Which stabilizer to choose?

[thecomputerdewd]

A few days ago I received my Opteka 200EX Pro.
http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Steady...d=1385595540&sr=8-1&keywords=steadyvid+opteka
It has good results but takes too long to stabilize, so I ordered the Steadyvid Pro
http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Steady...d=1385595540&sr=8-3&keywords=steadyvid+opteka
And will return whichever one I feel isnt worth the money.

I have also noticed this stabilizer :
http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Steady...d=1385595540&sr=8-2&keywords=steadyvid+opteka
Its in the same product line, is rated for 1 LB more, and looks like it works alot better.
Is there a reason that this one is cheaper than the Steadyvid Pro? Which on is better, the Steadyvid Pro or the Steadyvid SV-HD.


Thanks,
Jason

 

[Alex H.]

If you're expecting results right out of the box, you might want to reconsider your purchase altogether. There are a few things that should be considered:

1) A stabilizer can be tricky to balance, especially the first few times. Practice, practice, practice. Once you figure out the trick, it's much easier to recreate the same results.

2) Getting good footage with a stabilizer takes practice. Hours and hours and hours of practice. Expecting professional results on the first day is a common misconception. Try the 20th day, assuming 8 hours of daily practice.

3) Cheap stabilizers suffer from flimsy design and construction that renders proper balance unlikely. Again, practice is key and can overcome other shortcomings, but you get what you pay for.

 

[thecomputerdewd]

Yes, I understand that. I am just asking if you thing the Opteka Steadyvid SV-HD will give better results than the Opteka Steadyvid Pro, even though the pro is expensiver.

If you're expecting results right out of the box, you might want to reconsider your purchase altogether. There are a few things that should be considered:

1) A stabilizer can be tricky to balance, especially the first few times. Practice, practice, practice. Once you figure out the trick, it's much easier to recreate the same results.

2) Getting good footage with a stabilizer takes practice. Hours and hours and hours of practice. Expecting professional results on the first day is a common misconception. Try the 20th day, assuming 8 hours of daily practice.

3) Cheap stabilizers suffer from flimsy design and construction that renders proper balance unlikely. Again, practice is key and can overcome other shortcomings, but you get what you pay for.

 

[Rainer]

I bought the Opteka Steadyvid SV-HD to use with my B Cam G30. It doesn't have the micro thread adjust like a glidecam, but otherwise it's just as solidly built and smooth. It doesn't lose adjustment. I don't know about the other Optekas, but I did (still do somewhere) have a Lomosteady, which looks like a similar principle, and there's really no comparison, the SV is much better. It's better than my colleagues' Merlin, and around $500 cheaper (OK, his opinion may differ). A lot of the trouble people have with set up is they try to do it while hand holding the steady, and you can't do that, you have to fix it to a bench.