The video is not available in your country….

fu you tube.

seems like a nice project though

Posted at 2:25 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by jelengar

Beated by 1$:

http://steadycam.org/

Posted at 2:34 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by Berto

While the T bar ’steadycam’ has passive stabilization (ie: just masses of weight to counteract rapid changes in direction), this one has gimbals which helps with angular stabilization.

I would build this device over the T bar because the materials are easier to work, and with a slight addition of a handle you can get something actually approaching a real steadicam (ie: only gimbals, no spring loaded arm, see steadicam merlin).

Posted at 2:54 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by aonomus

@berto, the link you provided was already provided in the article. While the projects attempt the same feat I believe that this gimbal mount will produce better results as there is more freedom in his rig.

Posted at 2:56 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by clutch110

@jelengar :
you can use a web proxy to defeat youtube country limitation (just google for “web proxy” ans hyou should find some for free).

Translation services (babelfish translator for example) will also act as a proxy and display the video in the “translated” page.

Hope this helps…

Posted at 3:04 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by Ced-2k

I have tried something very similar to this and unless you just want to have some fun you are wasting your time and energy. Even if you spend 20-40 dollars making a DIY, a professional (for small camera) steadicam will cost about 350$. Trust as some one who has gone this route before, the level of precision that you need balance your camera will be hard to attain with out one sick work shop.

The snoricam however looks great, simple and no need to balance!

Posted at 5:44 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by Jordan

Nice! But I see one thing I wish it would do better: pan up and down while keeping the steadiness going (see how it needed to pan up while following the children up the stairs). I have a proposed way to do that: Connect the outer race of the gimbal to a vertical pistol-grip handle and rig the pitch axis of that handle to shift the centre of gravity of the bottom counterweights so that the camera will find its balance in a more nose-up attitude. Do-able!

Posted at 6:42 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by gyro_john

Why do we need one ? Seems the idiotic trend
nowadays in video production is to DELIBERATELY
shake the freakin camera !

Pisses me off to no end. One reason I never
watched the new Battlestar Galactica series.
The never ending shaking of the camera.

Then you see even more camera’s being jostled
around on various tv commercials. I’m like
WTF !????

I’d like to draw & quarter the mofo directors
who think shaking a camera deliberately is some
form of “art”. They can kiss my shiny metal ass!

Posted at 6:50 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by Quagmire

video is not available in your country due to copyright restrictions.

wtf? I’m in costa rica!!! who decides this crap???

even if I lived in irak or something.. who the fcuk cares if I see this video?!?!?!

Posted at 7:06 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by juan cubillo

gyro_john,

You just put the top from a normal tripod on it and use the pan and tilt from that with the arm. I’m sure you could find a compromise in the tensioner that would allow you to smothly tilt without the camera coming loose or jostling around.

Posted at 8:29 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by troublem8ker

If you hands shaking so much just stop drinking ;)

Posted at 8:30 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by therian

This is totally awesome. I’m going to build one.

Posted at 8:41 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by trevor

this is gonna work well with my skate videos, sweet

Posted at 8:57 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by sunjester

I don’t understand how this works – where does the arduino go?

Posted at 11:18 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by Stunmonkey

@Stunmonkey
LOL I hope you aren’t serious. You have a point though. Welcome to Arduinoaday.com

This hack is a really good idea. You could also use purposely unbalanced weights to allow certain angles. I like it!

Posted at 11:50 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by Benny M

“Beated by 1$:
http://steadycam.org/
Posted at 2:34 pm on Jul 15th, 2009 by Berto”

And it’s a piece of crap. All it does is make the camera 10 times heavier at the bottom and give you another spot to hold it midway. This Gimbal version actually does a nice job at stabilization without adding a horribly disproportionate amount of weight… and does more at stabilizing the image other than making it too heavy for you to “shake.”

Posted at 1:05 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by jimbo

Looks like it works very well, great demo video. On another note I was surprised to read the comments where people are being restricted by Youtube based on location. Darn Youtube, I have used them thinking that everyone could view the content regardless of location…

Posted at 2:27 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by Alan Parekh

You linked to the 1st version of the steadicam, he’s made 5 of these, the newest one being much smaller…although with a differnt gimbal:

http://www.yb2normal.com/diysteadicam5.html

Posted at 3:39 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by Wongsta

I like this idea… Couple it with a harness you use to march a drum, and an articulating arm of sorts and you have a steadicam, $30k cheaper.

Posted at 5:09 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by Adam

Excellent job on this, and this design was actually on my to-do list for quite some time since it’s a slight variation on a known hack, as for that $14 thing linked, I’m sorry but that is just a silly piece of junk.

