As we all have come to find out, steadicams are extremely expensive. The individuals/companies that sell these rigs know only a handful of people know how to make their own rigs, so they can charge as much as they want.

If you're looking for solutions to your steadicam woes, look no further.

I have several rig designs available to share. Although most are for relatively light camcorders, a handful are specifically for heavier systems like the XL2.

If you folks are interested I'll be more than happy to start posting all the designs. The great thing is that as we all share, hopefully we can combine our expertise and improve the rigs.

If you'd like me to start posting please email me at kellhound1@gmail.com.

Hi ! I'm very interested to see your designs , so please post it !

A Steadicam (or any other rig) costs what is sensible, based on the cost of making the rig (NOT cheap) plus enough to make a little money, but remain competetive.
If you don't understand the costs, then you can have no hope of understanding the value or the rig itself either.

And if you want to find out what it costs to build even a working, let alone a good rig, go over to www.homebuiltstabilizers.com and take a look around. Thoguh admitedly many people there haven't ever flown a real one.


If you have designs you want to share, why not just post them instead of asking people to e-mail you? I'm a little suspicious.


- Mikko

These plans obviously won't give you the same thing a $60,000 rig will, but they'll do the job. And the cheapest rig so far is one priced at $1,000, minus the vest and arm. Of course, there are the cheaper $300 versions, but they're made with the same type of plans I'm posting. So, if you're happy to spend that kind of cash, go right ahead. But don't waste other people's time by trying to bash their open forum and sharing of ideas.

Here's one of the designs. The others have some pictures to go with it, but if you want those I can email an attachment for the entire thing.

Okay, this is, quite frankly, the easiest rig to make. If you have all the stuff it shouldn't take you more than an hour of easy-going, lazy work to get it done. But it's a good starter for the more complex ones that I'll post in a day or so.

The camera base is 7" X 3 5/8" X 1" Poplar. It has to have the front corners shaved down
to allow for the angle of the 1X2's that get screwed into it (you can use drywall screws, 2 on
each side). Also a hole is drilled into the base to allow for mounting the camera with a
thumbscrew. The hole is just large enough to move the camera around for balancing.
The lower section gets screwed into the 2 upper arms (1" X 2" pine) with a total of 4
screws (2 on each side), and pilot drill each screw hole (it's only pine).
The joints were all reinforced with Fiberglass cloth and resin that can be purchased at an
auto parts store.
Glue a spirit level on the base to enable balancing, which you'll have to do by mounting
the unit at the handle to something that's not moving. Leave the camera mounting
thumbscrew a little loose with the camera on the unit, then swing the unit fore and aft.
Watch the level and determine whether or not to shift the camera either way to achieve
level from that axis. Then swing the unit from side to side and watch where the bubble
ends up. Shift the camera either way to achieve level from that axis. Then all you have to
do is tighten the thumbscrew, and your ready to go.
The camera mounting hole starts at 3/4" from the long side of the base, and 1 5/8" from
the back of the base. The hole itself is 3/4" wide and 2 1/4" long.
The handle is the most crucial part, and all you really have to use is a hinge. It's one of those hybrid
hinges that has a strap coming off of it (for lack of a better description). You could use a piece of
railing post (hardwood), and cut a groove into the top (1 1/2" deep). The strap end of the
hinge was cut down to 1 1/2" also, and rounded off. I also filed this half of the hing on
both sides to make it flat and smooth. The hole in the handle that goes through a hole
(you'll have to drill in the hinge) is exactly 1 1/2" from the top, and use a brass
woodscrew (#12 X 2 1/2") cut down to fit the handle. The pilot hole for this screw will
have to allow for the larger end of the screw to fit snugly, not tight, maybe even a little
loose. The groove in the handle allows the hinge to fit in loosely, when the woodscrew is
screwed in snugly.
Friction at the 2 axis of the hinge need to be minimized as much
as possible. I used some furniture polish for the inside of the groove in the handle, and
that hole where the woodscrew goes through the hings needs to be a little loose. If you want, you can put a dab of teflon grease in that hole, which should give you less friction.
The other part of the hinge has some kind of nylon insert which seems to provide low friction. Look for that kind of hinge.

Most of these materials can be purchased at Home Depot.

The counterweight attached to the bottom is only 2 1/2 pounds, but you can always adjust easily. You can buy a cheap, small barbell and use that, or go off to Home Depot or OSH and get something heavy enough for your needs.

Of course, you could use aluminum tubing or some other light material instead of wood, but then you'd have to have access to special cutting material and hardware to make things work. The wood cost me somewhere around $6. If you just want to try out a design before you commit to it completely, wood's the way to go. By the way, this rig here will support an XL2, so your heavier cameras should work fine.

