Wow bob and Patrik, that is very good steadycam. you guys have done a good job. Wow! I guess Charles was right, when he said it takes time and patience. Yes Charles I read the HBS 101. Very good advice. Thank you. BTW, charles. I see you are flying a rig in your avatar. What rig is that? Is that your diy steadycam? And what's that thing on top? It looks like a circlcualr object.
Stabilizer under $20 and 45 minutes
- Thread starter mainstreetprod
- Start date
plainman007
Well-known member
Hi Mainstreet,
Saw your footage. Awesome. Thats almost as good as some pro shots ive seen in million dollar budget movies. Youve succeeded ill take it. I wish you all the best. Remmember that thing about the bumble bee according to science is not supposed to fly ?? He contradicts all the known laws of aerodynamics and physics. But yet he continues to fly. Because the bumble doesnt know all those things about science and ****. He thought he has wings and so believed he can fly. And fly he does till today. That belief is most important in anything we attempt. Best wishes.
Saw your footage. Awesome. Thats almost as good as some pro shots ive seen in million dollar budget movies. Youve succeeded ill take it. I wish you all the best. Remmember that thing about the bumble bee according to science is not supposed to fly ?? He contradicts all the known laws of aerodynamics and physics. But yet he continues to fly. Because the bumble doesnt know all those things about science and ****. He thought he has wings and so believed he can fly. And fly he does till today. That belief is most important in anything we attempt. Best wishes.
Patrick,
I missed your question about springs. I get springs from a company called Century Spring and I would have to do the math to figure out what to use in your instance. BTW, my sled with just the camera runs right at 15lbs on the short shaft. Anyway, the geometry of the arm with the angle at maximum is roughly 3:1 so you could figure it out from there. The only part you'd have to guess is the addtional weight of the arm. Hopefully that helps.
Bob
I missed your question about springs. I get springs from a company called Century Spring and I would have to do the math to figure out what to use in your instance. BTW, my sled with just the camera runs right at 15lbs on the short shaft. Anyway, the geometry of the arm with the angle at maximum is roughly 3:1 so you could figure it out from there. The only part you'd have to guess is the addtional weight of the arm. Hopefully that helps.
Bob
charles
Well-known member
Robban E. said:
Robban, glad you read the HBS 101. I'm updating it slowly but surely. Thanks for the comment. As for my avatar, I'm flying the AR from MK-v. You can see more pics of me on the Segway and other goodies on the main site of HBS. The AR is a little difficult to handle than normal rigs but once you get the hand of it, the possiblities are endless.
It's a whole different way of operating though but it was fun to have flown it.
mikkowilson
Steadi-Guru
VERY nice arm design Bob.
Not really an "Iso Elastic" design, but a really really simple way of adjusting both Lift and and "Bouncyness" ("Iso-elasticity").
Simple = effective.
- Mikko
Not really an "Iso Elastic" design, but a really really simple way of adjusting both Lift and and "Bouncyness" ("Iso-elasticity").
Simple = effective.
- Mikko
waefre
Well-known member
I don't think these types of devices should be written off so quickly. While they don't allow a true floating camera due to the lack of gimbal and offset balance they do provide a shift in the center of rotation as well as some much needed weight for a lighter camera. A major problem with this model is the steel piping. Having the weight distributed throughout the device doesn't add much to the stabilization. You need the weight low and out to the sides to reduce side to side rotation. Heavy pipes only makes for tired arms. I made a similar device a good while back using a monopod and a Tbar with weight on the ends. While not as smooth these style devices do let you have a lot more control as everything lies in the wrist while a gimbal requires constant concentrated monitoring to make the very precise and beautiful turns. I also find these types of devices are easier to use for long periods of time then a handheld stedicam, The monopod design allows you to plant the base and give your forearm a rest and can also held high overhead to get interesting crane type shots. Basically its great for event type functions. Is it a Stedicam replacement? No. But it has its purpose.
On another note I recently came up with my own version of the 20$ stabilizer which does use a gimbal and takes some pretty smooth shots. The secret to it all is thrift stores and rollerblade wheels. I'll post some pictures here.
On another note I recently came up with my own version of the 20$ stabilizer which does use a gimbal and takes some pretty smooth shots. The secret to it all is thrift stores and rollerblade wheels. I'll post some pictures here.
