Came-tv steadicam any good?

S

scenedirector

Well-known member
Need some help.

I currently own a DJI Ronin. As great as it is, I know a stabilizer for the 4th access (vertical) needs to be added to make my moving shots perfect, to kill the "footsteps" in the shot. Plus, the rig is HEAVY handheld. I can only operate shots for just a couple of minutes before my shoulders start to feel like fire.

I've owned Steadicam brand stuff before. Though it is top notch, I don't really want to drop a lot of money on a vest mounted system.

I feel the Ronin stabilizes 90% of my shots. I was thinking of picking up a cheap knock off version of steadicam to help support the weight, and stabilize that last 10% of the moving image.
I already own the (overly priced) Cinemilled universal mount, so I can integrate my Ronin onto a steadicam system.

I'm thinking with this stabilizer:

http://www.came-tv.com/came-2515kg-load-pro-camera-steadicam-with-aluminum-case-p-91.html

It would be not that deep of an investment to get the "perfect" stabilization.

My only concern, as I know this rule very well in gear purchases: you get what you pay for. But I also don't want to pay an arm and a leg for the Steadicam brand.

I'm not looking for this system to be as refined as a steadicam being that I feel the refinement would be in the Ronin, but more so, is it durable enough to last? Is this system going to break down on me in just a few shoots? Even though it's under $1200, that's still $1200 that I don't want to just flush down the drain.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!!
 
I don't have any experience with that particular model, but I have an earlier model of vest and arm (some of the branding of CAME-TV is sold with different brand names etc.) - and it is quite good quality. It is well worth watching the review and comparison to different vest arm systems, here it is reviewed by Emm from cheesycam and I paid half of that CAME-TV you linked to:
[h=1]Wieldy Dual ISO Arm Vest Video Stabilizer[/h]Meanwhile here is a review of the issues with trying to marry a vest with a gimbal:

[h=1]Steadicam Merlin Vest with CAME 7000 3 Axis Gimbal[/h]
But if you are willing to spend up to $1200, which is a lot of money, consider this: you can get a Birdycam II for not much more $1400-$1800, and it appears to solve all the issues with the Ronin re: how heavy it is and tiring to operate - a participant here on dvxuser made an explicit comparison between the Ronin and the Birdycam and he went for the Birdycam exactly because of the issue you mentioned - discussed in this thread:

The simply massive Varavon Birdycam review.

but you should go to the post #5 with the right link to the review on vimeo (where he also discusses using the steadicam with the gimbal):

http://vimeopro.com/kevinconder/gear-review-the-varavon-birdycam
 
Thank you OldCorpse for the feedback.

I already have the Ronin. So I'm not in the market to purchasing a gimbal. And, being I have the Cinemilled universal plate, they show how to integrate the Ronin onto a vest mount system. Here's that video:

https://vimeo.com/103361343

So I'm looking for a traditional Vest mounted Steadicam system that is durable enough to last and can finish out my rigging of my DJI Ronin.

Hope this clarifies. Thanks!
 
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