REMEMBER: Use common sense when building your rigs. If it doesn't look too safe for your camera, don't risk it.

A little about homebuiltstabilizers.com.

They are great resource to use when you get really complex and technical. That is, if you have the know-how and hardware to make their rigs, they are obviously a far better choice than what I'm posting. But they're also a whole lot more expensive.

Go ahead and search through their pages and look at the books they're selling. It's pretty good stuff, but the cheapest, "good" rig they have will run you around $300, plus a hefty time in the building process.

Cand you post some pictures or video with your rig ? I meen some tutorial pictures that explain what you have written . Thanx !

I'll also add about rig costs...

As a professional Steadicam operator I can see that you have not fully done your research. There are rigs of various levels available for just about any price if you want to buy. And they can be built for similar investments in time or money. Some rigs are vest mounted, and some are handheld as yours appears to be. Workable handheld rigs start out at around 500 (and even less on e-bay).

As for HBS, yes they do go pretty complex on there if you want - but that is part of the cost of a good stabilizer. And no, you can not get a good stabilizer from anywhere for 300, but they can help you with some pretty good tips with any budget.


I have nothing against your rigs and this thread, please by all means do post the designs, I'd like to see them too. Thank you for doing that.

- Mikko

Hi Vishad,

Yes steadicams are expensive but there is a good reason for that. It is a speciatlity item and to make a good one requires a great deal of R&D and top quality materials. A company has to make money so when they put money into developing a product their price point is reached when they take into account how much it costs to develop,build & market, how much the market is willing to pay and how many they think they will sell.

Maybe you didn't do enough research if you came to the conclusion above.

John.

Steadicams are "expensive" is a very relative and ignorant statement. The majority of people who use "steadicams" use them professionally, and therefore the expense is justified.

For hobbyists then they may appear dear, but you have to remember that there is a massive gulf between a cheap homebuilt rig assembled using "drywall screws" and a precision CNC machined rigs used in professional film and broadcast environments.

As mentioned a lot of R&D goes into these systems. You don’t only pay for the components; you pay for the support.


-Rick.

One major factor in the high price is that Steadicam is a niche market. If it was a mass market, like mobile phones, I'm sure a good rig could be had for under a 1000 pounds. I can't see them catching on like that though :)

As people have mentioned the R&D and setup costs are high and have to be recouped over a relatively low number of units.

OK Boys, no name calling. Let's give the appearance of acting like adults. I've edited the the inappropriate personal insults and if any members have an issues with that please email me.

The cost of a product or service is directly proportional to the perceived value to the end user. Any particular user may find a service or product too expensive. If that is the case the user is free to develop and market his or her own products or services. Best of luck on your new business developing, manufacturing and marketing camera stabilization devices.

Alright, gentlemen, let's pretend to appreciate some civility amongst ourselves. Those of you who assume I haven't done my research are quite misguided. Let's leave at that and not get into nasty name-calling.

I can see why so many of you are touchy about this subject, but there's no reason to be. My whole point is that the market is there only if the prices came down. There are plenty of ameature photographers and videographers who'd love to own their own stabilizer, but can't because of the cost.

So if you're tooting the whole "it's a niche market and the price is warranted" statement, don't. The price is NOT warranted. Of course they should try to make a profit, but not exclude a major group in doing so.

I'm not "selling" plans; I'm not bribing anyone. These plans certainly aren't going to give you that same $60,000 rig, but will do the job for those of us who want to use it every once in a while. And the whole point behind sharing is to improve the plans so we can all have some ameature system.

My whole point is that the market is there only if the prices came down. [...]

So if you're tooting the whole "it's a niche market and the price is warranted" statement, don't. The price is NOT warranted. Of course they should try to make a profit, but not exclude a major group in doing so.


Actually you'll find that market drives price, not vice versa.

The last time I spoke to Steadicam about their pricing was 2 days ago, trust me when I say that they are dooing all they can to offer the best product [done] at the best price possible. Everything takes money, especially making the stuff they do. - If you've ever tried one and experienced what it does I'm sure you'll agree it is worth all it takes.

- Mikko

Okay, well, Mikko was kind enough to point out my stupidity. I apologize for the roughness. Obviously that was my fault.

Anyway, just to clarify, I'm not from Ebay, not selling anything, and am not competing with actual steadycam manufacturers. I was simply tired of trying to find something workable and run into the giant price wall.

So I did some research, got other people's designs and now offer them to everyone. There's nothing illegal about it, nothing suspicious. I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression. In hindsight, Mikko was right. I DID sound like some Ebay doofus.

Again, my apologies.

