$40 Steadicam...you seen this?

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

final.jpg
 
...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.
 
NOMADIC said:
...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.
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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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
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.
 
what a joke
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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.
 
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novelt said:
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. ;)
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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...
 
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 ?
 
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.
 
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