@Ralph_B You can check out this video by cheesycam. Pretty selfexplanatory (

@Shaveblog Yep, it makes sense to keep the total weight down when considering handheld stabilisers else you risk fatigue and muscle shake, that's the trade off. Personally I also need small and lite weight for travel but it's still a great performer like you say and easy to setup.

Have fun mate.

@Haberdasher

Thanks for feedback, hope youll make some video later and post it also.

I bought the same steadicam Haberdasher bought (the one Vitaliy posted at the bottom of page 5), and I'm still having a hard time getting it set up and using it.

For starters, ZERO documentation is included, so it's up to you to figure it out. Right off the bat I was confused by the top plate. I assumed it would slide out so I could affix the camera and slide it back in. This is not the case, as the top plate does not come off. Makes it very time consuming to attach the camera, so I'll be adding a QR down the road.

I then spent about a half hour attempting to get the camera balanced (GH2 with 20mm pancake). Having no instructions, I had to rely on YouTube clips of people balancing similar style rigs. In the end, I thought I had a pretty good balance and a nice, slow drop time, so I gave it a try.

And the results were awful! So, laughing it off, I went back to the drawing board. I didn't have much time to do a lot more tweaking, but I'm finding I still have these problems:

1. The camera wants to rock fore and aft as I walk forward, pivoting at the fulcrum. It's really slow, like it's only barely off balance.
2. The camera wants to spin about the vertical axis, like panning on a tripod. I can't keep it looking straight ahead. (Unless I want to turn a corner with it, then it points straight ahead no matter how hard I try to get it to turn!...)
3. I'm not sure what orientation I should use for the bottom plate with the weights on it. Should it be oriented left-right (parallel to the camera body), or should it be oriented fore-aft (parallel to the direction of shooting)?
4. What do you guys do with the camera's shoulder strap while the camera is on the steadicam? There's no quick release to get those things on and off, so it would take way too much time to remove them every time I wanted to use the stabilizer. I found that the straps got tangled up in the rig too easily and affected the balance.
5. I mostly shoot things that are low to the ground (my kids), and I found that when holding the stabilizer any lower than about stomach-height, the handle bumps into the top plate and knocks the camera around.
6. I have no idea what I'm doing!

I'm not a professional videographer, just a guy that wants to shoot video of his kids that aren't so shaky. I guess I was under the delusional impression that I could just balance the steadicam once, then quickly pop the camera on every time a spontaneous moment comes up that I want to film, and it would magically make everything nice and smooth. Boy was I wrong! These things actually require a lot of know-how, not only to operate, but to set up. And they require setting up before EVERY use, so they're not a tool for spontaneous filming.

I plan to keep practicing, though, and hopefully get some fun shots with it. If anyone has any tips, I could use all the help you're willing to give me. For instance, the whole point of these things is to lock the horizon in, but what do you do when you want to look up or down with the camera in the middle of a shot? For instance, my daughter is crawling toward me, and so I need to aim the camera lower and lower as she approaches. And how do you keep the camera pointed at the subject when it's free to spin about its vertical axis at will--I turn a corner, and the camera keeps pointing the direction it was before? I suppose that must involve using your off hand on the fulcrum as Shaveblog pointed out, but does anyone have any pictures or video clips demonstrating this technique so I get a better idea of what's needed?

Anyway, it's still a cool new toy to play around with, and I hope to eventually post up a decent example of something shot with it.

@geddyt My beginners steadicam differs slightly from the one shown on page 5 with regards to the (fixed) top block that accomadates the side adjustment plate, and mine has different weights (lighter by the looks). However on comparison to mine, which I'm looking at, it looks very close to my set up.

I have the LCD closed (at this stage still), a 14-42 lens, and a lens hood attached. My weights (4 of them the same size) sit exactly the same on weight plate as page 5 picture, and my main post (shaft) would be approx 1/2 inch longer. My drop time for outside recording, from one side to the other is about 3, (plus1,plus 2, etc, is the way I count, and everybody counts differently. In studio drama some Cameramen have a drop of 6 or more from side to side with the real steadicam set ups.

