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What makes stabilizers effective
  • JspatzJspatz
    I see a wide range of image stabilizers from DIY through very expensive. Can anyone explain what accounts for a stabilizer's effectiveness? Is it size, weight, design, etc? Looking forward to perspectives from this knowledgeable group.

    PS I very often make these posts incorrectly and am not always sure what I have done wrong. If this is the case with this post, please explain the correct approach so I eventually get it. Thanks
  • 12 Replies sorted by
  • brianlucebrianluce
    The cheap ones are always handheld and some can get a good steady image for a while, but then your arm falls off. The good ones, that you can fly all day, have some sort of vest to support it usually. Avoid the friction heads too, they're crap.
  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp
    @brianluce +1

    Accurate repeatable balance (so you can set it and it stays there, or take the cam off and put it back without the balance having changed).
  • PsycoPsyco
    The whole trick is: Inertia!

    A good stabilizer maximises inertia and reduces all other forces on the camera. This means the setup has to be heavy, in perfect balance and can rotate in every direction without friction.

    Thats why the more expensive stabilizers have a quite sofisticated ballbearing system to support the weight while not restricting rotation by any means.

    The vest and supportarm add usability when the camera is operated for more than 5min ;-)
  • brianlucebrianluce
    @Mark
    Yes, the web is full of desperate discussions usually titled "How the F do I balance my ebay stedicam!!! Been trying for TWO WEEKS! Seller won't reply to my emails!!!"

  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp
    @brianluce Agree all that! And on the subject of expectations, an important part is also knowing when a stabilizer (however good) isn't the answer.

    For example, a stabilizer won't let you do a really slow tracking shot (I've tried all ways and it doesn't work), and most won't work in windy conditions. They also won't let you adjust focus or exposure unless you have the add-on telepathic link to your camera so you don't have to touch the controls.
  • Xenocide38Xenocide38
    The only "stabilizers" I have ever been happy with are the higher end steadicam-type rigs with full vests and arms. The cheaper (~$300) stabilizers do "work" but not nearly as well as a proper steadicam rig. I own a cheapo Flycam similar to this:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Glidecam-4000-Pro-Stabilizer-System-Video-Cameras-/330577332679?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf7f1c9c7

    I've used it only a handfull of times and I've never been satisfied. The video always feels too floaty and unmotivated. It's hard to follow a specific subject with precision and to remove wobble from walking/running.

    A better rig uses a full vest and arm to isolate the camera completely independent from your body. I use a full Glidecam setup at work and it's obvious how much better and easier it is to use. Of course these setups are expensive and therefore not very "popular" with the budget seeking filmmakers but you really need a good arm and vest to make the stabilizer worth it:

    http://www.glidecam.com/product-gold-arm.php

    If you want to get the cheap solution, I'd say just get nice rail shoulder support.
  • RobertoRoberto
    @brianluce
    >some can get a good steady image for a while, but then your arm falls off
    +1 !
    I say, for those film makers who don't foresee a career as a steadicam owner/operator:

    -take advantage of all the ready-made tracking systems: wheelchairs, escalators, train-carriages, automobiles, shopping-trolleys, etc;
    -invest, modestly, in sliders, jibs, pipe-dollies;
    -First get a cheap stabilizer and learn to use it. Plan your steadicam shots for a maximum of 10 seconds.

    It never hurts to stopwatch-time a movie or video of the genre you are about to produce yourself. Its tracking shots will last longer than the tripod shots' average of, say, 2-4 seconds - (That's what dollies were invented for: to keep the subject in-frame for longer while the subject moves about). A 10-sec steadicam shot should be long enough. Spend a minute planning in the shade and save your arm-muscles!

    That said, steadicams have revolutionized cinema and it's got hard to do narrative without one these days. The only way I can think of cheating is to get the talent to run, sway, move around in ways that can quite effectively distract the viewer from your less-than-perfect stabilization. (Think, two pretty girls walking, talking, smiling and gesticulating - shot with a wide lens...)

    I use the $14 stabilizer and have got good enough at using it.
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  • dark_fibredark_fibre

    @Mark_the_Harp Thank you for the information about trying slow tracking shots all different ways & it never working out. I have been researching steadicams in the hope they would allow me to do exactly that. This is good information to have. I think a slider set up, that allows me to smoothly pan & tilt (& reframe my subject whilst camera is moving) is what i need

  • KihlianKihlian

    I needed very quickly a stabilizer. Made this with mi Manfrotto centre column and a weight in the bottom of it. Works well.

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  • tidatida

    I completely agree with @Psyco. Think about inertia in respect of rotational directions. That means also that position of counterweights should be as far away from each other as it's of practical use.

    Even if you want to influence rotation by your fingers the diameter of the touching axis should be small. Then you feel much more inertia (forces against acceleration) and movements are immediately softer.

  • davhardavhar

    my understanding is that you NEED the weight of a big camera to settle it all down with gravity as your friend, basically holding the perfect centre of gravity as if on the tip of your pinky…balanced above with below and side to side. And this is the problem with a GH2 - no weight. So I haven't bought any stabilizer yet. instead I've gone for an old stroller to act as both camera cart and dolly in one. Actually works…on flat surfaces. Walking carefully with a monopod works well enough about 40% of the time, depending...

  • chauncychauncy

    well I've been pretty vocal about these cheap ones. I went through 3 different ones before shelling out the cash for a real one.

    Absolutely use other methods and ideas to get tracking shots if you can. A real floatly steadicam shot is rarely needed but may be critical.

    I think a big part of stabilzers is customer and peer support. Buy something that LOTS of other people have had success with, so you know it's possible to get good results. You have to also consider that you're going to be spending lots of time learning how to make it all work.

    A lot of cheapo stabilizer show a guy walking a straight line on a flat surface for 5 seconds. Not how it works in a film really, turns, uneven ground, stop, start.

    Weight of rig helps stability enormously. Here a vest and arm helps you survive. It's not just the shot itself, it's the balancing, the planning, the practice walkthroughs, the takes...

    Be realistic about what you're trying to get to. How are you going to focus on the stabilizer?, how are you going to see what you're shooting and concentrate on walking and balancing?

    This is hard stuff. It can all be done but it ain't easy. I choose a blackbird and got a merlin vest and arm for it on ebay. It was a lot of money for me. But I'm finally getting the results I've been looking for.

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