Do you shoot videos with a camera or camcorder?
Video Clip (QuickTime, 2.29 MB): http://jakeludington.com/steadycamqt
A few months ago, Jake featured an easy to build steady-cam in the newsletter. [Disclaimer: The web site owner's political views at the top of the page are his own. We do not feel one way or another about his beliefs. We do, however, like his $14.00 steady-cam.] As an aspiring videographer, I decided to create one, and found it to be a cheap and essential tool for removing some of the shakiness associated with hand-held digital-video recorders. The steady-cam mount was easy to build, with all of the parts available at any hardware store, and took about half an hour to fully assemble. I performed a custom modification by slipping a couple of bicycle grips over the metal pipes for added comfort and control. All told, the total cost was about $20, which is significantly less than the price of a low-end steady-cam rig. Commercially available rigs start at $200-300 and can range up into the $1,000's for gyroscopically controlled models. Are the expensive models better than my cheap rig? Probably. However, I found that my setup was capable of capturing motion shots with a great deal of control, and also functioned as a handy monopod for balancing the camera on the ground. With a digital-video recorder attached, the steady-cam weighed about 7 pounds, and after 4 hours of filming my forearms were getting tired. But you can't beat the price; and if you're in a pinch for some sweeping motion shots at your family picnic, consider a trip to the hardware store. [Mathew Brady]
