good steady for fs100

[Chris Quevedo]

hi,
has anyone gotten any experience with this camera using it with a steady of some kind? its my understanding that with the parts taken off, like viewfinder tube, hand grip and microphone, the camera weighs 4.5 lbs roughly.

what sort of steady do you guys use? cost?

[Noa Put]

I think the type of camera doesn't make any difference with a steadicam but the wheight does where a too light camera could cause issues getting it balanced, but with a fs100 I guess any type of steadicam will do. The only question is what type of glidecam you are looking for, a small one like the merlin, blackbird etc without arm/vest or the bigger steadicam rigs that require a vest and arm.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Chris

At 4.5 lbs I wouldn't like to be on the shooting end of a FS100 on a handheld steadicam. You need to go for a vest and dual arm model. Something like a Pilot if you have lots of money or get a full Glidecam rig and vest. Don't be conned into the single arm models they are not worth getting..rather get a dual arm.

If you think you can fly an FS100 handheld, first try picking up a house brick and extend it in front of you and then run around the yard for 5 minutes and if you arm doesn't drop off (or feel like it will) then you might survive a handheld but I doubt it!!!

I have the Indian rig which is a LOT cheaper (around $1500) BUT (big BUT) it needs comprehensive re-building and correcting to get it anywhere near the Steadicam or Glidecam rigs ...mine probably only cost me around $2500 in the end but many hours of mods and parts to get it working well.

Chris

[Bill Pryor]

You can get the Steadicam Merlin rig with the articulated arm and vest. It will handle that much weight, but now with a long heavy zoom lens. If you use a prime lens you should be OK.

[Ray Lee]

Steady systems, jibs, sliders... and low light are the reasons I bought the FS100, odd little camera but strip it down and its fits on an din anything. If I needed any real steady work for longer shoots and more complex than the basic stuff I would just hire someone that knows what they are doing (and has the proper gear) but for short clips and basic moves I use the Wondlan CF Magic stabilizer (no arm no vest) $300 on Ebay

Works great, the gimbal is smooth, easy to balance vs. some of the even lower cost ones I have tried and seems pretty well built... just know that you are not going to be flying for very long without a vest even with a 4 pound camera it gets old pretty fast

[Jem Moore]

I actually use the Blackbird to fly my fs100 with the 24mm zeiss lens on it, a little heavy, but I did a 'follow' during a shoot that was about 15 minutes of walking behind the actress, and I survived. For shorter shots it's just fine.