Afton Grant
March 7th, 2007, 09:59 AM
It's a very common question that is posted here and elsewhere: "What is the best Steadicam for me?" I thought I'd share a few thoughts that might help those decisions for people.
One of the first of Garrett Brown's designs for a camera stabilizer looked roughly like a handheld jib. Its principle was to spread out the mass of the camera, and reposition the center of gravity. This principle remains true today in any stabilizer from your $14 homemade one to your most expensive professional rig.
It's probably safe to say that most professional Steadicam operators today have, at one point in their life, dabbled in building their own rig, or pieces of. While most eventually went on to purchase a better manufactured kit, the home building exercise was not a wasted one.
In experimenting with different configurations, you can gain a great understanding of the principles behind stabilization systems: isolation, inertia, mass, etc. Whether it is folding up the legs of your tripod to spending years in the machine shop fabricating custom supports, you can quickly learn what the problems are and what the solutions need to be.
In doing that, you can be much better educated regarding what to purchase. You'll know what to look for in different models. You'll know what will best suit your personal needs.
My ultimate suggestion is to experiment a little bit. It can be done for little to no money, and doesn't take a lot of time. Use a tripod or monopod you already have, or go to the hardware store and pick up some pipe. Even if you know it is not what you will end up with as the solution to your stabilization needs, it will definitely take you to a place of much better understanding. That education can be very valuable when going ahead and spending the real money on a rig (small or large).
Best to all,
Afton
One of the first of Garrett Brown's designs for a camera stabilizer looked roughly like a handheld jib. Its principle was to spread out the mass of the camera, and reposition the center of gravity. This principle remains true today in any stabilizer from your $14 homemade one to your most expensive professional rig.
It's probably safe to say that most professional Steadicam operators today have, at one point in their life, dabbled in building their own rig, or pieces of. While most eventually went on to purchase a better manufactured kit, the home building exercise was not a wasted one.
In experimenting with different configurations, you can gain a great understanding of the principles behind stabilization systems: isolation, inertia, mass, etc. Whether it is folding up the legs of your tripod to spending years in the machine shop fabricating custom supports, you can quickly learn what the problems are and what the solutions need to be.
In doing that, you can be much better educated regarding what to purchase. You'll know what to look for in different models. You'll know what will best suit your personal needs.
My ultimate suggestion is to experiment a little bit. It can be done for little to no money, and doesn't take a lot of time. Use a tripod or monopod you already have, or go to the hardware store and pick up some pipe. Even if you know it is not what you will end up with as the solution to your stabilization needs, it will definitely take you to a place of much better understanding. That education can be very valuable when going ahead and spending the real money on a rig (small or large).
Best to all,
Afton