2014General Discussion forum
Electronic roll and tilt stabilization added to steadicam via brushless gimbal head
12 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
What the thread found
- A 3.6 kg two-axis brushless gimbal mounted on a steadicam can provide electronic stabilization for roll and tilt while pan remains manually controlled by the steadicam operator.
- The system is designed for cameras around 10 kg such as Arri Alexa, Amira, Red One, Sony P1 or F55 with external recorder, though lighter cameras can be used with adjusted motor settings.
- Combining steadicam with electronic gimbal stabilization creates a multi-axis stabilized system comparable in principle to expensive cinema heads that use outer and inner stabilization axes.
- Modern MEMS gyro sensors can achieve angular precision of 0.02 to 0.06 degrees, exceeding what human steadicam operators can typically achieve.
- The steadicam operator controls both pan and tilt from the sled itself with tilt set to tight follow mode that tracks sled movements with millisecond latency.
- A future three-axis version with added pan motor can be mounted on crane rigs or vehicle mounts without requiring a handheld operator.
- Electronic stabilization proves especially beneficial for locked-off packshots and wide tracking shots where horizon sway is visually disturbing.
Depends on
- Prototype was tested on a short film production with relatively straightforward shot requirements, not advanced maneuvers.
- Tight tilt follow mode means the operator must manually compensate large subject height changes through arm boom rather than relying on automatic tilt correction.
- Three-axis version loses extreme tilt range when mounted rigidly and is designed primarily for pan-heavy applications like car-to-car or crane work.
- Limited space under camera means tilt operator control is necessary to prevent gimbal contact with steadicam components during extreme movements.
- Adding 3.6 kg increases operator fatigue compared to unweighted steadicam operation.