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The Poor Man's Steadicam
cs.cmu.edu — Steadycams (or camera stabilizers) are attachments used to capture smooth looking video even when the camera and camera operator are in motion. I decided to make my own version. It turns out, it only costs $14. And I'll show you how to build your own right here
Pstonie- 317 diggs
- digg it
- irie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nice & Thanks
- mikejonas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I built one of these myself, and then bought a more professional device for about $200. My conclusion: you get what you pay for. The $14 stabilizer works on the assumption that inertia from mass is the only thing responsible for keeping a camera steady; that assumption is wrong. *Balance*, on all three axes, is at least as important, and the cheapo stabilizer doesn't do that. It's better than nothing, that's to be sure, and how the person handles it matters a lot (a skillful cameraman using El Cheapo will probably get better results than someone who doesn't know what he's doing trying to operate a professionally built stabilizer), but if you want an easier job of keeping the camera stable and better overall results, save your pocket change and get yourself a real stabilizer.
- linus7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Very awesome... thanks!
- celticeric, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Don't steadicams have gyroscopes? It's the inertia of the spinning wheel that prevents tipping and bouncing and keeps the camera in place while the mount moves around on it's hinges. Maybe if this guy had some method to attach a motor and spinning disk to his mount, then we'd be talking. As it is, it's just a stick with a weight.
- Pstonie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'll have you know that this is much more than just a stick and a weight, it's a METAL stick and a weight with a camera on the end. You can film stuff with it, and it won't catch fire like just any old stick. You can also scratch your back with it and murder someone, if you were so inclined. A stick with a weight? I think not!
- corsairstw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I have a friend who made one that's even less expensive. He taped on a large stick to his camera and used it for flowy shots.
- mooninite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2This is old news.
http://www.digg.com/hardware/$14_Steadycam
Please report accordingly. - egbert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is not a steadicam, this is a pogocam. There is a huge difference.
- Paul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Use one all the time... It makes my mini DV work look pro... very good.
- Berkana, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I can't remember the link, but someone figured out how to build one of these without having to drill steel: you use some brass connector of some sort. I'll try to find the link.
Cool, but old. None the less, digg is such a great Maven/Connector site (those of you who have read Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell know) that I digg this for the amplification and propagation of this steady-cam meme. Power to the cheap film makers! ^_^ - xofc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Yeah, I thought this looked familiar. Wasn't this on the front page a month or so ago?
- Massif, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0They did this one Hak.5 episode 5 as well.
- yazz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1celticeric: No gyroscopes...
Read this if your interested in how a real one works...
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/steadicam2.htm - seinman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0This is several YEARS old. I built one from plans off the internet back in 2001. Dammit, I came to Digg because everyone said it got stories faster than Slashdot. This is just pathetic.
- CrispyMo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0old dupe need i say more?
- Draconiko, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0this isn't news....
- Kevin108, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I'm with seinman, it was a good idea 4 years ago when I first saw it. I think what made it "news" again was that the Hak.5 geeks made one on their show.
- kagayaki1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I can't believe how old this story is - I feel like it's already stealing my social security contributions.
Not to mention the first MAKE magazine, pg. 84 - kagayaki1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Where's the "new" in this news?
- brandonb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0This is old stuff.
- h4lofourt33n, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Quit bitching, not everyone has seen it before, and don't waste a comment on "This is old stuff.", JUST DON'T SAY ANYTHING!
- TheQwe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I remember seeing this years ago.
No digg +old - dcipjr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Neat.
- ArthurSucks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Old but VERY useful! We have a $14 steadicam and they work pretty good. Learning to walk with it takes more effort than a $200 one, but a little practice is worth $186 to me.
- HiddenS3crets, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0This was on Hak.5
- dmoffitt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0there is a LOT more to the steadycam than a counterweight and better hand-holds, but it's pretty cool, and his write-up is thorough.
- sysrq, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0dupe of http://digg.com/movies/$14_DIY_Steadycam over 200 days ago.
- Backlash, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I haven't seen this before, its new to me so... STFU ALREADY!
- znelson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0this is hardly a 'steadicam', it's a pipe with a weight. trying running down a flight of stairs with this and see how steady it is.
- zone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0oldie....
- 404notfound, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0[[ This is several YEARS old. I built one from plans off the internet back in 2001. Dammit, I came to Digg because everyone said it got stories faster than Slashdot. This is just pathetic. ]]
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/04/09/1929235
This exact same website showed up on Slashdot over one and a half years ago. - camtech, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0haha: "compatible with many profesional tripod heads"
http://littlegreatideas.com/steadycam/tripod_mount_big.jpg
something is just wrong about that picture. - neverender, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1why even waste your time building one when you can buy the exact same thing right here on ebay for double the price!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Poor-Mans-Steadycam-Steadicam-inverting-bracket_W0QQitemZ7577572449QQcategoryZ23780QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem - Noize, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0this was on hak.5 agessssssssssssss ago
- curtisound, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0that thing is ridiculous...it doesn't even have any pivot points like a gimbal, or any way to center the camera on the mount to balance it. not impressed with the example videos. this here is a poor mans Steadicam since the real things are upwards of $25,000 http://www.glidecam.com/product-2000-pro.php
- jeff1943, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0On Hak5 long time ago... Meh.. I'm sick of duplicates and old news
- Cassidy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Old *****, I remember seeing this a while ago.
- CaptSnuffy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0good enough is a philosophy to live by
- gullevek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0thats so old, it already has a beard
- wheels999, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Very similar to one of "Make" magazine's launch stories in April last year;
http://www.makezine.com/01/stabilizer/ - CaptSnuffy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0wheels999 said "Very similar to one of "Make" magazine's launch stories in April last year;
http://www.makezine.com/01/stabilizer/
"
Maybe that's because the same guy wrote it... - cambrown99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I always thought about doing this myself, but never took the time to figure out how. Now I don't have to. Old to some, but new to me, so it gets one of my diggs.
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