Anyone here know if the Smoothcam from Studio 1 is any good? It looks to me to be similiar to the steady tracker.

http://www.studio1productions.com/smoothcam.htm

thanks

I bought one of their Smoothcam's about a year ago. Does a nice job for the price. You will need a little time getting use to it. I have worked with the glidecam and steadytracker in the past and they all work about the same. Rob

In theory, a gimbal based system like the Glidecam should outperform a "weighted stick" riglike Smoothcam or the Steadytracker, particularly when used in a slow-moving shot. Isolating the angular movements of the operator requires a gimballed assembly. In practice, the skill of the operator is the crucial factor--a good weighted stick operator may outperform a poor gimbal-based operator.

Honestly, I think no matter what camera stabilizer you use, you need to become skilled at it. I have worked with a gimball unit and had some problems with it balancing and using it on a windy day. Other than that, it worked fine. On the other hand, the steadysticks like the Steadytracker and Smoothcam are easier to balance.

Both types will give you good results once you train yourself on how to use them. Too many people think they are going to magically float the camera. But in reality it's all in how much you practice with them. Rob

Agreed about the windy day issue. Every Steadicam-type stabilizer suffers from wind exposure, right up to the big rigs. It's the nature of the beast.