Camera stabilizer setup, how to use, tips, tricks, on all brands and DIY rigs

Well I have the Lensse Midx stabilizer and it seems to work. Cost me $99 at Amazon. I do have a lot of practicing to do so as soon as I can I'll post videos. Here are my photos of the equipment and below some videos from youtube (not my videos).









Running (Youtube)

Walking (Youtube)

Is that you in the running video?
Starting at 11 seconds the stabilization is great... but the first run suffers from shakiness. Was wondering how that was held different starting at 11 seconds..

I've seen a number videos with that particular device where the sides seems to have an issue with lack of stability. Maybe people are just not holding it right as it seems from that first video that the potential is there....

I had pretty good results walking through the Redwoods last year with my camcorder attached to a Hiking Stick. I held the top of the stick between thumb and forefinger for a swivel effect. Pinching a little would dampen the swing when necessary. The hiking stick has a 1/4 20 screw on the top, which I think is pretty standard for hiking sticks. It would be easy to add a little extra weight on the bottom with a rubber band or duct tape, but that might cause too much swing.

Should I turn off the Sony XR500V's image stabilization when using it with a Hague Mini-Motion Stabilizer?

I'm think having the camcorder's OIS/stabilizer turned off would yield better results, but you can film it both with and without and compare the test footage.

btw..Are you in the US? I only see the Hague Mini-Motion Stabilizer available from a UK dealer on ebay. Where did you get it?

EDIT: I followed your link to the Hague site. thx

Thanks for responding to my question. I've had the Hauge for nearly three months and my videos aren't quite as smooth as some of the Hauge Mini-Motion Cam test videos posted on YouTube. Maybe turning off the XR500v's OIS is the solution.

Yes, I'm located in the US. I purchased it from a UK site here. It took 3 days to arrive (Oregon).

Nope that's not me. If you watch it directly on youtube there's caption's in the video that explains the 2 scenes. Hopefully its ok I'll just quote the video description from Youtube:

"Here is the Lensse Midpro Stabilizer and the camera I used is the GoPro HD Hero. No stabilizing software used in the demonstration.

The 1st clip shows camera without the stabilizer. Camera held in my hand.

The 2nd clip shows camera mounted on the Lensse Midpro Stabilizer.

The Lensse Midpro has an adjustable gimbal and rear weights as well as bottom weights, for a greater range of cameras. Mounting small light cameras like iphones or the GoPro can be easily balanced with the rear weights, where the MidX would require adding bottom weights to balance out compensating centre of gravity and getting pendlm effect.

My choice would be the Lensse MidPro that offer more adjustments then the MidX. The MidPro even comes with an iphone or PDA mount."

I went with the MidX as oppose the MidPro because I don't need the iPhone mount.. but it does say the MidPro has more adjustments. Still learning the stabilizer.

All stabilizers are based on the same concept. You have to understand this to set them up properly and to get a feel for how to use them.

The basis of the concept is that the momentum of the weight above the pivot point and the weight below the pivot point needs to be almost equal. If the weight below the pivot point is too heavy it will accelerate and decelerate more slowly than the weight above and cause it to swing.

If you have too much weight above the pivot point it will try to flip upside down. There is an optimum weight difference between the camera above the pivot point and the arch below that when accelerated and decelerated just right does not swing or twist.

Secondly the balance between the front weight and the bottom weight needs to be correct so that it doesn't want to torque. This is the down fall of all the C shaped stabilizers. They are very difficult to set up and use as they can never be perfectly balanced for motion in all directions as there is always more weight out on the center of the arch relative to every other direciton of movement.

The third element in the equation is friction in the gimbal. This one will always cause problems and you just need to know it's going to cause some swing to your cam. This is a case where being too steady with your hold can be counter productive. If you angle the handle very very slowly you'll see that most systems will tip ever so slightly until the gimble breaks the stiction and then swings. They almost work better when you wiggle your hand as you move. This keeps the gimble from sticking at all and actually tends to give you a smoother image in the end.

In any case try to understand the concept of momentum between the top and bottom. Momentum is velocity times mass. If the top and bottom are equal you can add any velocity to the system you want and it will stay balanced. As we want the cam to stay on top we need there to be slightly more mass on the bottom and thus we need to be very smooth in the acceleration and deceleration of the system to keep it from swinging.

Now add a little unbalance between the front and the lower weight plus a little friction in the gimble and you have a recipe for pulling your hair out

Cheers,
Pete

It probably sways because you have too much weight on top, and/or not enough weight on bottom. I've pretty much ditched my commercial stabilizers. What you basically need is at least two points to hold at a distance away from camcorder. And more weight below where you're holding than above. Which is doable on the cheap with some PVC and other parts. And is easier said than done, if you've got extras like a wide angle lens, external mic(s), and such. And other concerns beyond just balancing like wind profile.

