Build Your Own Steadicam

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Posted by michael on Friday April 9, 2004 @03:39PM from the also-useful-for-mugger-whacking dept.

John Jorsett writes "Always wanted to film one of those cool 'walking' sequences, where the camera stays rock-steady as you trudge along? Well, so did Johnny Chung Lee, except he didn't want to lay out major cash for a professional Steadicam rig, so he built his own for $14. He further claims you can do it in about 20 minutes if you know what you're doing. What more could a cheap, impatient Spielberg wannabe ask for?"

13 of 293 comments (clear)

I don't know... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-04-09 15:40 · Score: 5, Funny

How about talent?
Does what it says it does by capz+loc · 2004-04-09 15:42 · Score: 5, Informative

I stumbled upon this site about a year ago and, being an ametur filmmaker, decided to give it a try. The parts were cheap and it really was quite easy to put together. But don't expect it to be perfect. It takes a little while to get the feel of it, and even then you won't be getting perfectly steady shots while running quickly. But for the price, it's tough to beat.
stedicam+phone by fermion · 2004-04-09 15:46 · Score: 5, Funny

These are cheap enough to use with a picture phone. And with the inverting bracket, we can now have upskirt shots without the blur!

--
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
1. Re:stedicam+phone by TummyX · 2004-04-09 16:50 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I would be able to see the forest, if all these damn trees weren't blocking my view!
  
  Given the context, I really hope that that is just your signature.
What I'd like to know... by PS-SCUD · 2004-04-09 15:46 · Score: 5, Funny

How'd he manage to build it without Duct tape!? Now that's impressive.

--

"Much work is lost, for the lack of a little more." -Edward H. Harriman
Lego steadicam by __aajqwr7439 · 2004-04-09 15:49 · Score: 5, Interesting

LEGO (C) Hand Held Stabilizer

xox,
Dead Nancy
It real (and really cheap) by Anonymous Coward · 2004-04-09 15:57 · Score: 5, Informative

Saw this in RES magazine last year. Built one in under 30 mintues and with exactly $16 worth of parts. It actually works too, though you do have to practice with it to get good at controling your own body movement. Also, I reccomend making the lower section about 50% longer than the upper section to further even out movement.
Re:the story's better at memepool. by dwave · 2004-04-09 15:58 · Score: 5, Informative

There you can't post and complain about incomplete coverage. But the link to a site about home made stabilizers should have been mentioned.
Damn! by pair-a-noyd · 2004-04-09 16:03 · Score: 5, Funny

How the fsck do you /. a .edu system?

Holy shit!
Thats amazing by stratjakt · 2004-04-09 16:06 · Score: 5, Funny

Like any of you jog, let alone with a camcorder.

--
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Look into something more sophisticated... by PotatoPhysics · 2004-04-09 16:10 · Score: 5, Interesting

I've built one of these too, and all things being equal, I think you would be better off spending $120 to get one of the Steady cam clones. True, he has some cool shots on his page but those are not nearly as easy as he makes it out to be. Maybe I am just clumsy.

When I walk forward my system wants to behave like a pendulum causing the camera to rock forward and back around the horizonal fulcrum. If things aren't perfectly balanced it is very difficult to keep the cameras tilt at a given attitude. Your left hand (if you were the author in the photo on the page) will not be able to keep the attitude without pendulum style oscillation. It's also difficult to make the camera turn around the camera of the horiontal bar and the fact that the rotational inertia of the person-pipe-camera system is not appropriate for turning around the camera.

Beyond those basic problems: it's also hard to hold on to and I tend to smack into door frames and innocent bystanders with the horizonal pipe.

One of the key parts to a steady cam rig is a gimbal joint that isolates tilt/tip motions of your hand from the "mass" that has the camera. Without this isolation it's really hard to get good shots without Zen master balance or just being lucky.

If anyone out there wants to make a Steady-cam like rig, I suggest they copy something like the Flowpod. Note the gimbal connecting the handle to the body of the device.
1. Re:Look into something more sophisticated... by Ibanez · 2004-04-09 18:59 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I've built one of these too, and all things being equal, I think you would be better off spending $120 to get one of the Steady cam clones. True, he has some cool shots on his page but those are not nearly as easy as he makes it out to be. Maybe I am just clumsy.
  
  I can kinda understand where you're coming from, but honestly, it kind of erks me. And I've started seeing quite a few of these in this article. This guy spent $14 and maybe thirty minutes to an hour learning how to get the thing to work well, and yet for some reason paying nine times as much and also taking some time to learn to use it seems like a better idea?
  
  Maybe if you can afford it. I'm a poor college kid who has several expensive hobbies. What you are saying is, I would be better off taking my car to a car audio store and having them install my stereo system for me, at the cost of $300 or so. That or I can do it myself, take a few days longer, for $40, and maybe not look quite as good. In my case I thought it was pretty damned close, and even though it took me a lot longer, I got the satisfaction of doing it myself. Thats the key thing here, I think, that most people miss.
  
  He improvised, saved some money, and made a pretty good gadget himself. Decent accomplishment even if it isn't as good as something that costs nine times more. And thats just the cheap one, right?
  
  Now, as far as him trying to make money off of it, I might see where you could complain about that. I think I would in his case too, but I don't think that would bother me as much.
Better Links by Anonymous Coward · 2004-04-09 17:00 · Score: 5, Informative

The 14$ thingy is pure crap...

if you want some real inspiration check out the following websites:

http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/
The original site for all your home built video needs

http://pub173.ezboard.com/bhomebuiltstabilizers
Discussion forum full of lots of useful information

http://www.codydeegan.com/

Might take a bit more effort, but the results are incredible. Cody's plans are awesome, and I would gladly purchase them again.