F35: Chinese "Steadicam" + F35 (with footage)

B

Barrett Phillips

Member
So the unfortunately-named "Came-TV" is a company that made a steadicam clone for small to medium-heavy cameras; the rundown states "2.5-15kg" as its capacity. The price is currently listed at $829 USD, soooooo a bit less than industry standard to say the least, but I decided I'd give it a whirl.

The kit comes with a vest, arm, sled and tons of extra bits like power connectors for various barrel sizes, a faux LP-E6 power adapter, a monitor mount, really nice weights & other cool stuff like that. There are power (DC barrel, probably a bit weak for something like the F35), HDMI and SDI that run through the center post. I ordered a v-mount battery plate that comes ready-to-mount on the 15mm rods at the bottom end of the sled, it's decent but you have to tighten the knobs on the end quite a bit to keep the weight of the battery from still pushing it around. A minor qualm, and surprisingly it's the only other qualm I have with it so far – I've constantly been second-guessing how they could even sell a product like this at a profit. The center post can be extended and it is made from carbon fiber; almost everything else is some type of metal, the vest is well-made and even can unzip and let you throw some more padding in if a particular area is in discomfort.

Anyway the F35: It works!

(Feel free to reference the photos below, got my gf to get some shots of me with the rig on)

Right now I have SDI coming down the center post from Monitor Out 1 which goes to the DP7 and Monitor Out 2 goes to the Hyperdeck (I ordered a new cable that will keep me from having to go outside the post, so ignore the red cable). I mounted the Hyperdeck to a spare plate they happened to include in the package just using velcro. It's a bit early so I'll have to continue doing cable management but balancing it has been a breeze, out of luck I managed to get very close to dynamic balance on the first time setup.

I mounted the first battery (Lanparte 150Wh V-mounts) to the bottom to power the Hyperdeck/DP7 and I stuck another one on the F35 itself and that seems to work perfectly for convenience and weight. I do have the gimbal cinched up relatively high but if the camera were any heavier, I could extend the post or add more weights - I'm only using 1 weight and there are 10 or so total, 1 pound each they seem like. You can see the arm doesn't struggle to hold the weight.

I currently use the Lanparte quick release plates (QRP-01) for my tripod, shoulder rig and now the stabilizer (the narrow plate immediately below the camera).

Still_07_Square.jpgStill_09_Square.jpg

Here are a couple tests that my girlfriend kindly helped me with - she wasn't thrilled with being on camera so please be kind :)

I have some experience with various stabilizers but I am no steadicam pro so this footage isn't exactly the best you can get.

Here's a slightly out-of-focus follow shot (Prores HQ, 565MB)

Here's a walking-forwards-but-pointing-backwards shot (Prores HQ, 688MB)

I'll probably just want to magic marker the company name out :\

TL;DR it's a great stabilizer that will hold the F35, check out the footage above
 
Why bother with buying Chinese crap like this which will do nothing but cause you problems, make you look like a real amateur, and hurt your body, not to mention further hurt people like Mr. Brown who invented all of this stuff to begin with? Oh yeah and you are supporting the FAKE, scamming Chinese "film making equipment" markets that are screwing the real inventors and engineers out of livelihood. I really don't get it. Do it right or don't do it at all.
 
I'm already sticking little Nikon lenses on an F35, it doesn't get much more amateur than that, right?

As a huge fan of Garrett Brown myself I don't think he would be upset with me if I showed him my bank account and told him I wanted to occasionally get some smooth shots with my weird old CCD camera. Maybe he would sigh, but I don't think he would be angry. If someone's looking to break into the industry as a professional Steadicam operator, I have to be hopeful they won't look at my account as stating they should ditch the idea of a trusted brand and go with a cheap Chinese alternative. I just see gear like this pop up on the internet and occasionally curiosity gets the better of me. I'm only human :P
 
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As a professional working on lots of TV shows in LA, I see a lot of "old-school" operators like Vince who share the view that the wave of replica's out of China are complete crap. And most of them were at first, but there are some cinema parts being made now and sold for 1/5 the cost of the industry standard and work just as well. I agree it will kill american companies who did the R+D work to develop the parts in the first place, but this is the world we live in. I do not agree that the parts coming out of these markets are complete crap. I have seen some incredibly professional tools, i.e. Runlee monitors, and I couldn't believe the price. I own Arri equipment also so I know what the standard should be for a piece of cinema gear.

I think Barrett has been very clear he knows the steadicam is the professional standard, but to completely dismiss the subject because it's not an expensive arm, I don't understand. This is the 3rd and 4th generation of knock-off steadicams coming out so I believe it has some use to it. I also think there are lots of modifications you probably will do, replacing those loose screws, rewiring power cables, but the basic design of the arm is very close to the steadicam, and with practice, just like a real steadicam, can pull off nice shots.

What would the answer be to getting 15mm rods onto the setup to use a wireless follow focus? One bummer about the official F35 15mm riser plate is that it is a bit heavy.
 
Yes!!! I was looking into this steadicam a while back and almost went for it! Glad you got the F35 to work with it Barrett! The rig looks great and I'm sure it can be modified to be lighter as well.
Do you feel the rig needs more or less weight for it to be buttery smooth?

Also which lens did you have on? 24-70mm?
I bet the nikon 14-24 would be a killer combo!
 
But for real, tested this out before as a friend bought it- is suprpiringly well made, so cheap it HAS to be made with slave/child labor- no kidding.
 
I think this is their site., http://www.came-tv.com/

I think if it works for your projects, maybe you only use it 2-3 times a year, then why not. If you are doing commercial work well maybe then you step it up and don't use the cheap made stuff and rent/buy better gear..

But anyway watching the footage I think it works quite well. Looks only like the dynamic balance is off just a little.

Cheers and thanks for posting
 
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I came a little. That looks damn good. Nice find! Damn, now I don't feel so good about my super cheap steadicam purchase. No wonder steadicam ops are throwing their 80k units for so low. Here comes came.
 
Firstly, looks like a bouncy arm and sticky gimbal. but how can I really tell, as sometimes that can be operator error. I used one of these cheap rigs from a friend, and I hated it, it started falling apart on me too. But for indie features and weddings...

bang for buck is definitely there!


(your girlfriend is cute)
 
gross man - this is the last place on earth I would want someone to compliment my GF. Well maybe Reddit.
 
I live in my parents basement. Wifi here is perfect. But doesnt give me much time to date. Uh oh mother is calling.
 
that's only because mother makes me do that - she makes me shoot and come back and give her my earnings. She doesn't make much as a pensioner. So I have to go out, shoot corporate videos and birthday parties like Mac to make ends meet.
 
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