Where are you located? Your website doesn't mention location which is strange.

Floatcam FC12 with Back mounted vest, takes EX3 + extra bits just fine. Cost-effective. I wore it for the first time 40 mins, unlike front-mount that gave me aches after 10. Just beginning to acclimatise to it - much like ski-ing.

I've got to agree with Rick: the question isn't whether or not to use one but whether or not it's worth the hassle given the kind of work you do.

You definitely need an extra shooter if you're tied down to a stabilizing device. And if you're going to be moving around a lot, especially in any kind of commercial setting, you need a minder, too, for safety, someone to keep you from tripping over stuff or walking off a roof.

Moreover, it's difficult to run and gun with a Steadycam, Glidecam or whatever. It has to be set up and tended. I know several wedding videographers who have bought Glidecams, worked with them for several shoots and finally given up -- just too limiting given the demands of wedding shoots.

They produce some great video, but I think you really have to consider how much a stabilizing device will change the way you work and the demands it will place on your business before investing in one.

Jack

That's the dilemma I face. I'm marketing myself more for wedding film making as well as corporate type production work and I'm trying to decide if this is worth investing in.

I work solo so I'm not sure if this is a good fit for me. Outside of the wedding film making, does it have a place in journalistic story telling, corporate/NGO production work???

Cliff Etzel
Videographer : Producer : Web Designer
bluprojekt

Cliff, I can only respond based on my own experiences.

We own a Steadicam Junior and have used it twice in the past five years, both times for outdoor evening shoots which involved actors moving through forested terrain.

As far as weddings go, I think the vest/arm would become a liability. Most solo wedding videographers seem to locate one manned camera on a tripod, with perhaps a second tripod locked down on a cover shot of the front of the church. At least a couple of videographers I know use a third camera located somewhere on the alter, remotely controlled. Our company used this arrangement back in the 1990s when we were shooting weddings.

Very few officiants that we worked with would permit any movement of photographers and videographers during the ceremony, so a tripod was just the thing.

During the reception there is the problem of moving through closely packed tables and moving around the dance floor. In both situations I would find a Steadicam, with its vest and arm, to be more of a liability than an asset. We often used a monopod attached to a shoulder brace or a shoulder mounted hand-held camera and even they got in the way!

We do a great deal of corporate work now and there have been a few times when a Steadicam or its equivalent might have come in handy. We have twice shot a huge telecommunications switching station, for example: three floors, each over a hundred yards long, plus A/C and heating installations on the roof. I used a PD150 on a monopod and, especially on the roof and in the tightly packed generating rooms, could not have functioned without a minder who hung onto me throughout five days of shooting. There were some places where a Stedicam might have proved useful but here again there were many tight spots where the vest and arm would have proved impossible.

We shoot medical presentations and one might think a Steadicam would be ideal. However, there are typically three or four people working around a patient on a gurney and it's difficult enough to move around them with the monopod and PD150 or a small tripod on wheels. Again, I think the Stedicam apparatus would really get in the way, although it might provide the ability to get rock solid close ups from a distance.

With our background in theatre production we also shoot quite a few professionally produced plays and musical performances during the course of each year. In almost every situation we're confined to the back of the theatre, often with very little set-up time and absolutely no ability to move around once the performance begins.

As I suggested earlier, there's also the issue of setting up the stabilizing device.
We had a commercial shoot a few weeks ago in a mall. Got in at 8 a.m. Sunday with a gaffer and had to be completely cleaned up and out by 10:00 a.m. when the mall opened. In those two hours we lit a display booth and shot five takes of the talent for a two minute web commercial. I can't imagine having to mess with a Steadicam unless I had an expert crew member assigned to that role, and I'm not at all sure the client would have paid for the extra shooter.

Frankly, I'd love to have the luxury of a Steadycam but in our business model there's no way to make it work. If we come up against a compelling need, we'll hire someone locally who is a dedicated Steadicam operator and bill the cost to the client.

And that, of course, brings me to a final point: will you be able to recover the cost of purchasing and using a Steadicam through wedding videography charges? I think you have to be very realistic with regard to how you're going to amortize the cost of the rig and over what length of time. If you're just getting started in wedding videography, can you expect realistically to get brides to pay an additional $200 - $300 for a few minutes of Steadicam work?

I'll be interested to hear what you decide and how you make use of the Steadicam if you do choose to use it.

Jack

Call Ray Schlogel over at UndergroundPlanet.com (muttley here on the site)

He'll give you the pro's, con's, and he doesn't sell or maintain them. Just a smart, experienced and very honest cat.

Hi,

I invested in a Glidecam and I have to say that freehand video looks just like crap compared to shots with the Glidecam. It is small and easy to handle, a good compomize sizewise. Going to full steadycam is not an option if you are on your own, not only because of how it limits your "freedom" of movement.

I use the Glidecam even for just private and family occasions, the videos are just that much more pleasant to watch. Highly recommended. To get even a better and smoother video, its a good idea to use also a wide angle lens together with the Glidecam. The results can be stunning... This investment has payed off several times :)

Christian

I should have been more clear in my original question - I'm considering something like the Steadicam Merlin or Glidecam 1000

Cliff Etzel
Videographer : Producer : Web Designer
bluprojekt

I bought a Steddiepod a few years ago.



