SpiderBrace stabilizer?

PROS and CONS

A FEW THINGS I'VE DEALT WITH ON THE SPIDERBRACE...

PROS:

* I just got mine yesterday. It only took him 2 days to get my package.
* Very Durable.
* Well made.
* Despite the low price you get more for what you pay for.
* Great for certain type of shots (Play with it a bit and you'll see what I mean). You can really do some fun shots. I was able to play with the two front handles by placing the camera over my head and extending my arms (I'm 6'2) then bringing them down semi-smoothely for a "Jib-Like" shot. The fact it's so light, and the weight is distributed well on the brace helps.
You can hold the right handle and the back "pole" like a handle too and swing the camera around for some interesting shots also.

* Easy to put on and take off camera.
* Weight of Camera feels well distributed so you won't feel tired after long use.
* There is room on the handle to rig a zoom controller.

THE CONS:

* The back shoulder "pole" on the spiderbrace seems to be too short for me. It is not adjustable. So what happens is the lcd screen on the side is too close to my eyes (therefore making me a bit crosseyed after a few seconds). When I try using the viewfinder I can't because it fits almost where my chin is at.
* I've tried to e-mail him regarding this to see if there is a sane way to adjust this without breaking it. He hasn't locked yet. I'll give him a few days before I start talking about returns and such.
* This is not to say it doesn't work or will not work for you.
* It does have a slight "bounce to it"...I'm not sure about the "wobbling". This is due to the fact that it is made from PVC rather than aluminium. It's not out of hand or uncontrollable. Practice make perfect.


THE VERDICT:

***How can you go wrong with a $65.00 price tag. I'd be willing to keep it and take it to a shop somewhere and see if they could make an extension for it. It shouldn't cost much ( a few bucks at most).
Hope this helps gang!
I'll try to post some pics of what I mean and also measurements of the spiderbrace. If I can I'll even slap some footage on here.
 
Anybody using the mini-spiderbrace? I know I'll be doing lots of adjusting on the fly and it seems like this one might offer a little more freedom to negotiate iris settings and such. Just curious...
 
I'm not sure if it would be good for you. The way it mounts, might get in your way. If I can get the shoulder area lengthened I may end up buying some sort of remote for focusing, iris control and zooming (that's hopefully affordable).
As of today I haven't heard from the guy about my problem. I may have to go in to a PVC shop nearby and see if they can customize something for me.
I'm also looking into an aluminum shop that may be able to make a similiar device for almost the same price.
I'll let everyone know.
 
zev said:
I'm also looking into an aluminum shop that may be able to make a similiar device for almost the same price.
I'll let everyone know.
Click to expand...

That sounds great. Spiderbrace looks cool, but the PVC is somewhat of a deterrent. Great price nonetheless.
 
it lets you move the camera more like a real handheld film camera would move. your swivels and pans are done with your waist, and that is a smooth way to move the camera.
 
Well, I'm thinking very seriously about getting one of these things. I have a question for those of you already using one. Have you found that they cut down on shake when walking with them? Don't get me wrong, I realize this thing isn't a steadicam and there's no way in hell this would smooth footage in the same way, but does it help considerably for walking/tracking shots?

I have a shoot in June where I'm going to have to shoot a walking tour through a house. I told the producer that he should probably hire a steadicam operator but his budget won't allow it. I then stressed that we should probably restrict the shoot to tripod shots relying on pans for dynamic movement. Nope, he's deadset on POV walking shots. I warned him that the shots will definitely be AT LEAST a little bit shaky - probably much more than a little.

So, anyway, sorry to rattle on. What do you think, can I pull off some halfway-mediocre tracking shots with the spiderbrace?
 
I don't mean to divert attention away from your question and if I'd received mine I would gladly have answered it.

Just a quick aside...how many of you that have ordered the Spiderbrace are from Canada? Only asking because I ordered it last Tuesday, and on the 29th it was said to have left the U.S. and I have yet to receive it. Any idea on shipping times? I have a shoot on Saturday I was relying on this for.

