Steddiepod Demo Video

wow, that is some seriously impressive footage.

that thing is like an all on one dream for videographers. Sick 10 on 10 for that.

however i have achieved much more stable and smooth shots with my glidecam2000 pro. So probably wouldnt use it for those kinds of shots, but it does offer alot more.

where is the price tag... looking.
 
I was gonna refer your footage PaPa on how smooth the video wasn't. I saw a lot of bounce and sometimes jerks. Operator smoothness would lessen that I'm sure?
What about a larger camera on that baby?
Maybe show us some footage chasing a monkey?
Looks like a fun product if it will hold my DVX.
 
but still, it doesnt look like a steadicam, but it is somewhat of a stabilizer. Plus its a whole lot more bang for your buck too.

but i guess its hard to judge as most of the steadi shots were using a bigtime wideangle lens, so that really makes the job easier on the operator, as opposed to using a telephoto lens, where any movement dramatically alters the frame. So he gets some freebies there.

The reason that steadipod will never be a perfect stabilizer is not because it doesnt have a gimble, it does, but its the fact that you cant counterbalance the weight and set the proper innertia to the lower section to compensate for the cameras weight. Which is why you get smooth shots, but there will be rocking, and there will be bouncing from footsteps ( less obvious than the rocking )
 
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So what's the difference between the steddiepod and this (add a Bogen 503 head).

It looks a little weak for a DVX or HVX.

Also Papa's right, how can you judge steadiness with a super-wide angle lens?

I'm all for inspired ideas, but I've been using my monopod like this for a while now.

I've also found that if I strap ankle weights to the bottom of my monopod, I can achieve a nice counter balance, making for much smoother footage.
 
it probably doesnt matter that much the maximum weight because there are no counter balances. so dont worry about that.
 
http://www.qtechnologies.com/us/steadipod/index.htm
So when I saw the thread and read it I decided to find it and found this instead. Looks interesting at 2.5 punds with a gimble and shoulder set-up etc. I suppose since I am new here this has been reviewed , but I couldn't seem to find a link.
A few minutes after I posted I did find a link from 2003 but no real hands on exerience just a comment form someone who says they saw it and it looked cheap. It is made by a company called Milde . The design is pretty cool.
Seems the more I use the search engine the better I get.. more reviews.. one saying its heavy sorry for wasting the space here folks...
 
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art metal art said:
PaPa.....I meant that your video was smooth compared to this Steddiepod....just to keep my reference clear
Click to expand...


lol, no worries, thats what i got out of it :)
 
Hmm... Shameless advertizing much Michelle?

Interesting footage - there are definatly some very cool shots in there. But there where also a lot of shots that almost made me sick.

A good portion of the demo was smooth in the way that a boat is smooth - there are few real jerks, but the shot is never really level or exactly on course. That weaving through the bushes shot was just nuts. And some of the rolls in the casino wheren't much better.

The low shot by the pool was cool. Still far from a Steadicam lowmode shot (that can do the same, but smoother), but was very creative and looked decent.

The tri-mono-pod mode looks handy - similar to that Manfrotto monopod posted above. Though I must correct Papa that the Steddiepod does have counterweights on the 3 legs to help balnce the camera, however there is no Gimble on the Steddiepod, so it's stabilisation is severly limited by the operator just like the SteadyTracker.

As to showing stability, that wide angle lense not only skews the image, but any shakyness too. A serious demonstration should be done at something closer to 50mm - and much more if you wish to show off good stabilzing from a system. That demo is just shot too wide to judge stability. Check out how much it shakes during that music video in teh diner at the end. That's the only stability shot I see without a super-wide lens, and it's prety bad.
Go look at PaPa's Glidecam shots, or My steadicam shots, then you'll see what "Steady" is about. heck, check out www.steadishots.org for hours of beautifull smoothness from the living masters of the Steadicam world.


A couple of cool and creative shots in there, but for the most part very wide and still not steady, or loopy enough to make anyone seasick. Fine as a monipod, lousy as a stabilizer. Thumbsdown from me.

- Mikko
 
Ooooops!!!

I must apologize to everyone. I had no idea that when I uploaded our silky smooth rock steady demo that it would play back all jerky. Talk about egg on our faces!!!!! When I showed Eddie the internet playback, he thought halloween had come early (scary!).

Until we figure our how to get it to playback correctly on the internet, I invite anyone interested in a CD copy of the real video, without the internet induced jerks, PLEASE EMAIL US AT: barbertech@ezprompter.com

Once again, sorry for the confusion, I'm sure we've all experienced "Technical Difficulties" working in TV.

Oh btw, we deleted the embarrassing ridiculous playback, we'll post another notice as soon as we figure out how to get it to playback correctly on the internet.
 
hmmm. i made a mistake cause ir emember seeing some sort of "Pod" with a picture of the gimble directly underneath the handle, that could be engaged and disengaged accordingly. Like, either the handle bar is free with the gimble, or it snaps in for a stiff pole.
 
Michelle i have a question for you:

I remember a while back, looking through the previous thread about "Merlin or glidecam " And you were quite defensive towards the abilities of the Pod. Is someone in your family connected to the creation?

Im not trying to be aggressive in any sense, but some of what i read from the past was very biased towards ( its not the steddipods fault if it shakes ) or ( you would get someone to show everyone side by side that you can get the same steadiness with the pod as you can with a glidecam or steadicam ).

Knowing enough physics tells me intuitively that the steddiepod will never reach the same smoothness as that ones previously stated. I believe you 100% that it is capable of doing this, as long as the operator is EXTREMELY good at using it, however for the most case, we are not all professional camera operators. Most of us are looking for things like the glidecam and steadicam which will deliver the production value shots we are looking for without the cost of months and months training on a ( beautiful and amazing ) piece of equipment that is just not designed to carry out the same objectives.

By all means, this thing is huge in terms of its versatility, monopod, tripod, boom crane, and Stabaliser, but i have my doubts that it will never achieve the perfection that the glidecam and steadicam can achieve ( just physically, not operator influenced )

- Jon
 
Papa, There are 2 products in this Thread.
There's the "Steddiepod" which is the main topic. http://www.barbertvp.com/products/steddiepod.html
Then there's the "Steadipod", which seems to be what you are refering to. http://www.qtechnologies.com/us/steadipod/index.htm


Michelle. The video you posted was playing back fine and smoothly. The Jerkyness was in the footage - the camera was panning, tilting and rolling slightly with each step and movement [as woudl be expected without a gimble to isolate movement], causeing camera shake and jerky footage. But you know this. Good luck on your next attempt to get some smooth footage.


EDIT: yes, Michelle is directly associated with the Steddiepod. (Look at her post above, she's working with Eddie (Whom I've had the pleasure of speaking with on the phone.))


- Mikko
 
ahh, thats it :) thanks for the clarification, was slightly bedazzlefused for a momento.
 
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