Hold your breath and move really, really slow ;()

Sorry. Actually, on my shoot we had a DP who was anxious to try out his new steadi harness so we got lucky. What I noticed in post was that a litte up and down or side to side motion, if slow, was not distracting. BUT any movement which tilted the camera sideways (right or left upper corner down) was immediately noticeable.

Thanks coursedesign Ill look into it
thanks
Steven

editor3333
lol. "Hold your breath and move really, really slow" thats probably the wisest advive ill get, whether I get a device or not.
Thanks
Steven

.......and practice and practice and then practice some more. Every now and then we hire a guy with a steadicam rig , and he looks like he is doing a ballet, or at least a waltz,, cant just pick up a rig and go, least I dont think so, I tried and well it looked pretty horrible.

Great Advice winrock
sounds as if its mastery of the tool, is more than which tool you use.
seems this applies to everything.
Thanks
Steven

I can vouch for Dan Selakovic's book, it was a best-seller at NAB Bookstore this year, too. Sold out. He builds the wackiest, wildest rigs, but they just work. And are cheap.

I built the $14 Steadicam and enjoy using it, but it's pretty heavy! (I use the 5-pound weight.)

And it does take practice to get really smooth. Which I'm not yet.

I find that a Groucho-esque "duck walk" works good when I want to move forward quickly over a distance. I warn people watching or being taped it'll look funny, so they don't laugh and spoil the shot...

Spot
So the book is a must have. While I got you spot, what about a movie look plug in for photoshop. Ill bet a lot of people on here are also photographers.
thanks
Steven

PossibilityX
Sounds like a sight to behold. So I need the book, $14, ballet lessons, and learn to walk like a duck. only if all of life was this easy.
thanks
Steven

Monopod with an angled head stuck into an old fanny pack turned round to face front. Add a shoulder brace (Manfrotto makes a $10 one). Bingo: an exact duplicate of the highly regarded "SteadyStick" at 1/4 the cost.

Works for me.

what about a movie look plug in for photoshop. Ill bet a lot of people on here are also photographers.

If you want the best possible "35mm movie look" for still photography, try shooting Ektachrome VS (available in the refrigerated section of pro stores), overexpose 2 stops and pull the processing 2 stops to compensate.

With minimal Photoshop after that, you get a really rich look that is not easy to duplicate with just Photoshop with or without plugins.

Brianstanding
could you email me a rough sketch? I like your Idea.
thanks
Steven

Coursedesign
To late for me. Sold my Nikons and went Digital. I shoot in the Raw mode to get the most out of digital. what I was thinking it would be great to have those color corections and looks to choose from. People love it when their pictures have an artsy feel o them.
Thanks
Steven

Shoulder Pod!
It depends on what camera you're using, but if it's a small to mid-size unit, I'd go for a shoulder pod. They are easy to transport, light, and quick to set up.

I filmed an old American guy exploring Berlin last year - 8 weeks of follwing him around on busses, trams, in concerts, shops, and just strolling - and had to get my shots as smooth as possible 'on the fly'. None of the shots could be staged, and I found my shoulder pod invaluable for this kind of work.
I made mine, and added a quick-release tripod shoe for getting the camera mounted quickly. I also added an extension bar for my microphone so I wouldn't get any vibrations from the camera.

I'll send you a photo if you like.

Alexz

try this systeme the basic model cost 333E, I m using it, need a lot of praticing before make something smooth
www.laigleparis.fr (choose english version on top left)

Alexz
I like the shoulder concept. A Photo would be great. if you could and some moore direction on building it thanks
Steven
steven@creatingimages.com

Wow jbaudrand, thats quite a rig. is that whole system 333E? It looks like something out of hollywood. Im impressed and so would a client.
thanks
Steven

is that whole system 333E?

Take a closer look at the pricing page. 333E doesn't get you very much. If you want the fully loaded (< 5 kilos) model, it's 2090E. The 10 kilo model is 3390E.
And, as others have said, it's a LOT harder to use than it looks. I tried a real Steadicam at a trade show once and I discovered why trained operators are worth whatever they charge :-)

Mike

I had to laugh when reading the "duckwalk." I don't have a SteadiCam-type rig, but I use DeShaker a great deal. The finished video looks very smooth, but there is still a bit of the "up-down" motion evident, which is of course from the fact that the camera height changes slightly during my stride. I'll have to play at being Groucho in order to get rid of it.

ahh a software solution? do you lose much resolution using software?
thanks
Steven

Yes!
If you know that you're going to deshake in post I'd suggest a faster shutter speed to stop any motion blur.
Bob.

To late for me. Sold my Nikons and went Digital. I shoot in the Raw mode to get the most out of digital. what I was thinking it would be great to have those color corections and looks to choose from. People love it when their pictures have an artsy feel o them.

Sure, but sometimes it is easier to get a particular look with film. especially with a bit of chemical magic.

I sold all my cameras when I wasn't able to use them, then bought a digital camera when I was able again. For this particular job, I absolutely positively needed a very special look, and I know how to create this easily with a chemical process, but saw that doing it in Photoshop would take a lot more effort. So I rented a Canon EOS-1n with the heavy motor drive and spent the better part of a day shooting, until there wsa no more light. Funny thing was, in the last series of shots, I was able to hold perfectly still handheld at 2 seconds with the 2.8L/28-70mm lens (thanks to the very heavy camera), but the model couldn't be still that long (and it wasn't cold in California)...

:O)

Now if I had the new Canon EOS-5D, that is one heck of a camera and nothing else can touch this full frame (35mm size) camera at anywhere near that price ($3.3K or so)...