Steadicam for still cameras?

[Rob-F]

I was shooting with the camera on a monopod/walking stick with a tripod screw. The stick has a soft comfortable rubber grip, so I decided to try carrying the camera by the grip and shooting that way: left hand on the grip, right hand on the shutter button. The weight of the extended pole below the camera made the rig steady and stable.

Motion picture photographers and videographers use expensive steadicam rigs, some with gyroscopes, harnesses, even monitors on them. but an online search for "steadicam" shows a vast array of choices in small weighted outfits with tripod screws, handles, weights, and some even have quick release plates. Some are the actual Steadicam brand, and some are knockoffs or imitations.

Has anyone tried one of these? Any brand recommendations? Experiences? Opinions? I would use it with 35mm cameras and DSLRs. Maybe with the Hasselblad (maybe not).

 

[farlymac]

Steadycam rigs for 35mm were usually used by aerial photographers, especially from a helicopter. Should be able to find a good used one somewhere.

PF

 

[Frank Petronio]

I think you mean Kenyon Gyrostabalizers, which you can rent for a couple hundred per day. Those would be the right way to do this.

Neil Selkirk used a Kenyon on his Rolleiflex and could do handheld environmental portraits with one second exposures.

http://www.ken-lab.com

 

[Taipei-metro]

Hi, Are you shooting video/ movie or just still?
This Merlin 2 is for light weight 5, 6 lb cameras, very pro looking images...

http://www.amazon.com/Steadicam-Pro...1381725450&sr=8-1&keywords=steadycam+merlin+2

http://youtu.be/DVkQarGnpz4

I love a documentary NHK program 'Somewhere Street', just one camera w steadicam walking around city streets...

There are cheaper other brands you can find them on US Amazon

 

[Taipei-metro]

One gentleman found a 'replacement steadicam' for his 5dII at Pasadena camera show


P1020067 by taipei-met★中途下車, on Flickr

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

There's a lot of alternatives, bean bags, tiny clamps with B&S heads and, rare these days, a chain/cord "tripod". I have even used a lump of blue tack for some shots where nothing else could be used.

Regards, David

 

[Roger Hicks]

. . . rare these days, a chain/cord "tripod". . . .

Dear David,

Deservedly rare, I'd say. It may work with a quarter-plate Graflex, or even a Rollei TLR, but with smaller cameras, at least as many people find that it reduces stability as find that it increases stability.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Rob-F]

You Tube! I forgot to check You Tube! There's a ton of stuff there. I see most of these things are for walking with the camera, not merely for stabilizing it. They apparently have a swivel ball joint that cancels out jiggling when on the move. I just need something to steady the camera against camera movement at the moment of exposure. I envision it as a pole with some weight at the bottom, a cushion grip, and probably a ball head. The Glide cam looks like it's on the right track; as do the Skyler mini and the Flycam. I see some knockoffs of these on eBay.

Still in the thinking stages.

 

[David Hughes]

Dear David,

Deservedly rare, I'd say. It may work with a quarter-plate Graflex, or even a Rollei TLR, but with smaller cameras, at least as many people find that it reduces stability as find that it increases stability.

Cheers,

R.

I was using a Rollei then...

Regards, David

 

[Landshark]

Canon IS or Nikon VR lenses?

 

[daveleo]

Try this first.
Add a ball head to the top of your walking stick. Attach the camera but leave the ball loose. Hold the camera at this point (not the stick). Frame the picture, let the stick float straight down. When you get the image framed, lock the ball head. The stick will hang straight down despite the camera tilt (if any). The inertia of the locked stick will hold the camera steady (stick is hanging straight down) while you hit the shutter button.

Adding a lump of weight to the very bottom of the stick will help, probably a lot !