Can you recommend a good steadycam?

[Bencuri]

I need a camcorder stabilizer mostly for panning and steady shoots. Can you recommend something? Recording while walking or from moving vehicle is not a big concern for me now.

[julitomg]

For what type of camera? weight and size are important considerations when buying a steadycam (or equivalent, many models/makes around)

[Bencuri]

It is 1.4 oz and 2.09 (w) x 1.39 (D) x 0.45 (H) inch in size.

It is a small consumer camcorder. This one:

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-VPC-FH1-Memory-Camcorder-advance/dp/B001Q3M9PY/ref=sr_1_1?...ords=sanyo+fh1

[Cornucopia]

If you aren't walking or moving around, your most stable type of device is a simple tripod. Or if you need a little more flexibility in movement, a monopod. If you truly ARE moving around, the most stable thing is a dolly (tripod on a cart on rails). If you are needing more flexibility than that, then "walking & moving around" are a concern for you - and then and only then is a steadicam warranted.

They come in multiple sizes (to accommodate different weights - very important as was mentioned), but also their technology. Simpler ones just use a counterweight. More advanced ones use more, differently-placed counterweights (to smooth greater degrees-of-freedom/dimensions). The best & most expensive ones can also use gyroscopes to keep things "righted". Add that to a gimballed pivot, grip & some kind of harness (how well supporting depends on the weight and cost) and that's it.

Which one is right for you depends on the weight and layout of your camera and how you intend to use it. We need more info...

Scott

Oh, and what's your budget?

[TreeTops]

And they take much practice to get the hang of it.

[Bencuri]

I am hesitating between these two types:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hague-MMC-Mini-Motion-Cam-Camcorder-Stabilizer-/380354337248...item588ee299e0

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hands-Free-Shoulder-Pad-Stabilizer-Support-stand-for-Camcord...item3cbe175786

Anyway, I would use a tripod, but I noticed that when you are shooting a steady scene, so you are not panning at all and there is no movement in the picture, the video looks like as if I was looking at a photograph. So I prefer when there is a very very minor shake of the camcorder to remind the viewer that they are looking a video. I noticed this thing on several recordings on youtube, too, that the video starts, and for a while it seems as if the video was showing a photo, because there is no movement in the video, and the camcorder is also fixed, and it looks quite odd. I need the steadycam to avoid this.

[Cornucopia]

You might think it odd, but many people (myself included) don't. And I would say that it is rare where NOTHING is moving in the shot (for very long).

You do understand, however, that "those little movements" are MURDER on compression bitrate, right? The less things moving in the shot, the better the compression ratio. If the camera is moving, ALL things are moving in the shot. A steadicam would be better than simple handheld, but not so much better.

The 2 items you mentioned are VERY different. The first is an actual counterweighted, gimballed & free-floating device, which is helpful for full freedom of movement but with stability. The second is just a support & extension of standard OTS (over-the-shoulder) recording. It helps with reducing strain on your one shoulder (spreads the load to whole/greater upper torso) and on your holding-up arm/hand (it is still held up to guide the camera, but it is no longer supporting the weight). There is LESS freedom of movement than regular handheld or OTS (sometimes this is a good thing, though).

Scott