Sony NX30 has one built in and it's a pretty compact camera.

There is an active gyro stabilizer that's been around for a few months but I cannot remember the name of the thing.

All active gyro systems perform poorly compared to the passive gyros.

With the active system accelerometers measure how much the camera has moved and attempt to keep it pointed at the same place. That's a problem when you intended to move the camera. The bolt on one also means you cannot tilt the camera.

The passive gyros are just spinning cylinders or disks bolted to the camera. Much better idea as the operator can feel the inertia and push against it to move the camera. No problems of overshoot etc. I've found with the NX30 I can put it down on the bench, take my hand off it and it's still trying to complete a pan and I've mean it shifhts over 15deg, most unsettling and would ruin a shot. You can turn the gyro off, in the menu...somewhere.

Worth a mention that for a few dollars and two old HDDs you can make your own gyro rig.

Bob.

[edit]
Found it, the Defy G5 Gimbal. $3,800

http://defygimbal.com/store/gimbals/defy-g5-gimbal/

Hello Grazie.

I tried to use two old 7200 rpm hd as gyros. Very few vibrations if you mount them with rubber antishock parts. That was free. Small and compact. Total wheight 1 kg.

I know it is not what you try to find, but problem is the battery.
Because you will need 2 gyros to get a good stabilisation.
Minimum power will be around 20wh.
If you want to use your system during 4h per day, you will need a 17ah battery
The weight of such a battery is around 5kg.

Of course, you can use a power cord connected to a 12V power suppy, but you cannot shoot outside. this is what I tried to use with my hard disks

So, could you give us more informations about what tou want to do, how long.
Again, problem will be the power supply ( price maybe...)

Didier.

Ah thanks guys!

Yeah, I did some mental basic physics, mental arithmetic of inertia and camera mass and realised I'd be needing a power source capable of sustaining a force and thought that this was pointing towards a lumpy solution.

The camera is my point and shoot SX50 and was musing on the possibility of a cute intelligent alternative to mono- or tripod.

Grazie

This looks pretty cool. Under $USD 1k:



Battery lasts 2 hours.

Jeremy

The Sony RX100 and RX10 use a combination of optical and electronic stabilization that is just spectacular. I can handhold my RX100 and get footage that looks like it has been through Mercalli. I didn't expect that when I bought it so it has been a wonderful surprise.

Does anyone know if the new Sony video cameras also have this feature? I expect that they do and that should be a major consideration when comparing cameras right now.