@pc_bel

@tommy might be referring to the way a DSLR user can pass unnoticed; ie low profile. (Works for me).

Anyone tried the Flycam nano with the new GH3 ?

@labalbi

The weight of GH3 is slightly more, but it is not much important.

As for FlyCam Nano, don't buy it, as it is pain in the ass to balance.

@vicharris

Be more calm :-)

OK so i'm looking in to modding my hd-1000.

Even with my GH1 and Tokina + Quick release plate, I seem to be having issues with it penduluming. I've had it for a couple of years now and done lots of reading up on it and experimenting. I understand how to balance and have had it balanced correctly (used spirit levels, experimented with multiple different drop times) I also understand how to walk with and hold it blah blah but I've heard mixed reviews with the hd-1000 and some people have said that even maxed out, it just isn't heavy enough to create enough inertia. Now, i'm not one of those people concerned with keeping the rig light and only bought the 1000 over the 2000 or 4000 because of price. I was thinking to get a longer telescopic pole and add weights to the bottom and top to make it similar to the 2000/4000. In theory, would this work? or am i better off selling the 1000 and getting a 4000.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Mike

I've been using Merlin with my hacked GH2 for awhile. I kinda sucked in the beginning and I have gotten better over time, but can't get rock solid dolly look. It always seems to swing side-to-side. I have to shoot at hour of video to get just a few minutes of usable footage. I've seen some Glidecam footage on Youtube, and they seem much better, giving that "Shining" effect I love. Here's my latest Merlin footage. Notice that it's decent but I can't seem to go pass swinging. If you point to some rock solid Merlin footage, perhaps I can practice more instead of blaming the equipment. Thoughts?

I usually get swinging when its balanced too bottom heavy (I use the blackbird). Getting a drop time of between 1.5-2 seconds seems to help. And practice. When I look back at the earlier vids I did theres a lot more pitching about. I also find once you've got a swing happening you may as well cut and start again.

@kellar42 I use Really Right Stuff plate/bracket on top of the Merlin camera plate, so the settings will differ a bit than a standard mount. With camera+14mm pancake+RRS, I use 1 starter weight (the round end piece) in front, 1 start and 1 finish (bigger piece) at the bottom. I then adjust the ark until it balances then fine-tune with the thumbwheels. The drop time is around 1-1 1/2 seconds, so it's balanced pretty well. I can't, for the life of me, can't stop it swinging side to side. It's driving me crazy. I am going to try Glidecam HD 1000 and see if I get better results. I just ordered one from eBay. I will post results within a few weeks.

I think there may be some misunderstanding about how to properly use a smallish stabilizer with a lightweight camera like the GH2, GoPro, et al. Minus the sheer inertia of a heavier camera and more massive steadicam, you're simply not ever going to enjoy the same locked-down horizon no matter how you wave your arm around or creep down the street. It's just not going to happen. You can perfectly optimize balance and drop time and still get the pendulum thing happening. It's just baked into the scenario of relatively mass-free objects set in motion.

I don't need a steadicam very often but when I do need one I use the Flycam Nano with my GH2. It's far from the perfect steadicam and truth be told the balancing is a PITA but I accept this as part of the deal when I need that kind of smooth flowing camera motion. OOTB the Flycam is a nightmare to set up and operate, but the two things I've found to really make it work a hell of a lot better in terms of minimizing setup time and maximising horizon lockdown are:

1. Weighing down the top plate. Awhile back on this forum Vitaliy linked to a brilliant idea of using two adjustable macro rails, one on top of another, to form a thumbscrew adjustable balancing platform. It works great and isn't expensive, and it also has the benefit of adding mass to the camera which makes it more resistant to motion. Now people are selling 4-way macro rails which cut to the chase - e.g.:

http://www.amazon.com/Cowboystudio-Macro-Focusing-Rail-Photography/dp/B0047DS41S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365513999&sr=8-1&keywords=macro+rail

You screw that to the top of the Flycam or whatever small stabilizer you use and it makes balancing much easier and quicker, and adds enough weight to reduce swinging.

1. Using my free hand at the fulcrum to dampen motion. This is really the secret of getting pro results from a small stabilizer and camera setup. I know you see all the YouTube demos of guys in pit-stained wifebeaters standing in cum-encrusted bathrooms waving their tiny steadicams around in the bathroom mirror with awesome bathroom echo audio of them telling you this is how the pros do it. Forget all that (and if you can, please tell me how). Use your free hand. Gently place your thumb and forefinger on the fulcrum/pivot point and apply just enough pressure to dampen the free motion, but not so much pressure that you actually move the camera. You just want to steady it and add some damping to the free-balling pivot bearing. Once you get the hang of gently dampening the pivot with your free hand, you'll find these small stabilizers are capable of surprisingly professional performance. You'll also find that with practice you can lightly rotate the camera and aim it while you're in motion, instead of just relying upon waving your support arm around to get the camera to point this way or that.

To be honest I don't really care for using a steadicam, and look forward to the near future when cam drones are good and cheap enough to do away with these balancing rigs once and for all. But for the time being, these two tips get me what I need from the Flycam.

@oscillian I've looked at doing the modified Smoothee thing but lighter weight aside it seems to require the same amount of balancing as my Nano with the macro adapters, and the lighter weight may even be a drawback when it comes to inertial stability. Thankfully I only need a steadicam a couple times a month and for the amount of work it gets the Nano fits my bill nicely. You're right, though, it's not my wrist's best friend.

I don't need a Smoothee. What I really need is a Rambo.

Hey Rambo,

How do you put the GH2 on a smoothee? I thought the quick relaese plates would only fit a Gopro and an iphone. BTW, nice digs.

Hacksaw and drill are my weapons of choice :-) I added a manfrotto 323 QR on top and roughly 8-9 washers on the bottom. I fly it with a GH2 and the SLRMagic 12mm. It's just heavy enough to gain some inertia but not too heavy to use for longer periods. Plus it works like a shoulder support when I switch lens to the Nokton 25mm. Just fold up the handle and tuck the curved part in your armpit.