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DVL-Digest 543 - Postings:
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steadytracker - (2) - (3) - (4)
What Camera?


steadytracker - "Perry"

George W. Fisher posted:
>My two cents: I don't think that any 'steadycam' type device was intended
for 'hand-holding.' They are mostly used for smooth movement. And the
learning curve and set-up time on them is very high. A tripod is a much
easier solution.<
You're entitled to your opinion George but you are wrong! I have a
SteadyTracker (for my VX-1000) and it is easy to set up and easy to use (the
main reason I bought it). It uses a built-in ability of our brain to hold
something steady whist we move. Try walking up some stairs holding a cup of
coffee, chances are that you won't spill any UNLESS you look at it!
The main problem is simply one of strength, you have to hold it away from
your body to get the flexibility and therefore the smooth motion. I'm 55
years old, have never worked out in my life, am currently unfit; but I
manage shots of a couple of minutes in one pass. I then have to rest my arm
for a few minutes before I have another try.
At the moment I need the confidence of looking at an LCD monitor to
continually check the shot, but the instructions imply that it is possible
'to feel the shot' and this will make it smoother and a lot easier to
navigate the rig through crowded spaces.
I use it mostly at exhibitions, to get a visitor's POV as he walks around my
client's booth. Sure a tripod is a much easier method of getting shots, but
it is not a solution to this requirement. Incidentally, once you have the
rig set up, it is easy to balance it on your shoulder or rest it on a table
(etc) to take 'hand-held' shots between tracks.
The only major downside for me is that it does attract a lot of attention!
At video shows I have to answer a lot of queries from other shooters. I did
once try a 'real' SteadiCam rig with my Betacam, now that really IS
difficult!
Perry Mitchell
Video Facilities
http://www.perrybits.co.uk/



steadytracker - "Perry"

George:
You are wrong because you said they are difficult to set-up and use, and the
SteadyTracker is not!
Some of this is semantics - in the broadcast industry (that is my
background) a hand-held shot tends to be any shot that is not on a support.
It has an inference that the shot will probably be moving, from a slight
wobble to a walking track. Putting a Betacam on your shoulder is still
known as 'hand-held'.
I used to be a camera product manager and one of the most difficult things
to communicate internationally was production conventions. In UK in the mid
'80s we almost never used hand-held shots in broadcast, even for news. In
Japan at that time the majority of broadcast video was shot hand-held.
Now it is very different, if you watch a show like NYPD the camera is almost
never still and this has become very much the fashion. Even if you shoot a
corporate video these techniques become the norm and good old fashioned
camera techniques are seen as boring.
Using a consumer type camera (I have a VX1000) it is easy to get good hand
held static pictures, thanks to the wonders of the 'Steady Shot' system.
Tripods are OK when the camera is as heavy as my Betacam, and you have a
video head (Vinten) that costs more than my VX1000. My lightweight video
head makes it very difficult to get a really smooth pan. Getting good
tracking shots is also difficult and the SteadyShot is great for putting
some smooth motion into the shots.
just my two penn'orth
Perry Mitchell
Video Facilities
http://www.perrybits.co.uk/



steadytracker - "Perry"

NedNurk posted:
>Anybody know of something I can use to adjust this? Just needs a plate with
a tripod screw hole on one side and a tripod screw on the other, which is
adjustable.<
Just find a small local machine shop. Draw what you want on the back of an
envelope and tell them you'll pay cash! Take the camera and monopod so they
can match the threads. It used to be 1/4in Whitworth but that is now
obsolete and I think they now use a UNC equivalent that fits the same
thread.
I needed a heatsink for two HDs to go in the bottom of my Mac. I found a
local 'shop in rural Surrey that made it in 30min for £10 cash, I couldn't
even buy the aluminium for that price!
Perry Mitchell
Video Facilities
http://www.perrybits.co.uk/



steadytracker - "Perry"

If you want to try the effect, this worked for me and convinced me to buy
the SteadyTracker:
1) Get out or borrow an ordinary still camera tripod, the lighter the
better. If possible use one with a rising column on the top.
2) Attach your video camera.
3) Leave the legs at the shortest, but splay them out.
4) Extend the top column enough so that you grip it with your hand like a
hammer.
5) Add some weights to the legs (or extend them) so that the whole caboodle
feels balanced around your grip.
6) Shoot!
The real one is a lot lighter so you don't need to grip it so hard, but this
test will give you a feeling for whether you'll get on with the
SteadyTracker. As I say, it worked for me.
The point about the SteadyTracker is that it doesn't have a gimbal joint,
and therefore doesn't need accurate setting up. It relies upon your fingers
and wrist to give the required flexible interface, but most of us have got
pretty good at using them so the training is a lot shorter!
Perry Mitchell
Video Facilities
http://www.perrybits.co.uk/



What Camera? - "Perry"

I couldn't disagree with anything Michael Harpe said in his 'review' of the
VX2000, until he gets to the last sentence:
>All in all, I think it's a terrific camera. I think it will be around for
at
least as long as its predecessor, the DCR-VX1000.<
It's definitely a terrific camera, but around in 5 years time? I'm not even
convinced that DV (tape format) will be around in 5 years time!!
Perry Mitchell
Video Facilities
http://www.perrybits.co.uk/




(diese posts stammen von der DV-L Mailingliste - THX to Adam Wilt and Perry Mitchell :-)


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