How-To Geek
Build a DIY Camera Stabilizer for Ultra Smooth Video
If you’re looking to capture smooth pans and steady video without purchasing expensive commercial gear, this DIY stabilizer will give you rock-steady video.
There’s no shortage of DIY camera stabilizer projects online. While many of them work just fine, they tend to look like they were cobbled together by MacGyver. This polished build looks professional, is cleanly milled and assembled, and allows for on-the-fly adjustments to the weight system to calibrate the stabilization to your video needs. You’ll definitely need a garage full of decent tools to pull this one off but the results are well worth it and well below the price of a professional steady cam rig.
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Comments (6)
Jason Fitzpatrick is warranty-voiding DIYer and all around geek. When he's not documenting mods and hacks he's doing his best to make sure a generation of college students graduate knowing they should put their pants on one leg at a time and go on to greatness, just like Bruce Dickinson. You can follow him on Google+ if you'd like.
- Published 12/2/11
Beautiful video and beautiful project. Very, very nicely done.
One thing that would have been interesting is to see a comparison between using the stabilizer and not using it (but using in-camera image stabilization).
But, overall: A+
By the time I bought the tools to make it with, I’d be better off buying one already made!!
Very professionally due.
Great! But I agree with Dan, it cannot be very cheap to make if you count the tools, alternatively if you just want relatively stable footage while walking, bulid yourself a fig rig aka, old bicycle wheel, with attatched tripod head and perhaps some foam hand grips if you want to be fancy. Does the trick and its needless to say quite a lot cheaper to make… although admittedly it wont be quite that smooth… but still quite good!
If you’re bitching about buying tools then 99% of DIY articles obviously aren’t for you. I have to leave 1% for the projects that you can complete with a childs grade-school craft kit.
If you buy the tools you can make all sorts of things for yourself. If you buy the commercial version then that’s all you get. Though I guess you could still make yourself something with your safety scissors and a gluestick..
Hahaha well said Mike!
Love this design, starting the project tonight!