How to eliminate the Pendulum Effect...

[Brandon Ford]

Hello everyone! This is my first post in this forum.... I was directed here by the guys over at stediecamforum.com They said I would have better luck becuase I purchased a "Flycam 300" off of ebay a few months back. It came with an arm brace and a body brace. I have been practicing with it and I cannot seem to stop it from swinging slightly like a pendelum when I am walking with it.... And runnning forget it....... I guess what I need to find out is how can I eliminate that from happening. I was under the impression that these items would give you a smooth movement... Now its definitley smoother than without the item, but still not smooth eough to use as actual footage...... Any advice? Would adding more weight on the bottom help? I use a sony vx2100 with an extended life battery attached......

Thanks in Advance

Brandon

[Chris Medico]

Hi Brandon,

First off, WELCOME! :)

What is the drop time on your rig?

[Brandon Ford]

Drop Time.... That would be the time it takes the rig to turn itself upright correct? I believe that its about 2 secs...... I honestly dont know... I did this once or twice.... I should go check again....

Also about eh ebay item.... I was brand new to steadicam systems and I did not realize at the time that I bought an imitation of something better... So for that let say that I dont aggree with supporting immitators..... I was very excited to see what appeared to be what i wanted for a great price..... I have read other posts in here and i wanted to let everyone know I am aware of what I did.......

Will the drop time effect the pedulum issue?

B

[Chris Medico]

Originally Posted by Brandon Ford

Drop Time.... That would be the time it takes the rig to turn itself upright correct? I believe that its about 2 secs...... I honestly dont know... I did this once or twice.... I should go check again....

Also about eh ebay item.... I was brand new to steadicam systems and I did not realize at the time that I bought an imitation of something better... So for that let say that I dont aggree with supporting immitators..... I was very excited to see what appeared to be what i wanted for a great price..... I have read other posts in here and i wanted to let everyone know I am aware of what I did.......

Will the drop time effect the pedulum issue?

B

Yes it will affect it only if its a problem with having the rig too bottom heavy (too fast a drop time). And Yes, you need to check and know the drop time. 2-3 seconds is good. The slower the time the less pendulum effect you will get. Next, If you walk in an arc it is normal for the bottom to kick out a little. You have to control that with your hand as you walk if you intend to keep your horizon level. Having a slower drop reduces the effect but it will still happen.

A slow drop makes the rig more sensitive to static balance and it makes it very easy to tilt and roll when you are holding it. It will take a very light but deliberate touch to keep it from looking "floaty". Everything is a tradeoff you know.

Once you get the drop set for 2-3 seconds and the sled balanced, move the rig forward and backward in a straight line and then left and right in a straight line. If it stays pretty level you are part way there.

Next test the dynamic balance. Dynamic balance becomes very noticeable in pans. If you pan the sled left or right and it tilts up or down then you need to work on dynamic balancing the sled. That is a more complex subject and there are good posts here already outlining how you go about it. Do the simple tests and let us know the results.

[Brandon Ford]

Thanks for the Advice..... I will work on it tomorrow and post my results.... As a test earlier today, I took an older HI8 Camcorder which is lighter and mounted it on my steadicam..... and I did notice some difference..... I will play with the weights too becuase I may have too much weight in the bottom... I put every heavy washer they sent me in the rig so maybe removing some may help too.....

THX

B

[Dave Gish]

Originally Posted by Brandon Ford

I may have too much weight in the bottom... I put every heavy washer they sent me in the rig so maybe removing some may help too.....

I don't know your rig, but most steadicams have a movable gimbal that you can slide along the sled post. If you put more weight at the bottom, you'll have to slide the gimbal more toward the bottom to keep a 2-3 second drop time. The net effect is:
1) the camera height rises
2) the rig becomes more stable
3) the rig becomes more heavy
But if you move your gimbal to keep the drop time at 2-3 seconds, adding weight to the bottom shouldn't affect the pendulum issue. If all this seems confusing, watch this short video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3PgqKF6ugY
Again, I don't know your rig, but this should help explain some of the concepts.

[Jason Robinson]

duplicate comment

[Terry Thompson]

Dave,

The Flycam is an almost exact copy of the Glidecam sled but not with the same quality we believe. Neither company's gimbals adjust up or down the post so the only way to change the drop time is to add or subtract bottom weights or adjust the extension post.

We cover all these topics in our "Stabilizer Basics" training DVD.

We haven't tried out any Flycams but are familiar with the 2000-4000 pro Glidecam sleds.

Tery
Indicam

[Brandon Ford]

Thanks for the DVD link... I will look into buying that..... I really would like to buy the vest and arm extension... but thats WAY out of my price range..... May have to save up though.....

B