D90 handheld?

R

Radikal

Member
I find very difficult to shoot acceptable video handheld.

The best home remedy I've found so far is to attach a monopod at its shortest setting and hold the camera with that. Someone suggested attaching a 5-pound weight to the bottom of the monopod.

Has anyone solved the hand-held problem yet for the Nikon D90?
 
Radikal said:
I find very difficult to shoot acceptable video handheld.

The best home remedy I've found so far is to attach a monopod at its shortest setting and hold the camera with that. Someone suggested attaching a 5-pound weight to the bottom of the monopod.

Has anyone solved the hand-held problem yet for the Nikon D90?
Click to expand...

attaching a weight to the bottom will work well. I'm using a steadytracker which uses the same concept......5 pounds would probably be too heavy though...try 2-3 pounds. I don't have any scales but I think my steadytracker has 2 pound weights on it. A D90 with battery and a prime lens weighs roughly 2.5 pounds so you want a similar weight on the bottom to balance it. there's some good diy steadicam designs out there if you google.
 
I'm using a hague mini stabilizer. Works great and the price is right. It's the best steadicam type device i've used for a small camera. Very easy to balance. You need more weights than it comes with but that's all. I've used it successfully with an 85 mm but on a 24 you're really flying pro style.
 
Is that the Hague mini motion one Matthius? The one that is designed for tiny camcorders?

If so, how do you find focusing the D90 w/the stabiliser, do you focus with the lens or with a FF etc?

I'm looking at something simple for keeping things steady myself. Have shot some live stuff as part of a live music thing I help out at, nothing major just ensuring we have some footage of the bands - www.frarl.com for one or two vids. Focusing and holding it after a while gets heavy!

Edit - all the vids were 105mm f2.8 manual I think.
 
I'm getting some really nice shots with a Zacuto handheld kit. 50mm lens is steady without a problem. Its pricey but modular and versatile enough I'm using most parts of the kit with other cameras in other configurations. More info in my reviews at my blog - www.maxo-facto.com/blog. Should have a new slightly more comprehensive post/video on the whole handheld thing up later today.
 
Yes that's the one. You can't focus while flying, not a chance, but you can put a finger on it to lock then very carefully adjust. I don't think it would support the extra weight of a remote ff.
 
shorter=less apparent shake

shorter=less apparent shake

Zak Forsman said:
something in the ballpark of a 28mm lens does wonders. the short in my sig is 100% handheld D90.
Click to expand...

In my experience, the shorter & more compact your lens, the less apparent the camera shake will be. I've found it much easier to shoot steady footage with prime lenses for this very reason: Nikkor primes, such as the f/2.8 28mm & the f/2.8 10.5mm are often 1/3 the length and 1/2 the weight of comparable zoom lenses.

Personally, I won't shoot handheld (or glidecam) with anything longer than 35mm. Maybe if I quit drinking coffee I could get away with a handlheld 50mm lens...I doubt there's anyone who could shoot steady handheld with anything as long as a 105mm lens. Even though I have a VR 80-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens, I'd never try to shoot handhelf video with it, and I'd be very hesitant to shoot handheld stills with it.

I worked for an old-school Brooks photographer who swore that he shot sharper, handheld pictures with heavier cameras: the extra weight served as ballast, and "dampened" the camera shake. That approach may work well with still photography, when the camera spends more time on a neckstrap than at eye-level, but in the video world muscle fatigue quickly sets in.


If you really want to build up your upper body strength & tone your core muscles, raise a child: three years of picking up & carrying an ever-heavier kid around have done wonders for my muscle endurance!
 
I chose the steadytracker over the merlin specifically because I can focus in-flight, it doesn't have a gimble your wrist is the gimble. The added weight makes it really stable for static shots but it's still light enough to carry around for as long as it takes to get the shot. Even with a 28mm lens I get lousy shots handheld so my D90 is always on a tripod or the steadytracker. It also doubles as a great weapon if someone decides to try and mug me for my camera!
 
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