OT-ish: Possible Canon XM2 Idea?

Grazie wrote on 2/19/2004, 9:27 AM

DvCaddie . . I like this .. I like this a lot! Reasonably priced and looks the "biz" without looking over the top - yeah? I've been studying the various incarnations and Evolution/s of the species - Digitalis Videographia Shoulderitis Sapiens and to date I must say most are well, not very "funky at all . . this I could possibly live with - yeah?

Anybody seen this? Or better, used it? Comments?
plus examples of it working

Any thoughts?

Grazie

Comments

FuTz wrote on 2/19/2004, 10:18 AM

This dv caddie looks good ! ; )

But if you're a "hands-on" type of mechanic-carpenter guy, did you try to visit www.homebuiltstabilizers.com ?

Lots of prototypes there...

Just a thought...

Grazie wrote on 2/19/2004, 10:36 AM

Yes Futz . . there are some "possibles" there, at the homestab site .. been viewing it for about 18 months now . .but they still don't get near enough to "the" design .. I'm very very fusy when it comes to design and form and function . . Sometimes things are "over-enginered" at the sake of usefulness or the design is swamped in "over-functioned" concepts . .. the Caddie thingy is "starting" to get to the simple solution .. yeah?

Grazie

FuTz wrote on 2/19/2004, 10:41 AM

I get you there... some of these guys are... nuts!

JL wrote on 2/19/2004, 10:56 AM

Grazie,

I agree with fUtZ that if you are at all handy you should make a support – one that is designed for your type of shooting. The DvCaddie looks like it would work well for interview type shooting but I'm not sure how effective it would be for stabilizing the XM2 when shooting with the lens at 20x.

I made a very simple, lightweight GL2 shoulder brace out of wood and padded cordura fabric. It uses a Canon CH-910 dual battery holder with a pair of BP-930 batteries that act as a counter weight for balance and also as an extended moment arm (to smooth out tilts and pans). It allows great range of motion and works very well for scenes where there is a lot of fast action to follow, e.g., air shows, birds in flight, bicycle races, etc. The extra battery power is handy and is the only real expense involved. The CH-910 and BP-930s together probably cost less than most of the commercial supports.

JL

Grazie wrote on 2/19/2004, 11:04 AM

Any pictures of your machine "mounted" as it were?

Grazie

JL wrote on 2/19/2004, 11:12 AM

No pictures at this time - maybe I can get one or two together in the near future if you're interested.

Edit: BTW, I wouldn't necessarily call it a machine (unless you were refering to the GL2); the shoulder brace is more sophisticated than a stick, but not much more, and it may not pass your criteria for "looking the biz", but then again, I feel that the adage 'form follows function' holds true in this case.

JL

busterkeaton wrote on 2/19/2004, 11:59 AM

I knew a guy who built his own Steadicam or at least he tried to. Everybody else called it the Cripplecam because he never did get the balance quite right.

Grazie wrote on 2/19/2004, 1:56 PM

Oh yes please! I would like a picture of your Shoulder Brace/Stick - your words? . .The machine I was refering to was indeed the Cammie . .. simple really ..

TIA - Grazie

JL wrote on 2/21/2004, 5:01 PM

If anyone is interested Simple homemade GL2 support and More simple homemade GL2 support

JL

Grazie wrote on 2/21/2004, 10:31 PM

Thanks Joe, for sharing this with everybody . . neato!

Grazie

Jay Gladwell wrote on 2/23/2004, 6:37 AM

Grazie, I had seen this product (DV Caddie) quite some time ago and was intrigued. Now that you've sent me back to the site, and based on a few experiences since then, I've decided to give it a try.

Once it arrives and I've had a change to try it out, I'll let you know how it goes. The only difference will be I'm shooting with an XL1s, but the end result shouldn't be any different.

J--

farss wrote on 2/23/2004, 7:12 AM

Basically though it's only an extension of yourself. Certainly it's got its place but it'll be no more stable than you are. It may help a lot though by moving the load so there's less muscle fatigue and that'd be a big help.
Trick with the steadicam things we've found is getting it setup properly and knowing how to use it. We've got a couple of Hollywood Light rigs and must say I've never been satisfied with how well they'd worked unitl at an exhibition a pro steadicam operator grabbed it off us, rerigged the whole thing, balanced it properly and then proceeded to show us how it's done.

