Which steadycam/ glidecam to get

L

leeburnett

Active member
Hello DVX users,

I'm looking to upgrade my gear collection, and near the top of my want list is a glidecam or steadycam or equivilant.

I have a 5d mark III and use various lenses, some bigger than others. I would also like the option of adding more weight onto the steadycam if needs be. The other issue is that I may upgrade to a more film dedicated camera in the near future and want the steadycam I buy to potentially accommodate that change if the camera I get is heavier.

Anyway, some advice would be great, thanks.
 
Sorry, silly mistake.

As for budget, I have nothing set, but I was thinking around the £1000 mark. I want a good quality steadicam that doesn't lack any fundamental features that will hinder me if I upgrade any other kit. I would rather pay a bit over my initial estimation if it meant getting something substantially better.

I've never really used a good steadicam, so I don't really know the ins and outs of their features and what makes the difference to its' useability.
 
That being said, if I can get something of high quality for less, then I'm all ears.

Last year I chose a gini-rigs shoulder rig that is yet to let me down, and that was a cheaper option by far.
 
I recently got one of the smaller Laing/Came models, $270 (or $170? Can't recall...)

If you want a full-on rig with battery and monitor at the bottom, you'll need to glue your 5D to a brick though! DSLRs are just too light for that kind of setup.

Watch all those "drop time tests" on youtube, where the guy says "onetwothree, there, three second drop!" and it was barely a second. You want a decent drop time to be smooth.
 
Ah I'm learning, I'm learning. I didn't really know what drop time was before one minute ago, I think maybe I should do a crash-course in using one to get a feel for what makes a steadicam good.

Why exactly is the 5d's weight a problem when adding accessories like that? Does the steadicam need weight to work properly? I use my 5d iii with a large set-up on my shouler rig and never have any issues. That being said, I have used a few c300's and PMW's and notice the strength, weight and shape add a lot of benefits, let alone the fact that they are made to make video, I really get frustrated with the shape of the 5d, but I also do a lot of photography so it's great.
 
A steadicam is a completely different animal than a shoulder mount - they rely on a gimbal and physics to "float" the camera.

So your camera is on a stick, with sort of a ball joint under it, which you hold (or attach to a vest). Another stick drops down to a weight. If you tip the camera-end over 90 degrees - so the whole "stick assembly" is on its side... it should take about 3 seconds for the bottom (with the weight) to drop down to the bottom again. That's really not a lot of weight for a DSLR. If it drops in a second or two, you've got a heavy pendulum down there. You should also be able to spin the camera and it will stay upright without wobbling.

Google "Steadicam setup" and you'll get the picture.

That said, people really love the CMS Blackbird Stabilizer for small cameras... they're $500 or so but show up on eBay weekly.

Watch this video, these are the two Came models that are good for small cameras, I like mine very much:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_-ew4GNKGk
 
Ah ok, Yea I understand the function of a steadycam, but can now see why a light camera would cause problems.

I'm seriously considering moving on from DSLR and getting something dedicated to video, so maybe before I go spending cash on accessories I should get a camera first. Decisions, decisions.

Thanks for your help.
 
So if I was to buy a decent steadicam that was geared towards heavier cameras, but change the weighting at the bottom to suit my 5d, then if I upgrade my camera I can alter the weighting?

I'm a nifty DIYer, but maybe I'm missing something that would make this impossible?
 
They guys over at RedUser are doing group buys of similar Came setups for their Scarlets and Epics and seem pretty happy with the quality.

I'd bet that the cabled systems with monitor and battery mounts will be too bottom heavy for small cams even without any weights added. Really pretty happy with the smaller versions (from the video I posted above).

leeburnett said:
I'm seriously considering moving on from DSLR and getting something dedicated to video, so maybe before I go spending cash on accessories I should get a camera first. Decisions, decisions.
Click to expand...

In very general terms... a "camcorder" type setup, even a broadcast-level model (I use a Panasonic Ac130) may disappoint you if it's a small-chip type. They're fantastic event and news cameras for run & gun... but if you have a DSLR, they're just not "beautiful". It's more than DOF, too - the Panasonics have a world of image control in there, but it's still got a video feel, even at 24p.

The larger-chip stuff, like AF-100s and the EOS cinema stuff - you won't be as shocked at the diff coming from 5D land (just the price will shock ya...)
 
I'm thinking of the BMCC with EF mount, along with a couple of Zeiss Distagon lenses should be a whole new world of quality for me, plus all of my current kit will apply to both cameras so I don't need to upgrade the camera just yet, hopefully until I can try out the black magic. I see what you're saying about the video feel, and for me that's a clincher. I don't plan on working within broadcasting, so I don't mind the slight extra hassle that comes with the Black Magic.

That being said, if I go for a Came stabiliser that's suitable for my 5d, then will it also be suitable for the black magic. I see the weight of the black magic is double that of the 5d, but with lens/hood/filters/audio stuff, will this extra 850g really be a huge difference??
 
I'm a Steadicam Pilot owner. It has around a 10lbs stage weight capacity. Usually the arm will give out (and begin to sag, requiring additional effort to raise it) before the sled will but you could damage the gimbal by putting too much weight on it.

When I fly a DSLR on my Pilot, I add weights to bring the steadicam closer to the 10lbs capacity since more weight=more inertia which is was you want. You can achieve a 3 second drop time on a merlin or similar type Steadicam, however, you will be lacking the inertial resistance achieved by heavier systems or systems that have long posts. When flying outdoors or moving quickly (where there is air resistance) you will wish you had more inertia since your lightweight rig will be a lot more influenced by the outside forces than a full size rig.

I would be very careful before investing in off brand/cheap rigs for two main reasons. The first is that their gimbals (arguably the most important part of a steadicam) are not always frictionless or and will influence the steadicam too much or too little. You also want a very precise gimbal so that you can properly achieve static and dynamic balance with relative ease. I've flown glidecams that were pretty terrible and they are supposedly one of the better off brands.

The other reason to not go off brand is that you want good support. A Steadicam is like a car, it inevitably requires maintenance at some point down the road. For me I usually have to repair and adjust things every year or two. You can buy a foreign car (good luck servicing it conveniently) or you can buy something that is common in the US and can get repaired easily with good support. I'm not saying Tiffen has the best support but there are companies with good support and there are cheap companies without it.
 
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