Please do post your findings i realise it wont be as good build. but pondering if it would be a cheap substitute until i can get my hands on a wondalan stabaliser

You mean this one?

I wonder how it compares to my newly modded steadicam smoothee with GH1 (aka baby merlin)

Arrived incredibly quickly from The States - 47th Street in NY are swift! Un-boxed it and initially looks well built - will have a fiddle this weekend.

Looks like you can get some decent stuff if your camera's lightweight enough

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

Will do - looks like the fliers above are as wobbly as I am :)

I think many users of the Opteka Steadyvid Pro will get "tripped up"by the fact that the counterweights at the bottom do not come in fine individual increments like the Steadicam Merlin. Thus people will find themselves locked into very gross drop times and dynamic balance arrangements, resulting in lots of pendulum effect in their shots (i.e. According to the above unboxing video, the manual says Opteka supply 1 x 335g plus 2 x 90g weights. Compare this to Steadicam Merlin supplying 3 x 57g plus 6 x 114g). Users could find themselves needing to rever to the use of some sort of DIY 1/4" threaded rod and large bumper/fender washers instead of the supplied weights on the lower spar? Over time, i am sure some sort of "Opteka Cookbook" will emerge like the Merlin Cookbook to help users with weight settings for various camera/lens configurations.

Putting aside the "smoothness" and build quality of the actual pivots, one possible advantage of the Opteka system over the Steadicam Merlin/Smoothee gimbal geometry is that (like the commercial Blackbird and the DIY Wsclater design) Opteka offers a pan wheel for independent locking or dampening of pan axis with the user's thumb. This can assist when tilting, as there is less likelihood of unwanted "pan wobble" being introduced when tilting. Such control relies on silken touch from the operator of course. Tilting when walking with the Smoothee for instance is almost guaranteed to have pan wobbles.

""""Tilting when walking with the Smoothee for instance is almost guaranteed to have pan wobbles."""Not necessarily cp_from oz, the Smoothee also has a thumb and/or finger "wheel" > SteadyCam Smoothee and GF2.

No processing other than 1080>720 for vimeo upload.

There is a tiny thumb notch in the Smoothee pan wheel that when handled correctly, can prevent pan rotation. Same at the front of the wheel, there is a surface provided to place your forefinger.

Once these affordable stabilizers are balanced correctly, the rest is up to the skill of the operator.

It's very easy to achieve the same result using the "collar" with the Smoothee, similar to what would do with high cost commercial steadycam main shaft, one just has to practice. The trick is to get the rig balanced dynamically as well as statically.

Following up on rambo's comment on tilting control that *** It's very easy to achieve the same [stable tilting] result using the "collar" with the Smoothee, similar to what would do with high cost commercial steadycam main shaft, one just has to practice.***

I have to disagree very strongly. The merlin and smoothee due to their light overall weight (i.e. incredibly low inertia) will always be extremely susceptible to pan/roll problems when tilting ... much more so than a heavy full-size commercial rig. The best analogy I have heard is comparing the inertia of a canoe v. that of an ocean liner. The baby stabilisers are the "canoes" ... transferring every little micro jolt and wobble from your fingers into your frame. The separate pan wheel of the Opteka/Blackbird/Wsclater design can significantly reduce the pan/roll problem when tilting if proper discreet pressure is applied to the pan wheel. Thus the Opteka could be well positioned to outgun the Merlin/Smoothee in terms of cost and tilt operating control, and the Blackbird on grounds of cost. (Other factors like gimbal smoothness, trim controls, size, transportability, ease of balance are obviously still to be considered.)

@cp_from_oz , just want to clarify, the "pan wheels" you are talking about is the "thumb stabilizer" of first video @ 3:19?