frustration after NY week - lack of stabilisation shows

[Federico Perale]

i have used the 5D to do some street shots, mainly handheld using the 24-105
I have to say that I really start being frustrated about the lack of a proper stabilisation in the 5D

the second you start going a bit with the flow the footage becomes almost unusable.
the stabilisation of the lens helps a bit, but not really....I did some footage walking on the High Line or on various avenues, and it's not really good....too wobbly

only decent footage I had was when I used the monopod or I rested the body of the camera somewhere

I guess there's no room for "casual" shooting with the 5D.....that is unless you use Merlin or Steadicam which I still refuse to do. or alternatively you need to be so steady that is not human...almost

most shop keepers in Greenwhich Village already stare at you in a strange way when you shoot "only" with the 5D, I can only think of what they would say using a proper steadicam rig...

by the way while I was in ny I checked out B & H and tried the BlackBird stabilizer and was quite impressed! still it's way too big

sorry for the rant - I love the 5D but some of its limitations are really irritating
Fed

[Daniel Weber]

Fed,

You are correct. I find that the 7d does a much better job of filming while walking. I like the 5d better for other things, but when getting "walking shots" the 7d with a nice wide like the Tokina 11-16 lens work pretty well.

Daniel Weber

[Martin Campbell]

you're spot on. I can't believe how the latest 24-70mm L lens from Canon does not have IS.

I'm also slightly gobsmacked by the price too!! lol!

[Todd Mizomi]

You might also look into something like this to help stabilize your shots:

DIY CheesyCam BodyPod $15 CheesyCam

[Chris Joy]

Wide lenses don't show motion as dramatically, take your 24-105 and shoot at 24 vs 105 and you'll notice there's a pretty pronounced difference. When hand holding you have to be really conscious of your walking, I creep around like a ninja in slow motion - you look funny but it gets results. I use the cheapo Cowboy Studio (search Amazon) shoulder mount to eliminate hand shake and it works great, much better than my previous experiences with rod based shoulder rigs. Its light, cheap, and it folds small enough to fit in a messenger bag. I rarely go above 35mm when moving around a lot. Typically I shoot with 21 & 35mm primes and only use the zoom a touch on the 24-105 - again staying between 24 and about 35-40mm.

[Wayne Avanson]

I've been using the cowboy rig and it works fine, but typically I use the 35mm prime and then just hold the camera against my eye with the Z-Finder in position and I'm surprised how steady it is. Easily compares to using the Cowboy support, the only minute difference I can see is that just using the Z-FInder, any moves are slightly 'sharper' than with the Cowboy.

I only mention because I usually don't like hand held stuff, and had a job where I deliberately wanted a hand held look to contrast with an intercut static interview. Turned out, my hand held was a little too steady and I didn't get the contrast I really wanted.

Yup. Surprised me too.