-Kegan
 
dustino said:
Well, I'm thinking very seriously about getting one of these things. I have a question for those of you already using one. Have you found that they cut down on shake when walking with them? Don't get me wrong, I realize this thing isn't a steadicam and there's no way in hell this would smooth footage in the same way, but does it help considerably for walking/tracking shots?

I have a shoot in June where I'm going to have to shoot a walking tour through a house. I told the producer that he should probably hire a steadicam operator but his budget won't allow it. I then stressed that we should probably restrict the shoot to tripod shots relying on pans for dynamic movement. Nope, he's deadset on POV walking shots. I warned him that the shots will definitely be AT LEAST a little bit shaky - probably much more than a little.

So, anyway, sorry to rattle on. What do you think, can I pull off some halfway-mediocre tracking shots with the spiderbrace?
Click to expand...

I would say no.... one can imitate a steadicam by holding a camera in both hands as independently of the body as possible, but with a shoulder rig the camera will bob exactly as you do. The steadycam works by adding degrees of freedom, not removing them...

Now, if you work on your posture and kung-fu-stance motion with no bob, maybe it'll work... but not really better than handheld, I'd guess. Think of a mime, who can move is body around a fixed point he's pretending to hold on to... much harder if you imagine the fixed point is on his shoulder...
 
dustino said:
Well, I'm thinking very seriously about getting one of these things. I have a question for those of you already using one. Have you found that they cut down on shake when walking with them? Don't get me wrong, I realize this thing isn't a steadicam and there's no way in hell this would smooth footage in the same way, but does it help considerably for walking/tracking shots?

I have a shoot in June where I'm going to have to shoot a walking tour through a house. I told the producer that he should probably hire a steadicam operator but his budget won't allow it. I then stressed that we should probably restrict the shoot to tripod shots relying on pans for dynamic movement. Nope, he's deadset on POV walking shots. I warned him that the shots will definitely be AT LEAST a little bit shaky - probably much more than a little.

So, anyway, sorry to rattle on. What do you think, can I pull off some halfway-mediocre tracking shots with the spiderbrace?
Click to expand...

Mount the camera on a small cheap plastic tripod. then pick it up right under the head. the leg segments will act as a counter balance. you can get "smoother" shots that way... but in all honesty. There aint much you can do save a Dolley, or SteadiCAm.

The spider brace will not help much, it actually accentuates movement. cause teh bobbing of your body walking is now directly on camera.
 
I've already used it and it's a matter of just playing with it. I've already come up with some great handheld moves that I would not have had , if not for the SpiderBrace. Like I said, $65 bucks is nothing. We were joking on the set about me starting my own SpiderBrace "Kata" stances (ala Karate) using this toy.
 
TimurCivan said:
Mount the camera on a small cheap plastic tripod. then pick it up right under the head. the leg segments will act as a counter balance. you can get "smoother" shots that way... but in all honesty. There aint much you can do save a Dolley, or SteadiCAm.

The spider brace will not help much, it actually accentuates movement. cause teh bobbing of your body walking is now directly on camera.
Click to expand...

I came to this conclusion last night doing tests with handheld vs. "tripod steadicam". I used my regular semi-heavy tripod and the shots were surprisingly smooth (not steadicam-worthy of course). I think this and/or a wheelchair will work for the needs of my shoot in June.

Nevertheless, I'm getting a spiderbrace soon. Thanks for the input, guys.
 
That Spiderbrace looks cool, I might get one. The point of it is to get that steady shot right? Say if somebody is walking and your following them, or do some use it for other reasons, to get weird angle shots...?
 
I got mine today! Wow, when the delivery guy came to the door with the box I didn't think there was anything in it. I was suprised that it was so light! It's great and I'm sure it'll just take some getting used to. I like the size of it as well. Small and compact for what it does. I'll post more when I get a chance to test it out.

-Kegan
 
Brice! Geez man! That's quite a resurrection... I hate to do this to ya, but you've got to learn.

noob.jpg_thumb.jpg
 
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