Link to actual gadget here

Good thing is it works as a monopod as well as a camera stabiliser of sorts. You can also use it as a hand held 'crane' to get overhead shots. Not as good as a Merlin etc as a camera stabiliser but more versatile. Like every one of these devices learning to walk the walk is the key.

Company who make them seem a bit flaky but that's not unusual I've come to realise.

Bob.

This is the item I'm considering - Steadishot

Any thoughts??? It seems to be almost identical to the Glidecam HD-1000 - but less in cost (the $199 version)

Cliff Etzel
Videographer : Producer : Web Designer
bluprojekt

"It seems to be almost identical "

At a quick glance.
No micrometer adjustment of the stage on either of those. That makes it a pain to balance.
No quick release on either. You've got to pull the thing apart to get the camera off.

Be aware, both of these will tire your arm very quickly. Go with the cheap one. I think you'll soon get tired of using either.

If you want to dabble around with this kind of thing the Varizoom Flowpod is where you should start. You can lock the gimbal which means you can go from one mode to another pretty quickly.

Personally I'd just spend $10 and make myself a side grip rig or a knock off of the Fig Rig.

Bob.

Bob - funny you mentioned the knock off of the FigRig - I did that a couple of years ago - guess I'll save my $$$ and start working with it more.

Cliff Etzel
Videographer : Producer : Web Designer
bluprojekt

Majority of the time I edit so my filming experience is limited

But I tried a few steady cams all the above in fact and I would still use them today if I had arms like squirrel monkey
I ended getting flat footage like you are walking around with a neck brace and angels that I didn’t really want , the steady cam was dictating the shot and it looked unnatural

A Figrig on the other hand is natural and has good control but it takes practice to get decent footage
I have a small fig rig that has all the controls on the left by my left hand and an audio receiver I also have a zoom mic attached and other stuff. it also clips into a tripod for lockdown shots….so from a back of a vehicle on a highway to on top of a building climbing over stuff to get a shot my Figrig goes everywhere

I have filmed events side by side with the all the major broadcasters over here and from tripod to in crowded areas in seconds is no problem

one group I edit for has asked me to take more and more footage but as I said editing is my main line but I love filming and want to develop my skills in that area

shot Mike Figgis….simple but effective ….and cheap

I have a figrig too and love it.

You can get clamps to mount all kinds of stuff - I even made a mounting kit for my Roland sound recorder to sit next to the camera.

I think it is awesome :-)

/Ulf

This one:
Hague Steadicam

I bought this one, and this is the only stabilizer I have any experience with. It does what is says, I get amazing footages.. Yes.. amazing. However, no miracles happen though. It sonehow lives its own life in my hands, for the good and the bad. It sways, rolls, like ship in the sea, very smoot motion, indeed, and super when walking besides someone you want to interview while walking.
You can move around it, walk "beside it", it maintains its position, but expect sudden unintended movements.

I never understood how to add or remove weights, the following the manual I got a very unstable camera, so I finally added all the supplied weights. And tedious to position the camera to get the horizon right.

BTW, Hague has a lot of (semi) pro equipment, very good for the price. I have emtied my wallet using their online shop :-)

ingvarai

Ulf I did some shots of the ATP Tennis players arriving and there were paparazzi all over, although I had an official ATP tag it was still a scramble so I had my tripod set up by the interview table with my mic on the table and a zoom mic on the rig and as the players were arriving I got great shots as my figrig is small I could lift it above heads or drop it to chest level ,walk through swing doors and keep pace with the malmense and at the interviews pop it on my tripod, at this point the other camera guys were still trying to get there gear through the doors ..and I could lift my rig above the shoulder cams and get good footage and quite a few presenters from different channels ,overseas included were amazed at how versatile and effective the Figrig is they kept coming over to me and checking my set up and saying it’s just so simple and effective

I am with you on that one I also love it

Yes, and if you get a clamp and mount it in the buttom of the rig, you van actually bit a plate on the clamp, so that you can snap the whole rig onto the tripod.

/Ulf

Another figrig fan here. I first tried one of the cheap Monfrotto's, but while it was sort of OK for just a small video camera, it just couldn't handle anything else. I also found it VERY hard to put down - it wouldn't stand up by itself and didn't fiy onto a tripod.

I've now got a figrig with a shotgun, LED light, DSA2 mixer, Sennheiser G2 receiver, and a remote gaffed onto the rim. It's all clamped on, including a quick release plate on the bottom so I can go from tripod to mobile. Great stuff ! I also got a little mini-tripod to clamp on the bottom so I can instantly put it down or rest on a good surface. I've got a double-ended hook in my bag as well so I can hang the whole thing up from a bar or branch.

Very versatile and gives a pretty good result. I was worried that it was a bit weird looking, but I haven't really had much more attention than normal.

"I never understood how to add or remove weights, the following the manual I got a very unstable camera, so I finally added all the supplied weights. And tedious to position the camera to get the horizon right."

Getting any of these things balanced correctly is critical.
It's helped on the expensive units by having a micrometer stage i.e. lead screws that move the camera in X and Y easily.
Adding all the weights is a very common mistake, it'll make the unit pendulum quite easily especially when turning.

Bob.

Bob,
you sound like the manual :-)
Ok, I admit I am wrong in this case. I will try again, and follow the instructions as close as possible this time. Thanks for the reminder!

ingvarai