» MAKE: NOISE — Discuss this article

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• What makes the best design?
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  I read the article in Make, but the Physics 101 sidebar left a little to be desired. So, a couple of questions for you experts out there:
  
  Is a large moment of inertia more desireable than a smaller moment? (I think it probably is.) If so, then I guess you could achieve more stability by using a small weight on a long extension than a heavy weight on a short extension.
  
  Should the handle be mounted at the center of mass between the camera and the weight?
  
  How about a counterweight on the handle to offset the weight of the camera/vertical pipe combo?
  
  Would it be helpful to add bearings, say where the handle joins the vertical pipe? Where else? (I know this increases the complexity a bit. But, would it help with the stability?)
  
  Thanks!

  Posted by chemist on April 27, 2005 at 18:00:54 Pacific Time

• What makes the best design?
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  If you are still looking for a good Home Built Steadycam design, check this one, it also includes a tutorial to build your own.
  
  http://www.Steadycam-Pro.com
  
  

  Posted by JasonBrown on January 03, 2008 at 00:54:03 Pacific Time

• floor flanges + drain covers instead of barbell weights and bending flange washers
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  I've worked with this steel pipe before and recommend instead of the clumsy barbell weight bending flange washers situation...
  
  Ace hardware carries floor drains (I'd recommend possibly two of them). You can attach a floor flange part to the pipe, and then bolt the flange through the drain holes. No drilling, no bending. Unfortunately those drains are overpriced at Ace, so shop around. (Also, there may be challenges with getting the holes lined up between the flange and the drain. I just say this because it was always a concern for me, so I compared the situation in the store before I bought. Never had a problem, though).
  
  One other negative to this solution is the heads of the bolts are on the ground surface, so gives a little instability when you're resting the stabilizer on the ground. Proper bolt selection or other creative solutions will avoid this problem.

  Posted by Subvert on April 27, 2005 at 12:17:44 Pacific Time

• floor flanges + drain covers instead of barbell weights and benging flange washers
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  I've worked with this steel pipe before and recommend instead of the clumsy barbell weight bending flange washers situation...
  
  Ace hardware carries floor drains (I'd recommend possibly two of them). You can attach a floor flange part to the pipe, and then bolt the flange through the drain holes. No drilling, no bending. Unfortunately those drains are overpriced at Ace, so shop around. (Also, there may be challenges with getting the holes lined up between the flange and the drain. I just say this because it was always a concern for me, so I compared the situation in the store before I bought. Never had a problem, though).
  
  One other negative to this solution is the heads of the bolts are on the ground surface, so gives a little instability when you're resting the stabilizer on the ground. Proper bolt selection or other creative solutions will avoid this problem.

  Posted by Subvert on April 27, 2005 at 12:17:40 Pacific Time

• floor flanges + drain covers instead of barbell weights and benging flange washers
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  This other Home Built Steadycam design, does consider the less obstruction for walking. check it out, it also includes a tutorial to build your own.
  
  http://www.Steadycam-Pro.com

  Posted by JasonBrown on January 03, 2008 at 00:57:11 Pacific Time

• floor flanges + drain covers instead of barbell weights and bending flange washers
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  bending vs benging. Benging sounded a little more sexual than I'd intended, so I tried to catch it with a correction before it posted. Oh well.

  Posted by Subvert on April 27, 2005 at 12:20:06 Pacific Time

• Years of Use
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  I built one of these =years= ago from the original site (which I see has changed a lot since I last visited it). One of the great things about this is the durability. I still use the same one I built.
  
  One thing I cannot stress enough, however, is the need to have extra flange washers and wing nuts handy. I let my friend borrow the unit and got it back sans flange washer (which was bent =perfectly=. I was pretty steamed about that). So yeah, be prepared in case you lose those tiny, easy-to-lose parts.
  
  Also, speaking of the flange washers, make sure you bend them properly. I noticed that a couple of the ones I bent were uneven and it caused my camera to sit askew, which, of course, affected my shots.
  
  And practice. A lot. You won't pick this thing up and be a steadicam operator right away; it takes time to learn how to walk. When I first built mine, my friend and I went everywhere with it and shot footage of each other walking, just to get used to it.

  Posted by mwproductions on April 19, 2005 at 11:06:10 Pacific Time

• New Steadycam design
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  In case you want to see the $14 design improved check this other homemade design.
  
  
  http://www.Steadycam-Pro.com

  Posted by JasonBrown on January 03, 2008 at 01:00:10 Pacific Time

• A very useful tool
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  When I went to my local hardware store and showed them the list of materials, they already knew what it was for...the $14 steadicam must be catching on....
  
  I added a $10 "fitness set" from Sports Authority. The neoprene girdle is a good thing to wrap around the handle, providing grip and smoother (for me) pans. The jogging weights easily slip on the bottom, making it possible to gradually increase the weight as I become more comfortable with the setup. And when the steadicam is not in use, the jogging weights make good...jogging weights....

  Posted by MrJerm on April 18, 2005 at 14:38:34 Pacific Time

• Here's a schematic
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  Here's a schematic (PDF file) of the no-drill weight attachment from Cartala's DIY camera stabilizer page I mentioned earlier. I like how their variant is bi-axially stabilized and uses an actual tripod head; even with the added cost, it's still way cheaper than any camera stabilizer you can buy comercially.

