GH2 GH2 on Steadicam Smoothee

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PixelWrangler

Well-known member
Just wanted to share a setup of the modified Smoothee with the GH2 on it. Cheesycam came up with the idea for the mod - this is just my take on it.




Using the GH2 with the 20mm with AF on and in Program mode, just so I could focus in on flying the Steadicam. Thanks.
 
Hi,

While your quick release setup does work, you could probably gone with this Manfrotto like I did. Cheap, quick, effective...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554141-REG/Manfrotto_323_323_RC2_System_Quick.html


image.tiff


Nice footage!

Jeff
 
Jeff, does that plate fit directly into the Smoothee's mount? I just ordered mine, and had planned to cut down the GoPro mount like the original Cheesycam mod.
 
So here's a thought- tracked down this mount that goes from GoPro to 1/4". I don't like the extra height on such a thin mount- seems like it could end up being less trustworthy than mounting some Manfrotto mount, but might be worth a try.

I'm going to see if I can find one locally and see how it works with the Smoothee. Wish I'd thought of this two days ago when I ordered the Smoothee from B&H.
 
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The Drift to GoPro mount worked perfectly with the 20mm Panasonic lens. After drilling, removing the stock weights, trying all sorts of different weights and brackets, I found that I get it balanced really well just by adding the weights back in and hanging a few big washers just above weight area, and a little to the left.

PixelWrangler, did you ever figure out a way to get rid of that little bit of twist/drift you showed at the end of your video? I'm getting it too and I'm wondering if it has something to do with the unbalanced weight across the camera itself, with the screen acting as a "wing".
 
Elvis Deane - I took the rig apart and tried many different combinations of weight placement - Bracket on bottom, weights on bottom, weights just through center hole with no bracket, bracket perpendicular to rig in the shape of a "T", extra weight at the center of the arc(where Steadicam sliding black disc is.), adding weights - subtracting weights...none got me any better results. But when I put it back to the original configuration of the video, it was just about dead on. I tried decreasing weights to create a slower drop time only to find that the whole rig would start slowly drifting so I started adding weights.

I feel that the twist/drift can be minimized by fine tuning with the red knobs - Thankfully that it doesn't weigh much so you can hold it and make those fine tune adjustments. Each time that I place the cam on the rig it needs some fine tuning due to sliding the cam on the QR just a hair in one direction or another, or if the QR bracket shifted a bit, or the lower bracket may have been knocked off its position or the Steadicam black disc got moved. It may not be off by much, so it will only take a small amount of adjusting to get it back in balance - I'm talking millimeters in either direction. But taking the time to get a better balance is worth it, so even a novice like myself can get decent results.
 
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