OK...here's the way it went down.

I didn't think a good stabilizer should cost as much as it does until I bought a Glidecam 1000, then a 2000, and on and on. I found (as did others) that it was just too heavy to handle for an extended period of time. I decided to make my own arm to support it. After all, how hard could it be...just some aluminum, vest material, sewing, assembling, and other hardware.

I built my first arm and vest about four years ago. It was similar to the Smooth Shooter in design. It had one fixed arm and one articulated. I tried it out and it actually worked. I thought I should make a number of them to sell to others like myself who couldn't afford the $4500 Steadicam Mini. After making a dual articulated arm I decided it was much better so I stopped making the single arm.

Building my own support arm was a good idea and a bad idea. The bad part was, to do it right I had to buy lots of equipment (band saw, 4 drill presses, belt sander, deburring equipment, two grinders/wire brushes, myriads of drill bits/counter sinking bits, bending equipment, socket sets, springs (various sizes), aluminum, bushings (changed to bearings), and about a million other small parts that I didn't even know the names of. I needed these because the system had to look good as well as work well. Then I had to find these parts in bulk because small quantities cost a lot more per piece. That took a great deal of time.

Then, after the parts were done (so I thought) I found I needed the main parts welded instead of riveted and then power-coated for looks. Do you have any idea what that costs?! I thought it should be inexpensive but it wasn't. You have to make a lot of parts in order to meet the minimum charges. This involves getting a lot of quotes. Yes, there is a great deal of driving around too.

Then I was told by others that I should offer a complete system with my own sled. I was originally going to sell just the support arm and vest to other Glidecam owners like myself but I was told I should offer my own sled with the system. A year later the sled was done (so I thought) but when I couldn't balance it in more than one direction the whole thing about gimbal linearity came about. I couldn't figure out why it would balance in the forward direction but when flipped 180 degrees it would go out of balance. Thanks to Charles Papert and others, I learned the gimbal had to be more than just "close", it had to be extremely close in it's construction. So off the machine shop to have a CNC gimbal manufactured. More money and time.

Then I had to learn about the different types of bearings and where to get the special bearings I would need for the gimbal.

Some of the support arm design was unique so I did a patent pending on it. That is a hard thing to do? Just ask Leigh W. as he has gone through the same process.

Let's not forget the hours and hours and hours of testing, redesign, and practice. I also checked out as many other stabilization systems as I could to see how our system stacked up to them.

Now, 4 years later and having spent enough money to buy a number of Steadicam Flyers, "we" have a stabilizer system that we like and that works very well. It's priced low enough for most independent filmmakers to afford but high enough (we hope) to help us to continue to make them.

Next we have just have to figure out the marketing thing. We don't want to have the supply problems spoken of in other threads. For this reason we aren't advertising until the units are built and ready to go. Sorry if this sounds like an add but I felt it was important to let fellow videographers and stabilization users know what is involved in making a system for sale. It is easier to build a single unit but still it's not that easy or inexpensive.

Conclusion: You can build your own system with the right set of plans and the right equipment but if you want to build a serious stabilization system then you have to "pay the price". The nice thing is...you also get to "enjoy the price".

Note: I feel like I just finished writing a novel.


Tery
Indicam

Well said Terry.

EXCELLENT post Terry!

Extremely informative, thankyou.

- Mikko

Charles and Mikko,

I feel honored that you have taken the time to read it.

I know Leigh Wanstead could, and still might, write a similar story.

Thanks and I hope to see many of you at NAB this month.

Tery

Hi Tery,

Thanks for the post.

Well said about manufacturing part. ;-)

One thing to add is it is not wise to make one copy yourself professionally and inexpensive if you have no idea about engineering. The cost will not be very cheaper if you calculate the labour cost, material cost etc. And the time taken will be far longer than just pay the bill and get it in a week time. DIY always face the risk for the failure of the project.

Just my 2 cents

Regards
Leigh

I know Leigh Wanstead could, and still might, write a similar story.
Tery

Leigh,

Corrrect, but some people (especially those who haven't tried to make a stabilizer) will think it doesn't take that long to make one. That being said, a simpler stabilizer might be made quicker but not a serious stabilizer.

How about hearing from you guys who made a do-it-yourself stabilizer. How does it compare to the price of a ready built and tested one. Charles King would be a great one to comment on this. Most of us will say it was a good experience but we didn't realize what we were getting into.

Here's the real secret...When you build a stabilizer you find the things that need to be improved and are constantly working on those things.

