmideo.com/Stedifaq.1.html

I used PVC pipes, and attached my ME66 with a kind of Tee - and here I go, kind of a one man crew.

Theo

[PFP_VIDEO]

Yes, I built one but I did it a little different. I used pipe fittings on the bottom to hold the weight. I found an old tabletop tripod, pulled the middle section with heade on it, and it slide perfectly into the top hollow hole of the pipe. On the side I used 2 small pieces of pipe and mad a L shaped upside down hand. On the handle is bike handlebar grip foam, and in the middle of the rig I have the same. It takes alot of practice, but I have to say, if you weight it right, it balances perfect. I'll try to post some pics and footage next week when I get home.

[taubkin]

Hey, another Brazilian in the Boards!

Cool!

;D

[araujofh]

watching the footage gave me the ole "crooked neck" You know when you watch footage that is not horizontal. That's what i found with all the test footage was that none of the shots were horizontal. I hate getting crooked neck.

I also noticed the oblique footage. It put me off. But I'll give it a try. I don't really know if it will cost me $14, cause over here in england things tend to be a little expensive.

All the best

Fidel.

[cjoyce]

I built on exactly like it except I used a cheap tripod head for quick release. It smooths out the lightweight camera. By that I mean, due to the downward resistance from the weights, your muscles are fully engaged and it allows you to do simple walking etc. Is it a steady cam.... NO. Is it better than nothing.... YES. Is it better than folding your legs on your tripod in and using it to steady your shots.... SAME.

I also built a gimbled steady cam with counter weights. Talk about loosy goosy. I had to practice 30 mins a day for a week or two to get that footage even watchable. But now, WOW. The secret in all these steady cam things, I believe are the 2 axis gimbels with bearings. Balancing your camera is a real treat and don't add a bigger battery or light or anything once your are balanced or you'll need to rebalance.

The more money you have, obviously you will buy out most of the heartache.... holding by hand vs chest vest, battery source mounted on steady device, monitor mounted on steady device for realistic viewing just name a few.

http://www.magiqcam.com has about the most reasonable outfit.

fwiw,
Chris

[ddh]

I use a monopod brass weighted at the bottom and with a table stand tripod base and it works pretty much like the do it yourself steady-pipe. I use it in crowded scenes. It gives me a small space to operate from, flies and is reasonable stable on the small base. Verizoom makes a pretty good and not too expensive mono-pod that flies. I'd check that out.

[dubeux]

Hey, taubkin. Nice to see brazilians here.

Fidel, as you can see, each one makes it according to its possibilities. I used only PVC pipes, covering it with sort of rubber, used with hot water pipes.
Also, for the weight, I just attached another PVC Tee to hold it. Don´t know exactly how much I spent, but it was surely no more then $15 - $20.
The quick release is definitely a problem. I still don't know how to solve it, since it´s not easy for me to find a cheap/used tripod head. So, I keep screwing it.

[araujofh]

Also, for the weight, I just attached another PVC Tee to hold it. Don´t know exactly how much I spent, but it was surely no more then $15 - $20.

Yes, but don't forget that you are in Brazil. Things over there are much, much cheaper when comparing to the UK.

Anyway, obrigado pela sugestao.

All the best

Fidel.

[adolgin]

Take a look at this http://www.dolgin.net/Director.htm
It is a bit more than $14, as the parts I bought from a bike shop were about $100, but the Bogen automatic monopod has its own advantages, and the handle is adjustable. The 4 min. clip is there too.
Alex Dolgin