2009Steadi-Newbies forum
Achieving dynamic balance on a Steadicam rig with a lightweight monitor
17 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
What the thread found
- Adding a fourth battery mounted on the monitor back or relocating the third battery behind the monitor can provide necessary counterweight when using lightweight monitors with heavy cameras.
- A monitor arm with fore/aft adjustment capability on rails allows fine-tuning of dynamic balance by sliding the monitor forward or backward.
- When relocating a battery to the monitor back, a D-Tap power cable must run to the front plate to maintain power to video and onboard deck systems.
- Perfect dynamic balance may not be critical for all shooting situations, though it becomes more important for movements like whip pans.
- Adding dead weight plates to the monitor back is an alternative to using extra batteries, though using batteries is preferable since they serve a functional purpose.
- Slightly front-heavy sled positioning without a camera, before final balance adjustment, helps accommodate the rear pull of spinning batteries.
Depends on
- The original poster reports the rig shifting after about twenty spins even after adding counterweight, indicating imperfect balance was accepted rather than solved.
- No video documentation of perfect dynamic balance was available to verify the final configuration.
- This discussion involves a 2009-era rig configuration that may not apply to current equipment.
- The level of dynamic balance precision needed varies by shooting style and shot type, making a universally perfect configuration unclear.