Camera payload for beginner jobs

[Benjamin Navarro]

Hello everyone,

After a year learning steadicam on my own (making indie short films for free with a flycam rig) I really fell in love with it and I decided to try to make a living out of it. So I followed a two weeks workshop last month (Planning Camera, France) and now I'm looking for my first "real" steadicam to buy in order to train properly and be able to seek out jobs with it.

But one thing I can't find a definite answer for is what range of camera weight should I expect in the beginning? For now I mostly worked with my Canon C70 so the full camera rig like 4-5kg top (8-10lbs)...

There are some affordable options for lightweight setups (eg Axis, Zephyr) but I'm afraid to find them limiting too quickly, forcing me to decline jobs. 

Am I better off spending more for a future proof rig without knowing yet if I'll be able to find jobs and pay for it?

As a side question, do you think electronic stabilization (volt, wave, the level) is a must have when starting out in 2026 or is it something I can get later when I start to get more demanding jobs?

I'm trying to make the best decision based on the limited resource that is money 😄