Simple DIY Handheld Stabilizer

W

wjm

Well-known member
Footage is surprisingly smooth.

I'l post details later if anybody is interested...

stable01.jpg


EDIT BELOW

Added some sample footage.

Obviously, I need WAY more practice, but it's a start. I knew from reading on this forum and from trying a few other DIY stablizers that practice makes it work more than the unit itself. Gotta get that "Groucho Marx" walk down.

I ordered a Bogen quick release plate assembly which will be here Friday and then I will post more footage. I am also going to add a rubber gasket between the washers to better lock down the handles and prevent unwanted rotation.


multi_angle.jpg


BTW the Bogen Quick Release is beautiful - simple, strong, smart. Highly recommended.

Hose Handles: Serial # 077855825355 - $6.93 USD each at Home Depot
Aluminum Bar: Custom, found at local parts place. Home Depot offers some, but they are not "L" shaped as mine is. Not sure if it makes much of a difference - just make sure the bar is wide enough on top to accomodate the 1/2 holes drilled for each handle. Depends on the handles you use, and the way they attach to the bar.
Various washers and fittings. To attach the Bogen QuickRelease plate, I just used one of the 1/4" attachment screws that came with the plate. Works like a charm.

Hope this helps everybody. Now I have to go practice some more.
 
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Here's the original photo.

original.jpg


I just knocked it out using Photoshop and added back the shadows.

As to flex, the aluminum is light but fairly thick and doesn't flex at all.

The handles are two hose attachments. I might add a pvc threaded pipe to each handle to attach an external monitor, light, whatever.

Total cost from Home Depot and parts store: $17.95
 
I'd like to know if you were able to get smooth shots while you were walking with the camera. Also, how did you attach the aluminum bar to the base of the camera? I'd like to see some more detailed pictures. Thank you.
 
wjm said:
The handles are two hose attachments. I might add a pvc threaded pipe to each handle to attach an external monitor, light, whatever.

Total cost from Home Depot and parts store: $17.95
Click to expand...

Hose handles?

I will NEVER cease to be amazed by the ingenuity of the people who use this forum.

Nice job.

J
 
They used a similar thing on winterbottom's "in this world". The makers f the rig have added Lanc controls to the handle.

Very nice job. Looks great. Elipse is putting out a handle that is similar as well.

This setup kills the fig rig in my opinion.

Great work!
-rook
 
Added some sample footage.

Obviously, I need WAY more practice, but it's a start. I knew from reading on this forum and from trying a few other DIY stablizers that practice makes it work more than the unit itself. Gotta get that "Groucho Marx" walk down.

I ordered a Bogen quick release plate assembly which will be here Friday and then I will post more footage. I am also going to add a rubber gasket between the washers to better lock down the handles and prevent unwanted rotation.
 
Lovely footage. How did you CC? The movement is nice, the postioning of the handles should means it handles similarly to the FigRig too. Great work, next item on my todo list :)

Great little actor too ;)
 
wjm,

I would like to see a picture of how you mounted the camera unto the aluminum strip . I'd like to see an image of the bottom of the setup.
 
ReneH said:
wjm,

I would like to see a picture of how you mounted the camera unto the aluminum strip . I'd like to see an image of the bottom of the setup.
Click to expand...
RIght now it's attached with (YIKES) duct tape, wrapped tightly around the quick release plate from a crappy $99 tripod. As mentioned above, I ordered a Bogen quick release plate. I have no idea how that's going to mount because I haven't seen the underside of that, either. I have a 1/2 hole drilled in the center of the aluminum bar, so that's what I am anticipating using somehow... Anybody know generally how these are mounted to other things? I guess I'll find out soon enough anyway...
 
Thanks, Anthony.

And thanks, everybody else, too, for the nice comments.

Color Correction was me just aiming for different looks appropriate for the individual shot. Some of the indoor stuff with my daughter was turned into BW because a few of those shots had some serious low-light issues, and high contrast BW seemed to play well to those.

The tree shot was fun to CC because I was able to fill in the brown patches of the lawn using multiple instances of the 3-Way Color Corrector filter. And the sky is more blue now, as it was fairly overcast. It was an enjoyable experiment turning my crappy, unlit and unrehearsed test footage into something different. Oh, and some of the shots are in reverse, (stairs, daughter walking toward camera). She was walking from room to room backwards (her latest thrill), and it made her gait a little odd when played in reverse.

Walk smoothly is still the challenge, and I find that just when I think I've got it, my footage will expose me for the rookie I am. Practice, practice, practice..........

Oh, and I find I get more a more natural look with the Optical Image Stablization (OIS) off. When it's ON (like in the shoes+moon shot) you get a weird motion effect. While having OIS OFF makes your shots less stable, the effect can be less distracting.

My current thinking is this:

OIS Situations:
- For static handheld, low/slow movement, and high zoom shots.

Non-OIS Situations:
- Walking, stairs, motion shots, etc.

Oh, and THANKS to MattInSTL, from another thread, for the B&H link to the different Bogen plates. I chose this one because I intend to pick up a Bogen 516 head for my new carbon fiber sticks.
 
lol, the bogen quick relase adapter and plate kills this DIY deal....$43! The other suggestion of a cheap plate is good or just attempt to build one yourself.

What would be the piont of mounting the stabalizer onto the tripod? Jus tot have the convience of not taking off the quick release plate of the stabalizer?
 
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