Not that such rigs don't have their place. But at the end of the day could you have gotten an equal shot by duct taping it (or other creative mounting techniques) to a pizza box and running around with a camcorder on a pizza box? Without all the hassle (and time suck) of the near impossible task of balancing weights. Plus that whole more than 2x's the weight of just the camcorder thing. Which could be more than 2x's the camcorder plus lens plus mics plus ......

There is a guy in Scottland who has done a lot of work and posted a number of interesting videos on his diy stabilizer. Its worth a look. Google him "WSCLATER DIY Camera stabilizer design". I am going to build one once I get my G10.

Kind of neat that WSCLATER stuff.

With my own PVC incarnations, I've found that the closer you have the camcorder to your body, the less side to side sway when you walk. And you almost always want it to be slightly bottom heavy. Having more weight on top than below is counter productive. I started with the camcorder mounted on a PVC joint outside of a C like frame, but it works better having the camcorder inside the C frame and closer to the body. Nothing like a steadicam with a gimbal. But it sure helps a ton with a camcorder that has weak stabilization.

Nothing is glued on this thing. So the mics come off and the monopod on the side comes off. Without that extra stuff it's fairly light. With old man hands (1" PVC) grips. Not quite a steadicam type thing, but it sure helps a ton with stabilization. And it's wide enough and hefty enough that if you don't go fast, it can appear steadicam like. And various other possibilities if you string it up like a puppet.

Looks like a jet pack.

Go to diycamera.com/stabiliser. Look at the stabilizer he made, but be sure to look at his "Steadicam ice test" video. It is pretty impressive.

Center frame of the right image. A PVC T joint with a 1/4" 3" bolt through it. Also shown in the video below for a different setup.

Shot with just the bottom half. Mics and monopod elsewhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EItP6ecKlZQ

Bear in mind that it's an FH1 camcorder, so by default stabilization sucks.

Here's my setup:

Camcorder: Sony HDR-XR500V Handycam w/Sony NPFH100 H Series Battery
Stabilizer: Hague Mini-Motion-Cam w/5 large weights

Demo: http://youtu.be/50grIhdRFeI?hd=1

You should look at the one this guy made. It appears to work better than the Hague or the Merlin. In his videos he shows the evolution of his design. One of the most important components is the gimbal. He shows you the brand name and model of the gimbal which is readily available at any model shop. If you look at his video be sure to look at his sample video taken while walking across a frozen pond in Scotland. Some of the parts he uses are things he found. The handle is made of a flashlight or "torch" as they say in Scotland.

www.diycamera.com/stabiliser/index.html

Just found this thread. Anyone have anything new to add?
I've got a Autocue QTV CS-Glide on the way to me and I plan on documenting my process with it. My theory is that these have to work better than my giggling, jiggling, swaying hand helds. I want to be able to fly and not be limited or stuck with shots that make even me want to upchuck with all the motion.

I have the Steadicam Merlin that is just about the best compact stabilizer out there. Here is a photo of it with my GH2 and 25mm F0.95 lens.

Really nice setup. Do you happen to have any videos you've made using the Merlin?
I have read all the details about the theories behind this Merlin and it seems really well grounded in solid statistics for those who are willing to take it step by step.
My plan is to use these theories with the stabilizer I got in my price range.

Here is a youtube video made with the GH2 Steadicam Merlin combo.

Nice going. Even when you were on the escalator, steps, avoiding people and bicycles it was acceptably smooth.
Did you keep a light touch on it with your other hand to control the pans?
I just got the Autocue in the mail a few minutes ago. I have family visiting so will post video etc. in a few days when I have time to play uninterrupted. Looks very similar to your Merlin.

To judge the value-added of an expensive and complicated to use, and set-up, Merlin rig, you need to compare it to an alternative. Here's a brief video made with a much cheaper and much easier to set up stabilizer following on foot a tour group. Is this much or any worse than a Merlin would do?



Select 1080p (and, incidentally, admire how much sharper the video is compared to the GH2).

Here's another, again with almost no set-up time:



Select 1080.


Stabilizer technology has advanced far since the Merlin came out.

(btw, I have a Merlin (not used for the clips above); it is really difficult to set up without a lot of practice)
Edited by markr041 - 2/14/13 at 6:35pm

Panasonic TM900 & Steadicam Merlin (1080p50 Slow Motion Test)



Panasonic TM900 & Steadicam Merlin (1080p50 2nd Test)



Edited by jogiba - 2/14/13 at 6:19pm

I wondered about the end statement on the 3rd one about "some people like expensive things". hmmmm. What did he mean?
I did see another balancing video that certainly made sense to me as far as fine tuning the details since I don't have the option of using some existing Merlin setup as a starting point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uEEdYMopzw

I had a few minutes to play and just threw my little Panasonic HDC tm900 on the GS Glide and tweeked the adjustments a bit and rushed out to shoot some tests. Oh my, this evening I am actually going about it a bit (lot) more carefully so I don't get seasick watching my own video...lol.