Lastly,
take the remaining two pipes, screw them into the T joint
of the handle, and attached the base and the mounting.
And your done! You can tighten these parts as much as
you'd like. Either give them a good hand tightening or
the full fledged vise and wrench tightening. The only
reason not to do the vise-wrench tighten is if you want
to be able to collapse this or swap components. You can
vary the pipe lengths and barbell weight however you like.
I would probably refer to this combination as the sport
model. Mostly because it's balance point (with camera)
is near the T-joint and can be spun around by the handle
pretty well. It's really agile. Longer bars and heavier
weights change the handling.
When you store it without the camera, the mounting washer
is left hanging on the end. I recommend taking off the
wing nut, putting on the washer, and then screwing the
wing nut back on. That will help keep it from getting
lost.
Using
Your Steadycam
The
side handle is used to stabilize side-to-side rocking.
The vertical shaking is pretty much dampened by the weight.
You may hold it however you'd like. The way I like holding
it is shown in the picture. How you use it is 80% of the
smoothness. This even is true for the professional stuff
with all the fancy shocks and hydraulics. Don't expect
this thing to perform miracles, you have to practice using
your arms and body to create a smooth motion. Watch your
hands while you walk, and see how level you can keep them
relative to the ground. Watching the shadow of your hands
on a sunny say is an easy way to isolate thier movement.
Keep your legs bent and learn how to "glide". I talked
with someone who has used professional steady-cams and
they said this was, "really, just as good." Getting good
results is not so much about the equipment, but how you
use it. That's really true about everything.
WARNING: Improper or irresponsible use of a steadycam
can quickly result in the destruction of your equipment
and/or injury to yourself and others. Be careful, watch
where you are going, pay attention to where you are swinging
your camera, and just try not to do anything stupid for
your own sake.
Here is some example footage of the steadycam in use.
These are for educational and demonstration purposes only.
If you really enjoy the music used in these clips, I encourage
you to support the artists by purchasing thier recordings.
NOTE: These samples, as well as all of my own films,
were captured with a $300 Sony Digital 8 Camcorder (the
cheapest digital camcorder you can buy).
Duration/Size:0:13/617KB Description:
Sprinting down a hallway with camera about 3-6 inches
from the ground. Uses the inverting bracket to position
the camera near the ground. Notes: The vertical motion is clean, even around
the turn and up the ramp. There is a little side-to-side
motion because I was only using one hand and not using
the side handle. I did this run cold without any practice.
You should really practice a scene a few times and get
used to what you'll have to do before you try to record
it.
Duration/Size:0:33/1.2MB Description:
Tracking fast moving/running subjects playing soccer. Notes: This involves running along side and around
a soccer player during practice. The steadycam and the
inverting bracket are the only pieces of equipment used.
Also demonstrates some of the dangers of field recording
in active environments. Music Credit:Squirrel
Nut Zippers [amazon.com]
Duration/Size:1:00/1.4MB Description: Competitive squash player practicing.
The reason she is hitting softly is because she would
probably kill me otherwise. :) Notes: Lots of circular panning around a moving
subject. Uses inverting bracket to dramatize viewing angle. Music Credit:YoYo
Ma [amazon.com]
Duration/Size:1:31/4MB Description:
Tracking a subject walking through various environments. Notes: Fairly complex camera control, some not
acheivable with many commerical stablizers. Rising from
ground level to shoulder level while in motion, steep
camera pitching, stair navigation, circular panning around
subject while ascending a stairwell. Music Credit:Take
Care of My Cat Soundtrack [yesasia.com]