I think you should always try and roughly balance the top first, and then the drop. I don't adjust the angle of the weight plate unless the camera drifts left or right by itself, and I found that having the weights spread (page 5 pic helps me)

Learning to use your thumb and index finger (VERY LIGHTLY) to guide the camera will help to solve most of your problems, and stay at eye to chest height like I am, until your confidence grows. Also maybe just slowly incorporate stabilised shots into the home movies, and not base your shoot around it. Cheeers.

Do you take the shoulder strap off?

Take it off and do not have anything that can move.

I also found the Merlin 2 to be pretty bad, though all I can compare it to is the Flycam 3000. See "flawed design" review at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/839957-REG/Steadicam_MERLIN2_Merlin_2_Camera_Stabilizing.html

Hoping the Glidecam HD1000 will be a good one.

I just got the all black version of this stabilizer from eBay also known as the Mini handheld stabilizer S-60. Mine came already assembled in the box, a carry bag, and a Disc containing a video (see below).

I haven't balanced it yet, but my first impression; Considering the price, I like the build quality.

@geddyt: For starters, ZERO documentation is included, so it's up to you to figure it out. Right off the bat I was confused by the top plate. I assumed it would slide out so I could affix the camera and slide it back in. This is not the case, as the top plate does not come off. Makes it very time consuming to attach the camera, so I'll be adding a QR down the road.

• the quick release plate does slide off, watch this video, it will show you how.

I'll post footage once I've practiced using it.

UPDATE:

Does anyone know how to adjust the friction on this gimbal? (image attached). It is similar to the Wondlan gimbal.

I have it balanced while stationary. Done the drop test (2.5 second drop). But I have a few problems with the Gimbal:-

1. Once I start moving–even taking baby steps at snails pace–the stabiliser becomes very unstable.

2.The gimbal isn't isolating any movements. The pole moves with the slightest movement of the handle. For example if you turn a corner the stabiliser turns in the same direction. It doesn't spin, it just moves in the direction I (wrist & handle) turn. Seems counter intuitive for a stabilizer.

1. When I spin the pole, it doesn't rotate more than a couple of times. There is definitely some friction in the gimbal or handle. Spins 2-3 rotations then stops. I doesn't even come close to spinning like the Laing P-03 in the video below.

Have contacted the eBay seller, but any help/advise to fix this would be appreciated.

This is my 3rd effort with the Beginners Steadicam. Sorry if I haven't set up & posted it correctly for youtube viewing, but I'm quietly happy with the progression I'm making and what I see on my desktop in 1080.

Won't bore you all any more until I have something more substantial to show. Cheers.

@Henry... My gimbal bearing cover plate has 2 locating lugs (shallow holes) and I'm sure they all do, and what I've already had to do is remove it with circlip pliers that fit nicely, and then tighten, or loosen the adjusting collar that is revaled on the shaft when you seperate the bearing cover plate. You should do this from time to time anyway I think, as it gives you a chance to clean any muck out that will get in, and get rid of any slop in the bearing like I developed. At the same time you may want to deliberately tighten it up to suit a requirement and then loosen it again later. Cheers.

@Henry Sorry mate it's not either of those 2 silver lugs, but the larger top cover plate that sits horizontally, and the main shaft (post) travels through. The plyers shoud be fine, and the cover plate should easily unloosen in anti clockwise direction.

For all two of you that have a Wondlan Ares, do you find the GH2 to be just too light for the thing? I have the 14mm pancake and the 25mm leica and I suck with both of them. I can't even add any weights at the bottom of the stabilizer because it makes it too heavy. Has anyone had any success at all using the Ares in conjunction with the GH2?

I'm thinking of just going selling the Ares and getting a HD1000 because it seems to be the ticket when it comes to lightness. The one pitfall of having a camera that's too small and too light, it doesn't play nice with stabilizers...