Steddiepod = The most versatile camera support device on the market!

AgentJonnyB

AgentJonnyB

Over the summer at the WEVA conference for wedding videographers, a new camera support device was revealed--the Steddiepod!! This device, made of sturdy metal, can be used for the following:
1) a steadycam - the weights on the three legs at the bottom help to balance the weight of the camera, and minimize shakes--great traveling shots!

2) simulated crane - extends over 5ft, mount it against your stomach, and you've got the camera up about 8-10ft in the air, with decent stability!

3) cat's perspective - hold it upside down, using the legs more like a steering wheel, get those foot level shots, with plenty of mobility!

4) tripod - the legs stabilize it as a tripod, and sports a fluidhead for pan & tilt -- a quick, easy tripod to set up and move, and takes so little room!

5) let the talent hold the device against his/herself, with the camera facing them, they can spin or whatever and the camera always gets a direct front shot of them!

There is a video (the quality is rather poor though, perhaps I can make one sometime in the near future for you all): http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2361914059865945794

Hope this helps those of you looking for equipment! Any questions, feel free to ask, I've been using 2 of these things for many months now and I love them!
 
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It looks great and everything, but I just can't believe that people would spend that much money on something like this. But I guess some people may just be too lazy for the DIY stuff. Sure, it won't be as durable, or high quality as this thing... But you'll be paying 15 bucks for it, rather than 350 :)
 
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All low cost tripods are in reality pure garbage though, not a single one is capable of fluid panning or anything, decent tripods start at a 350$ range and jump way up as you search for ones to support much larger and heavier cameras. The Steddiepod however, for the lower price rang of a high quality tripod offers you far more options, acting not only as a tripod, but as I said, as many other tools. People will pay this kind of money for these things, because there is no lower cost substitute that compares. This is the prosumer video world, you want quality, it comes at a price. Sorry dude!
 
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Haha, I guess you are right. The college student in me cringes at the idea of paying for a glorified "camera stand" though. I'm shooting with a 7 year old Sony Digital8 handycam. There are many "essentials" that I'm still missing as well (like my own lighting kit). To top it all off, I'm incredibly broke, and unable to commit to getting a job because my University is on strike, and classes can resume at any given moment. So, I'm really reluctant to purchase equipment that is so incredibly trivial to the overall film. It would be very convenient to purchase the steddiepod, no doubt about that... But call me old fashioned -- I can't afford convenience.

I recently got a shotgun mic for 300 dollars. It is an invaluable asset, and the quality of recording continues to amaze me. The idea of paying more than that for a metal bar with weights seems ridiculous to me.

Of course, there is always the possibility that I am underestimating the effectiveness of this piece of equipment, but looking at the video in the link provided, I've achieved similar results with my $8 DIY steadycam.
 
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The steddiepod would be much more necessary for use with a larger camera, what you're using sounds like my old sony digital 8--not bad. Sounds like the DIY that you mentioned will do just the trick for movement with your current camera. Should the day come when you get a bigger, heavier camera, that's the time for a steddiepod, as all equipment necessary for higher end cameras is wicked expensive. Make do with what you got, sounds like you're all set! I wish you luck on your projects!
 
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AgentJonnyB said:
The steddiepod would be much more necessary for use with a larger camera, what you're using sounds like my old sony digital 8--not bad. Sounds like the DIY that you mentioned will do just the trick for movement with your current camera. Should the day come when you get a bigger, heavier camera, that's the time for a steddiepod, as all equipment necessary for higher end cameras is wicked expensive. Make do with what you got, sounds like you're all set! I wish you luck on your projects!
Click to expand...

Ahh thank you! :)

I'm guessing then that this is geared strictly for prosumer/professional cameras then? Then sorry I've wasted your time rambling on in this thread. Thank you for the info!
 
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