Tery
Indicam

I'm building a homemade version of a full commercial system, but on mine, I have run into a few roadblocks and a few things I've had to design around. I know for a fact that my $700 rig would never, ever be sold for under $7,000. I've put 6 or so months of designing into it, and now around 4 months of building, and I'm around 3/4 of the way done. It takes hours every day for months and so much investment in equipment you wouldn't believe. I've been lucky, being able to use my school's bandsaw and getting an inexpensive drill press, but still, the work and time needed is enormous for a decent rig. I built my last rig in 4 days. Sure, it worked, but it broke down 3 times, required me to rebuild it about once per week, and eventually just stopped operating, and it cost $500. Really, a cheap stabilizer isn't that easy to come by. (I'm not talking about little handheld rigs. I could pop one of those out in a few hours for under $100, but that's not where I want to go.) Big full rigs take time and work and skill. Unless you've got some machinist friends or are really into spending thousands of dollars on equipment, don't expect to be able to make one of the more complicated ones at home. Sure, there are rigs like the Codycam that can be done for cheap at home, and produce great results, but once you step into building semi-professional and professional level stabilizers, you really just are spending so much time on them that unless you love the building (as I do) it's not worth it.

I know Vishad from school. He does actually have plans. And you guys are right when you say it takes a lot of work to make one. I used one of the plans he's found and tried to make my own steadycam. It actually worked quite well. There's definately a LOT of improvement needed, but for the limited cost and time the plans require, I'm kinda happy. I'd dump what I made if I could get a better rig, but that's not happening any time soon.

Hopefully he'll post the plans soon.

Okay, sorry about the delay, everyone. I ended up posting the plans and pictures on a blog site. I'll update the page every other day or so. I have one of the plans up with pictures. Let me know if you want anything else.

http://steadycamplans.blogspot.com/

These plans have been around for centries ;) For those interested in giving building a small stabilizer a shot, it would be nice. Just a thought though. The XL-1 is still a heavy camera to use on any hand-held rig. Get ready for tiresome hands. Smaller cameras should work out better.

I agree.

Now the bar is raised. ;-)

We have to offer good product to our customer, otherwise they will go with a simple diy job. ;-)

Regards
Leigh

These plans have been around for centries ;) For those interested in giving building a small stabilizer a shot, it would be nice. Just a thought though. The XL-1 is still a heavy camera to use on any hand-held rig. Get ready for tiresome hands. Smaller cameras should work out better.

I have one or two vest+arm plans, but they're almost pointless. I'll post them on the blog anyway, just so people can look at them. One of them requires an old spring-action lamp arm to support the camera weight. That's just wrong because it won't do a single thing for stabilization. It was a nice idea, though.

Hi Vishad,

I support what you did.

Well done ;-)

The more people into video hobby, the better for everyone.

Regards
Leigh

Thank you very much, Leigh Wanstead.

I know a lot of people on this post have implied these designs are inferior (they are) but I think most of us on dvinfo can't really dream of the more intricate ones. I've never in any way said my plans are better than anyone elses, just a lot cheaper.

And when it comes down to cost, us amateurs will be happy with the $40 rig, even though it's not as stable as we'd like it to be.

In the end, something is definately better than nothing.

#5
John Reilly
Tourist

Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 2

I am interested in hearing about a lower cost "steadicam"--Also, I am:

In Need of A Sony Proprietary Hot Shoe "Work-Around"...
Has anybody considered modifying a standard hot-shoe splitter, i.e., a "Y"-shaped splitter, which would allow mounting of both, say, a 40 watt video light as well as a non-Sony condenser shotgun microphone onto a Sony HDR-HC1 (or HC-3) hot-shoe? (Mic has its own battery)

The base of the "Y"-shaped splitter would either be "ground-down" to fit into the Sony proprietary shoe or else, possibly, a smaller " Sony-proprietary-sized" base, i.e., a piece of metal, let's say, is attached (via strong epoxy?) to the base of the standard y-splitter to "down-size" it.

(I have seen the Y-shaped standard shoe splitter at my local camera store...cost: $32.00 USD)

Does this even sound plausible??

Open to any possible work-arounds...and hoping for a Non-Sony "Shoe-In"!!

THANKS!!

--Reilly

The cost is all relevant to the persons skill level at building such an item, not to mention their resourcefulness at obtaining the right materials for the job. If you have mechanical or engineering skills then the task is quite easy. I built one using top grade aluminium and quality gimble bearings for $60. Its one of the more basic designed units and I found, for me personally, it works no better than using my XL2 hand held. Its like anything, if you want the best then you have to pay for it.

Hi John,

If I understand you correctly, you want to put a shotgun microphone on your camera.

If this is what you want, I would say it is not a good idea.

The shotgun microphone best near mouse as close as possible, not mounting on a camera.

Regards
Leigh