Result was he could track around people and corners with a 100% stable shot, you'd swear the camera was on a dolly! I'm certain the guys who do this work for a living sleep with their damn rigs. And I'd NEVER pick a fight with one of them, anyone that can balance a 35mm rig with monitor and batteries off themselves and keep it stable is not to be messed with.

Grazie wrote on 2/23/2004, 8:53 AM

farss - LOL! nice one .. . But yes, it's not the size of one's rig .. It's what you do with it that counts .. . I'm really glad you met a really nice & kind guy who .. . how can I put this .. re-rigged, or is that re-jigged you . .AND at an exhibition ..

My, these guys MUST be rippling with muscles . .do they sleep with thier rigs? Is this the sort of question to be asking on what this is .. a family INternet Site??!?!

farss . . thank you .. . . but yes, point taken ..

Grazie

Jay Gladwell wrote on 2/23/2004, 8:54 AM

You're absolutely right, Robert. I understand. The DV Caddie does not and cannot replace a SteadyCam-like device. It should add some level of additional stability when the camera is taken off the shoulder though.

More than anything, I'm expecting it to relieve muscle fatigue on long hand-held shoots. When you get over that half-century mark, things don't work as well as they did 25 years earlier!

J--

Zulqar-Cheema wrote on 2/23/2004, 3:53 PM

"Anybody seen this? Or better, used it? Comments?
DV Caddie plus examples of it working"

Grazie don't do it I have just seen the site and that blokes got breasts and he has only been using it for a day....think what it would do to you..

why don't you stick a hot shoe extender on to the base of the camera and use that as a stabilizer.

farss wrote on 2/23/2004, 5:38 PM

Have you thought about a monopod?
I've been looking for a decent one to take on my travels but have never found quite what I'm after. Miller make a really good one but it's dman expensive and a bit heavy to lug around the planet, a light wight tripod would be cheaper and lighter. Really all I need is something about a strong a car radio aerial with a treaded end on it.

Hmmm, might be an idea in that.

Spot|DSE wrote on 2/23/2004, 8:28 PM

I didn't read the whole thread, but we use the Alex Dolgin shoulder mounts for the XL1. Has an extra battery pack on the back, and weighs the XL towards the back of the shoulder. Very comfy.

Jessariah67 wrote on 2/23/2004, 8:59 PM

For a GL2 (GL1, XM2, etc.) the Mighty Wondercam shoulder brace is great. Adjustable height. Simple design. Put it on your right shoulder, hold the handle in your left hand and control the camera with the right. Use it all the time.

I also have the Varizoom Flow Pod (is that what it's called?) for a steady-cam-ish device. It also doubles as a monopod, though I'm on my second one and the monopod part of it is defective -- they may have corrected this...but the thing I like about the stedy-cam-ish function is that they have a nut that locks out the horizontal axis, so you don't get any side-to-side drift...

Grazie wrote on 2/23/2004, 10:33 PM

Cheemie .. very good . . ;-)

Spot, thanks for that. This thread was about the XM2, however, the Alex Dolgin shoulder mounts for the XL1 are depicted on the DVinfo.net site. And on another page is an example with the XM2 "mounted" here. You can't use the XM2 eyepiece, you can only use the flip out LCD. But, there are some possibilities . . .

Thanks Guys . . now back to working out how Boris Graffiti works .. . ugghhhh...

Grazie

JL wrote on 2/24/2004, 8:52 AM

The problem I see with non-counter weighted type shoulder supports (such as mighty wondercam) is that the camera has to be positioned on the horizontal bar between the handle and the shoulder brace for any load to be transferred to the shoulder; i.e., the handle must be forward of the camera's mounting point, and at best can only transfer a small percentage of the camera weight to the shoulder. For GL2 and similar sized cams, this puts the left hand and forearm further out from the body and does not give the same stability as if the arm can be held in close.

A counter-weighted support has two more advantages: all of the camera's weight can be transferred from the hands/arms to the shoulder so instability caused from muscle fatigue in the arms is minimized; also, the additional counter-weight located behind the shoulder creates a rig (camera-brace-counter weight) with a MUCH greater moment of inertia which equates to smoother camera moves.

The problem with systems that are supported against the abdomen is that a person's breathing is more easily translated into camera movement. Of course, controlled yoga-style breathing helps in using any type of body-supported system. MH$.02

JL