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kyle.presley
Well-known member
I built a "$14" stabilizer. It works, I've had it for years. Like any stabilizer it just takes practice.
TeamJoeDawn
Well-known member
waefre said:On another note I recently came up with my own version of the 20$ stabilizer which does use a gimbal and takes some pretty smooth shots. The secret to it all is thrift stores and rollerblade wheels. I'll post some pictures here.
Nice looking rig. Looks similar to the rig described in the book "Killer DV Camera Rigs". Did you get inspiration from that book?
Its a great book, BTW.
J
TeamJoeDawn
Well-known member
waefre said:
Can you give us more details, specifically like your base, and the way that you mounted what appears to be an expandable pole (with detent pin)... is that what the holes in the side of your main pole is for? Extension?
Thanks for sharing, great pics.
J
waefre
Well-known member
It's actually more adjustable than it appears. The underside of the plate is hollow and on each end there are several rectangular weights underneath which are attached with a single bolt. This allows them to swing left or right to adjust the balance. Perhaps it's not an ideal system butt it's what I had on hand and it works pretty well.
The main bulk of this rig is actually made from an old pair of crutches I had from a different project. Crutches are a great source of aluminum because they're hardened and very light weight. This rig is made from the bottom part of the crutch. I'd hoped that having it put together by the pins would come in handy for the expanding to change the weight balance or just taking it apart quickly for travel but unfortunetly they join a little loosely which causes a slight jiggle when running full speed. I'm probably going to replace them with bolts which can be clamped down tightly. The bottom part of the crutch was filled with melted zinc so that it could be drilled and tapped to fit the plate at the bottom. The collar around the wheel does not use bearings and merely rotates on the screws. That did get me thinking though and I'm pretty sure I can incorporate some more bearings in the next version. The collar is just 3/4 off the end of a steel clamped down to make an oval shape.
The main bulk of this rig is actually made from an old pair of crutches I had from a different project. Crutches are a great source of aluminum because they're hardened and very light weight. This rig is made from the bottom part of the crutch. I'd hoped that having it put together by the pins would come in handy for the expanding to change the weight balance or just taking it apart quickly for travel but unfortunetly they join a little loosely which causes a slight jiggle when running full speed. I'm probably going to replace them with bolts which can be clamped down tightly. The bottom part of the crutch was filled with melted zinc so that it could be drilled and tapped to fit the plate at the bottom. The collar around the wheel does not use bearings and merely rotates on the screws. That did get me thinking though and I'm pretty sure I can incorporate some more bearings in the next version. The collar is just 3/4 off the end of a steel clamped down to make an oval shape.
TeamJoeDawn
Well-known member
Nice work! And nice detail explaining it, thanks for the great construction pics. All great pieces of advice for construction.
J
J
TeamJoeDawn
Well-known member
Waefre,
What did you use as the foot rail, the one that you put the weights in on the bottom?
J
What did you use as the foot rail, the one that you put the weights in on the bottom?
J
mainstreetprod
Veteran
"I built a "$14" stabilizer. It works, I've had it for years. Like any stabilizer it just takes practice".
I haven't used mine that much , but just looked at some footage I shot when first built - and to me, it still looks good. A lot better than a camera held by the handle, which some posters maintained would look just as good. On a scale of 1-10 with a real steadicam being a 10 and a Glidecam
2000 being say a 7, I would give it (with practice) a solid 5 in smoothness. Not perfect- but a lot of improvement for $14. Works especially well on stairs. Due to the weight I am going to build another
of PVC. And maybe try a rollerblade wheel gimble.
I haven't used mine that much , but just looked at some footage I shot when first built - and to me, it still looks good. A lot better than a camera held by the handle, which some posters maintained would look just as good. On a scale of 1-10 with a real steadicam being a 10 and a Glidecam
2000 being say a 7, I would give it (with practice) a solid 5 in smoothness. Not perfect- but a lot of improvement for $14. Works especially well on stairs. Due to the weight I am going to build another
of PVC. And maybe try a rollerblade wheel gimble.
waefre
Well-known member
Ok so I posted a little bit of the test footage from my rig up to see. I'm still getting the hang of it and it suffers from the play at the bottom where the parts connect but otherwise its pretty decent stuff. Sorry about the Youtube quality but my webspace is a little overcrowded at the moment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8r6W78vpzQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8r6W78vpzQ