Top 3 Portable Steadicam/Stabilizers

[James Manford]

I want your top three steadicam / stabilizer suggestions that you can just pull out and get that shot with ...

Something that doesn't take long to set up.

Takes a minimal amount of space in the accessory bag.

Is there anything in the market ??? v light and pocket sized ???

[Enrique Orozco Robles]

1- Nebula Lite 4000
2- Steadicam Solo (no motors and monopod included)
3- DJI Ronin M

..... it depends on the camera used, off course...

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by James Manford

I want your top three steadicam / stabilizer suggestions that you can just pull out and get that shot with ...

You think we all got 3 steadicams? :)

Ronin like stabilisers won't take up minimal space so you are left with Nebula 4000 alike stabilisers, there are allready several competitors available for sales and the most impressive one I have seen based on demo's alone is the Ministurdyflight 3 Axis Gimbal. I had contact with the manufacturer and the only thing that did worry me is that there is no clear form of warranty, he said incase of malfunction, which was highly unlikely he said, they will replace a broken part and charge only the cost for that part during the warranty period, only the first 10 days after purchase they will solve any problem without extra charge. He said that any part of such a gimbal is susceptible of wear and tear and could need replacement, just like the tires of a car. I personally believe that during warranty it should not cost a cent to have a malfunctioning unit repaired, I could live with the sendingcosts to the supplier but that is it. The main advantage of this unit is that the supplier prebalances it for you depending on the camera lens you plan to use so it's ready out of the box to use, disadvantage is they only can do that for a few camera/lens combo's.

Second favourite for me is the blackbird stabilizer but it won't fit easily in a small bag.

as third a feiyu g4/gorpo 4 black combo which fit's in your pocket, in the right circumstances 2.7k at 50fps looks awesome, but lack of real exposure control can ruin some shots.

[Ian Atkins]

Originally Posted by James Manford

I want your top three steadicam / stabilizer suggestions that you can just pull out and get that shot with ...

Something that doesn't take long to set up.

Takes a minimal amount of space in the accessory bag.

Is there anything in the market ??? v light and pocket sized ???

Noa...I would either get the Ronin-M or the Helix Jr.

[Noa Put]

Those are not exactly pocketsized or fit in an accessory bag....

[Ian Atkins]

That depends on the size of your bag. Lol! Actually both break dowN very easily and can be set up in under 5 minutes. The Helix Jr is especially small. I don't know of anything smaller that will actually serve any significant role in achieving a truly streaky shot.

[James Manford]

Thank you for the suggestions.

I'm particularly interested in the Feiyu G4 and Nebula ... those are the right size and seem ideal for use during a first dance and any outdoor shoot.

[Steve Burkett]

I've taken a chance and ordered the ministurdyflight. I've been on the fence with these recent new type of stabilisers. On the one hand, good hand held opportunities vs reliability. Never took to my glidecam so never gave it the time it needed, so this new small stabilisers did tempt me till posts here spoke off issues with the Nebula, my first choice.

No idea when it'll turn up, but I'm planning to practise with it straight away and test it on some Weddings before the season is out. Bit of a risk if the thing breaks down but we'll see. Nothing ventured....

[Noa Put]

There are no user experiences to be found back online about that ministurdyflight so I think it will be very interesting to hear what you think of it.

[Steve Burkett]

Noa, I only saw its announcement on 4K Shooter earlier this week, so I guess it's a very new release. I've broken my policy of waiting for user feedback before buying. Still it's only £600 (he says eyes rolling).

[Anthony McErlean]

Originally Posted by Steve Burkett

Still it's only £600 (he says eyes rolling).

:) Best of luck with it Steve, you'll keep us informed,

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Steve Burkett

I've taken a chance and ordered the ministurdyflight.

Received it? I see that the first user reviews are starting to appear, one reaction I read on bmcuser (found here: MiniSturdyFlight Gimbal) said that the build quality is not that exceptional and there needs to be attached a sensor cable to the hotshoe of teh camera and that cable is hanging loose, not that this would be an issue but it might get caught behind something. The batterypack is also positioned on the back and has a bit sloppy attachment. Eventhough the gimbal was prebalanced at the supplier this user did experience some microvibrations while walking which you can clearly see in his first test videos but get improved by making some adjustments with the help of the supplier. That loose cable and battery on the back is not shown on the suppliers site which I do find a bit misleading.

Eventhough the demo videos on the suppliers site are amongst the best I have seen so far I feel it's a bit too expensive compared to the competition, what bothers me the most is that you only get a 10 day full warranty and after that pay for replacement of parts only but not working hours, I"m not sure though how long this service will last, I guess a year? Since you have to pay the sendingcosts anyway to the supplier which is not cheap either there actually is no warranty because for me warranty means that at least the first year you get any malfunctioning part fixed for free.

[Donald McPherson]

At 45 seconds in, I shot this with the Z-one and gopro 3+. Very first time using both. Hope it helps in your decision.

YouTube (Short URL)

[Noa Put]

I think you should also mention that you used a stabilizer plugin as well, I find the plugins are only good for stationary handheld shots to filter out microvibrations but once you start moving the camera around such a plugin distorts the entire image.

[Dan Tolbertson]

Yes, alot of "warp" going on with that shot.