2017Steadi-Newbies forum
Balancing a lightweight Steadicam rig with fast drop time and pendulum behavior
What the thread found
- A drop time under two seconds indicates the sled is too bottom-heavy.
- When the gimbal cannot be repositioned, the center of gravity can be adjusted by changing the weight distribution between the top and bottom of the sled.
- Adding weight to the top of the sled can help reduce bottom-heaviness even if weight cannot be removed from the bottom.
- Pendulum swinging when the operator stops or starts is normal behavior for a vertically-oriented post and requires active finger pressure on the post to suppress the motion.
- During acceleration, pressure applied with the pinky finger on the back of the post helps keep it vertical, while pressure from the ring finger on the front of the post does the same during deceleration.
- Operator technique through finger pressure on the post is essential to counteract the inherent bottom-heavy design during starts and stops.
Depends on
- The original poster could not move the gimbal on their rig, which limited the adjustment options.
- The exact weight distribution and rig specifications beyond the camera body, lens, and microphone were not provided.
- No follow-up confirmation was given about whether these adjustments resolved the balancing issue.