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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Any cheap steady cam options for the Red one that WORK?

To be honest its really not worth getting a cheap steadicam. I had one at work snap its arm whilst carrying a broadcast camera, even though it had a 35 pound payload. Renting is probably a better option.
Also might be worth checking to see how much payload a gravity one can carry and add that to an easy rig. Just an idea.
Good luck!
 
Just bought the Steadicam Zephyr but looked at a number of cheaper alternatives. In my opinion, the Came is probably your best bet coming in under £1500. The main points against it are

1. Nobody who tested it was able to achieve dynamic balance
2. The platform is not as big on the Came
3. The vest is heavier on the Came

Look at the reviews online, and see if you can borrow one and do a test (unfortunately I did not before I bought the Zephyr). In my case I decided to go for the Zephyr because of (1) the U.K support (2) it's more trustworthy build quality and (3) Refined balancing and weight tuning
 
I have a Glidecam V-20 (Excellent condition) that I am thinking about getting rid of because I don't have the back to use it anymore. Message me if you are interested.
 
The cheaper/indie shoots the solution I'm working on is to just buy a Blackmagic and a cheaper low-weight steadicam that can fly it. Once you're in the 10kg+ range stuff gets expensive, especially if you're not looking to be a full time steadicam op.
 
We used to own an Actioncam RED Edition, and it worked very, very with the RED One. Wish I could find another one to buy, actually. Had to sell ours to finish a film.

:-(

Stephen
 
Hi Spencer,

I had the same dilemma, and at the end I screwed up, so my suggestion is if you are going to use the steadi to work only in your own projects, you can go with any affordable brand, but I recommend you to start looking for second hand original steadicam first, a Zephir can do the job if you manage to reduce the load in you R1 setting, use CF or redmag, no red drive, no matte box, prime lenses, take as many load as you can from the R1, if you finally after looking a long time you are unable to afford a second hand then go for the Chinese, but remember you will only use it for you own sporadic projects. If you are going to use the steadi to work with it, I recommend you to save money and go for a bigger second hand original steadicam, no chinese or other brands.
In my case I bought another brand, guess what?, the steadi was a piece of crap, the vest was unbelievable heavy, I had to replace it for a second hand original steady vest, the gimbal also is a piece of crap, but since i will use it very sporadic in my own projects I can survive.
Visit the site steadicamforum.com and learn from the pros, they are always recommending the originals, and they explained in the forum why.
And my vest advice is always be careful with your back, that`s the reason the original stedi is the best, the distribution of the load, less effort for your back, and so, always protect your back, once you damage it you will have to live with that the rest of you life, be extremely careful.

Regards!
 
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