Homemade Steadicam

how much noise does it make? any squeeking, ratteling, creaking that my be picked up durring recording while close up on your actors?

Jason
 
Any updates on the new sled?

Also, is it worth it to get Cody's vest book? I was thinking of just getting the Arm II and Sled II books. I want to build a front mounted version instead so that it is easier to transition between this rig and our ultra 2 steadicam (used on our bigger cameras).
 
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Just bumping this up so it doesn't get lost - I'm sure I'm not the only one anxious to see more of this. How is your recovery going? Hope you're well on the road to it.

Can't wait to see more progress on the steadicam! Keep us posted.
 
I would imagine that in the intervening years interest in the homebuilder market has probably reduced significantly, due to the number of companies (Proaim, Cinecity etc) that have come out with very low cost stabilizer rigs. Even before that, I think a lot of the folks who went down that road often admitted that the hours spent and the final costs were far more than anticipated. And of course, gimbal rigs have become the flavor of the month.
 
Even steadicam released the solo which sells for $300. I can't imagine building something that comes even close in that price range.
 
An old post needs a little boost sometimes. It is too bad that the HBS page is gone. Charles King really did a good job but I guess nothing lasts forever. I wonder if it could be born again as a Facebook group? I wonder. Thinking about making another DIY stabilizer just for old times sake. Have something to talk about.
 
Hey thanks Greg, a walk down memory lane. I see a few of my posts but of course no pics. But I still have all those pics on my computer somewhere.
 
This is one of those things that I eventually need to make, if only to prove to myself that I can. A jib and good slider are the other two things I need to make.
 
CharlesPapert said:
...... Even before that, I think a lot of the folks who went down that road often admitted that the hours spent and the final costs were far more than anticipated. ....
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Yes indeed. I really like to fabricate and I took advantage of the HBS site spreadsheets for spring calculations. But for one that likes to fabricate, I found it all a bit too much for the return on effort. By then, the clones were well on their way and it just didn't make sense to do it yourself.
 
Paul F said:
Yes indeed. I really like to fabricate and I took advantage of the HBS site spreadsheets for spring calculations. But for one that likes to fabricate, I found it all a bit too much for the return on effort. By then, the clones were well on their way and it just didn't make sense to do it yourself.
Click to expand...

Yes, something to consider.
 
Actually it was worth it. To buy a rig capable of holding and powering a full cinema package was and is still very expensive. If all you want to fly is an HVX200 or some other smaller camera then the rigs from cametv and proaim would probably be alright. But if you are looking at flying an ARRI Alexa or one of the other cinema cameras building a rig is certainly a way to go. Those of us that were building the higher end rigs weighed our options and it was feasible. Now with RED cameras being the size and weight they are you could probably buy an inexpensive rig but it might not have the best bearings in the arm or the gimbal might not be that accurate. And probably it would not have all the power outs and video outs that you would need and probably not industry standard LEMO connectors needed for connecting to real cinema accessories. Those connectors are not cheap, I found that out, but when it came time to hook up to film or video cameras my rig had all the right plugs and could hold the weight. In the end it was a fun thing to build and impressed some industry pros!
 
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