And s for the youtube not being available, it’s not the video that is the issue but the song that plays in the background, freaking sony and pals control youtube’s sound now, and it annoys me even though this one I can see, seems mostly the US that is affected which is ironic since the rest of the web it’s mostly non-US that gets blocked more and more, but even when I can see videos I still can’t discuss them when half the people can’t, so it remains annoying no matter if you are allowed to see it, or rather ‘hear’ it

Posted at 5:15 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by Wwhat

addendum:
As for suggestions for improvements, use bolts with flat heads on the outer ring and shorten them with a saw to fit and sit smoothly on the ring, although perhaps the bolts improve grip in a way as they are, or maybe add a handlebar that attaches to the outer ring so you don’t have to hold the ring itself, would easy the strain on the hand because the ring’s size and the weight can’t be comfy, you can use a cupboard handle vertically maybe?
And tidy up the weight bar and camera mount to look a little less ghetto :) a small handsander and a lick of paint would do wonders.
But it’s about function and nothing but praise for this thing from me really even as it is.

Posted at 5:31 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by Wwhat

“This video is not available in your country due to copyright restrictions.”

A site devoted to openness and hacking restricts its videos to a significant part of the world? I’m in Eastern Europe and one Central American commenter above also mentioned problems. Oh please!

Posted at 5:56 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by Lauri

You guys should check out what wongsta is saying:

“You linked to the 1st version of the steadicam, he’s made 5 of these, the newest one being much smaller…although with a differnt gimbal:

http://www.yb2normal.com/diysteadicam5.html

Posted at 3:39 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by Wongsta”

Using a pre-made gimbal in the form of a U-Joint for a model car is a good idea. They are cheap at the hobby shog and one package will make two of these camera mounts for $4-$5

http://www.google.com/products?q=traxxas+drive+shaft&hl=en&scoring=p&sa=N&lnk=next&start=30

Keep on hacking (if you know any friends that bash Traxxas I am sure they may have free spares that are broken for them, but work fine for this.)

Cool hack, combine with a kidney belt and a pantomime arm and you could get some wicked shots in.

Posted at 6:25 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by nubie

cool hack. necessary now that camcorders are getting ridiculously small. image stabilization doesn’t help much with the tiny cams.

I never needed something like this with my old vhs camcorder. big enough to prop on my shoulder ;)

Posted at 7:09 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by JB

Instead of weights underneath the gimbal, 3 gyros on different axes would be better.

Posted at 8:46 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by tinyhands

@jb
No amount of anti shake in the camera can compensate, or compare to the smoothness of such a device, look at the video (if sony lets you) and see the difference.

@nubie
Indeed I too did not pay attention to all the comments, thanks for pointing it out, the newer one is interesting in its own right.

Posted at 9:28 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by Wwhat

@wwhat: that’s why i said “image stabilization doesn’t help much with the tiny cams”. I like my new HD camcorder, just hate the tiny format. Believe it or not, I miss the big size of my full size vhs camcorder (which still works fine after 20 years) Tiny cams shake too much, even with i.s. on. the old “dinosaur” camcorder doesn’t have i.s. and doesn’t really need it when you prop it on your shoulder.

and yes, I did look at the video. I’ll be building one for my camera. Again, great hack!

Posted at 10:30 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by JB

LOOK OUT FOR GIMBAL LOCK!!

Posted at 10:32 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by byron

Why is the camera above the gimble?

If it were lower then the weight of the camera would help contribute the centralising mass….
Mungewell.

Posted at 11:23 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by mungewell

Someone should tell that idiot to remove country restrictions in youtube.

Such limited videos should not be allowed here.

Posted at 11:39 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by alex

@Ced-2k
neither google translator nor yahoo/altavista babel fish work as proxy for youtube videos. also free us proxies are S-L-O-W, and it’s pointless to try to watch a video that way.

fuckings to who ever decided to use some copyright lame music on the background of the video.

i didn’t even want to see it in the first place, blaaah.

Posted at 11:55 am on Jul 16th, 2009 by entropia

@Wwhat At least they could show up the option to MUTE the fscking sound. Really.

It is annoying that I can’t see the damn video just because of the sound.

Today youtube will receive a email about it, I encourage you guys (who can’t see the video too) to do the same.

Posted at 12:46 pm on Jul 16th, 2009 by MrX

I built one of these last year, with a few changes. You control tilt by keeping one thumb pressed against the central pole; that’s necessary just to keep it from turning right or left, so your hands are naturally in position.

I hold my arms down and to the side, at waist level, as a real steadicam operator would. Having such a long central pole (so the camera itself hovers around eye level) may hurt stability, but I see no other way. It would be nice to mount some kind of arm on the gimble–maybe a combination snorri/steadicam.

Posted at 4:35 pm on Jul 16th, 2009 by Doctor Allen

People who cannot watch for copyright reason still able to download from http://keepvid.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fv%2FnXB0ncUQLn4

Posted at 3:52 pm on Jul 17th, 2009 by uzzer

at least with all these copyright restrictions hopefully people will quit putting shitty music in the background of their videos

Posted at 5:05 pm on Jul 17th, 2009 by anon

“Not available in your country due to copyright restrictions…”

Why on earth do people put country based copyright restrictions on the videos they upload on Youtube?! Do they only want Americans to see them and not show them to us evil unpatriotic atheists from Europe? Silly I say.

Posted at 6:20 pm on Jul 28th, 2009 by european

Here’s a DIY tripod head:

http://woodgears.ca/tripod/

Posted at 12:39 pm on Aug 23rd, 2009 by pixnorth