hi all, i was doing some research about steadicams, and came across this site. i am a university student, specialising in camera ops and lighting . presently i can manipulate a dsr 570 to my favour as well as a 790, dont have a prob with my tailored to be profession. i am now looking to be a steadicam operator, there is one unit at my college, but no one has never really seen it, as it is out of use as there is no one qualified to use it. i also understand that you can really damage your back, if you dont know what your doing. i have called up a few operators to talk to them but they behave like some elitisit from the planet Zor, and treat you as if, i am not to know anything. i hope these forums dont brush me aside either, as there is only so much research i can do. next week for the first time an ex student will be signing to take it out on behalf of my friend, as i am the camera op for a short film they are doing, he is willing to give us some kind of training, they chose me to op this session as theyare pleased with the work i have done with holding a cam on my shoulder and whipping on fluid heads. with this crash course i will be doing, i am not going to take it for literature, i still intend to book for a workshop.
my question is, i have seen some S.C for like 2000 pounds and then others for 30000. now if this were a car then i can see where the costs go, allows, ecu, turbo charger, but since i know nothing about brands, and good parts on a steadi cam unit then i really dont know what i am paying for, is it worth starting with a rig that costs about 2k pounds, or should i save some more, also, what brands should i look out for??
thanks