  Posted by Berkana on March 29, 2005 at 02:07:48 Pacific Time

• Here's a solution that doesn't require drilling through steel
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  I followed a link from the site I originally heard about this which describes an elegant solution to the problem of having to drill through the steel end-caps. (It was in one of the fan-letters.) It is such a time/effort saver (not to mention precluding the possibility of off-center drillings and mistakes) that I think you might want to point it out as an afterword, or at least mention it somewhere "officially".
  

  Posted by Berkana on March 29, 2005 at 01:57:24 Pacific Time

• PVC?
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  Instead of using metal pipe, could you make this with PVC pipe? Seems to me that the PVC would be easier to work with. Perhaps it wouldn't be stiff enough with PVC?

  Posted by sandrino on March 04, 2005 at 08:54:55 Pacific Time

• PVC?
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  I attempted a PVC version but there is actually too much give in the pipes.
  
  And I didn't seal it tight enough with my epoxy and it squeeked.
  
  Now saying it can't be done but I kind of like the ability to take mine apart and storing it in my camera bag. The metal one truely put up with the beating I give it!
  
  I would love to see if any one has actually made one out of PVC. I would like to know how they dealt with the issues of squeeking and bending of the plastic.
  
  I am looking at creating a PVC steady system for a dolly. PVC would make everything a lot lighter and easier to carry around for my gorilla movie making excursions!
  
  Peace

  Posted by chwbcc on March 04, 2005 at 14:22:27 Pacific Time

• Helpful Sites!
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  Ok I've been getting a lot of requests for pictures of this project so I thought that I would just post the information here.
  
  The original site where the $14 steady came came from:
  http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/
  
  This should help give you a better idea of how to make this. If you look at the photos at the bottom of his page you will see a sled for the larger cameras.
  
  I strongly recommend using this sled! It’s a simple Flange from Home Depot and it’ll cost you a $2’s or so.
  
  What I suggest is taking your camera to Home Depot (or a local hardware store) Look in the bolts and find the size of bold that fits in your camera’s tripod mount. It's a standard size usually but I did have a few people say they were haveing trouble finding a bolt to fit properly.
  
  I added Hockey tape to my system. This made it easier to grip on to when I’m running.
  
  I hope this helps,
  
  chwbcc
  

  Posted by chwbcc on February 27, 2005 at 08:46:33 Pacific Time

• Helpful Sites!
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  I’ve been working on projects like these fore a few years and you all might be interested in some of these other projects as well:
  http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/projecttips.html
  
  Here are a few other ideas for your personal production needs. You might also look up “How to build steadicams” and see what other great site you can find. There are a few out there!
  
  I’ve seen a home made dolly and track used on a feature film I was just in and the grips said they would rather build their own stuff because then they know how to fix and modify it for their needs. Everything on
  
  http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/ are pretty simple to make and for a few dollars you can really put together a really decent studio full of great camera equipment for only a few hundred dollars. If you buy a few parts each paycheck you’ll never even miss the money! That’s what I love about this stuff.
  
  If you anyone needs more help let me know. And thanks to all those who have sent me questions and helpful sites.
  
  
  Peace
  Chwbcc
  

  Posted by chwbcc on February 27, 2005 at 08:49:34 Pacific Time

• Great invention!
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  I made one of these a few months back for a personal project I was working on and it was amazing!
  
  I upgraded my steady cam by adding a piece of wood to the top of the system. Added some Gaffer's Tape (or Hockey tape) and a piece of wood at the bottom to support Olympic Weights and to balance the wood on top of the system.
  
  Great project for any beginning film makers out there. If you want even more stability add another weight.
  
  To add a strong wodden plate to the top simple purchase an end mount for your pipes. (the kind that screws into your pipe and into say the floor or a wall with four screws)
  
  Next drill a hole through the board for the mounting screw that holds your camera.
  
  Place a wing nut on the bolt upside down and then place it in the hole of the board. Screw on your camera, tighted the wing nut and tada a better mount than the screw sticking out of the top of your steady cam.
  
  If any one want's pictures or help let me know!
  Chwbcc@cfl.rr.com

  Posted by chwbcc on February 14, 2005 at 08:02:18 Pacific Time

• Sweet!
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  This is totally awesome, I saw it on The Screen Savers! I'm going to try and "Make:" it. LOL!

  Posted by rcracingfan44 on February 08, 2005 at 20:17:40 Pacific Time

• Sweet!
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  where can i get this magazine

  Posted by on February 08, 2005 at 21:22:06 Pacific Time

• Where to get MAKE
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  Hi -
  MAKE will be going out to subscribers soon -- you can subscribe here.
  
  It will also be available in coming months through most of the same online and brick-and-mortar retailers that carry O'Reilly's other publications, plus select newsstand outlets. We'll be posting more about that as it becomes available at those places. But the subscribers will be getting it sooner.
  
  Cheers,
  t
  

  Posted by terrie on February 09, 2005 at 08:14:53 Pacific Time