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Best Steadicam for a GH3


Cameron Lee

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Hi!

 

I'm looking to buy a camera stabiliser for my Panasonic gh3 (shooting with a 14mm f2.5 pancake lens) to shoot some long shots (up to 25 minutes). I am completely new to steadicams however have several months to learn and practise before shooting.

 

I had the Glidecam x-22 in mind however it is not designed for a camera as light as the gh3, would this still be an issue with extra weight plates?

I also looked at the Glidecam 2000 and 4000 pro and hd, how do these compare to the x-22 for a camera of this size? Are they all equally as easy to learn how to balance and use?

 

Does anyone have any alternative recommendations? I ideally need something with a bodypod as I don't think I'd be able to hold a steadicam for 25 minutes otherwise.

 

Thanks for your help!

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Hi Cameron,

 

first of all, Steadicam is a profession that takes years to master. So buying one and training for a few months and expect to get great results might be a disapointment to you. I have no idea about the products you've mentioned, as most of us has $25K rigs and upwards.

 

But I know Tiffen has come outh with a unit called the Solo. It's basically a lightweight Steadicam that also can become a monpod, not sure if it will be both at the same time. So if you're doing a stabilized shot, and expect to go to monopod w/o ruining your stabilizeed shot, then I'm not sure if it will work. Reading your post it seems that this unit is as close as you can get.

 

Anyway, here's the link to the product.

 

http://www.tiffen.com/steadicam_solo.html

 

PS! Workshops are held if you want to take one. And buy the book "Steadicam Operator's Handbook" by Jerry Holway. It's $35 and investement well spent.

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Thank you for your reply, I didn't mean to suggest that I would be able to reach a high standard within a couple of months however I would hope that I would be able to reach a level which would allow me to film relatively stable images.

I'll have a look at the glidecam solo. Thanks for your help!

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Lars is technically totally right but....

 

buy a cheap glidecam and get out there and learn from youtube and have fun. Never let us professionals put you off your dreams.

 

I just bought a Glidecam 2000HD for a different application. Just control the gimble from the middle and not "tapping it" from the bottom like in the youtube videos.

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Good point Thomas.

 

I was in no way trying to dishearten Cameron's hopes of getting a stabilized image. Just being honest and upfront. But I see that I could have been more encouraging towards his dreams. Sometimes we forget were we all started.

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