Cast support steadicam?

rawfa

rawfa

Veteran
Hey guys, I just had a crazy idea. You know those metal supports that some people use when they break their arms? I have no idea how to do it, but I think that that hard core metal structure could originate a very decent cheapo steadicam (please don't stone me to death, Mikko). Just a tip for you DIY fellas to get cracking.
 
I don't what you're talking about... or maybe I do and I can't see how that would be a steadicam.
 
MiniMan13 said:
There is no such thing as a "Very decent cheapo Steadicam"
LOL
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I have to agree with this.

Though I would love to see some photos of what you are refering to Rawfa, I can't quite picture it.

- Mikko
 
I think you miss the basic idea behind the Steadicam. It is not how to hold the camera steady, but how to prevent angular movement of the hand reaching the camera. THAT is the main reason the footage is shaky, not the camera moving in space per se. It is quite ok it the camera moves a bit, as long as it POINTS AT THE SAME PLACE all the time.

This arm support thing might hold the camera in place quite well, but it does not have the gimbal assembly which makes steadycam a steadycam.
 
I have to agree, without a gimbal you really wouldn't cut down on the movement the camera.

And miniman13 is right there is no such thing as a cheapo steadicam.
 
I guess I made a poor use of words. It could be a nice camera support that takes the weight from your shoulders to your hips. Anyway, I suck at DIY and I have no technical knowledge to know what would make the best support. All I know is that some years ago all we had when it came to 35mm adapters was the PS Technics for like 6000 bucks, and today we have adapters like the letus35 for 350$ that will do a very decent job. If everybody had the "either you pay 6000$ for it or you'll have nothing" attitude the DIY section wouldn't exist. So, this "there's not such thing as a cheapo steadicam" attitude is really not going to fly with me and I'm sure thousands of other people think the same way. One day somebody with the creativity and technical knowledge will come along and defeat the system. It's just a matter of time.
 
Certainly it is possible to make a working "steadicam" system DIY way. First step would be a thorough understanding how Steadycam works. What we are here saying that the camera gimbal system and the counterweights are the parts which make the camera steady, not the support system which is there mostly to help carry the weight and secondly to facilitate smooth camera movements. This "cast support" you envision would propably hold the gimbal/counterweight/camera combo quite alright, but would be very limiting in movements (no up/down?).
 
Petrus said:
Certainly it is possible to make a working "steadicam" system DIY way. First step would be a thorough understanding how Steadycam works. What we are here saying that the camera gimbal system and the counterweights are the parts which make the camera steady, not the support system which is there mostly to help carry the weight and secondly to facilitate smooth camera movements. This "cast support" you envision would propably hold the gimbal/counterweight/camera combo quite alright, but would be very limiting in movements (no up/down?).
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It's like I said on my last post, THIS particular idea would not apply for a steadicam. But it could probably be better than a lot of shoulder supports otu there. I tried a coupled that were stressful on the shoulder.

My other comments were simply an observation that people should not settle down and say "oh well, I guess that if they say 6000$ than that must be it". When people say stuff like this or "there's not such a thing as a cheapo steadicam" what they are doing is to discourage pioneers that might be on the way to great discoveries. Let the little guy give it a try. DIY should be encouraged big time.
 
Ok well, Maybe my attitude was a bit harsh, but even a home made custom built rig will run you about a grand for the parts alone, and that aint exactly cheap.
 
Miniman13 is right. It cost me about a $1000 to build my rig and that was just the parts. Plus if you can't do the required machining yourself a skilled machinist will cost about $100 an hour (give or take)
 
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