Need advice for a "vibration isolator" setup

[Emilian Dechev]

I have been trying to make a car chasing setup.

So I got this vibration isolator with magnetic mounts from Proaim:

https://youtu.be/qhDXa2jVdko

I tried to use the Blackmagic Pocket 4K + DJI Ronin on this Isolator.

The high frequency vibrations were isolated alright, but then the camera started to wobble in a low frequency manner.

As far as I know, this has something to do with "resonating with the vehicle speed" and/or with "the weight of the setup".

I am not sure if a lighter or heavier setup would perform better?

This product is advertised as "wobble free", but I guess the physics behind this kind of "metal wires isolator" are the same, no matter the brand.

 

[Alex Lubensky]

This is a piece of crap, but not a vibration isolator. Normal viblration isolators have both the metal wiring AND rubber donuts to eliminate both the high frequency vibrations and at the same time maintain it's position to eliminate low frequency vibrations. Just take a look at the TRANQUILIZER

Also, the heavier - the better. The shorter the wires - the better. There's no universal solution, it's always a matter of playing aroung with weight. If you rig a pipe - pipe width and the number of connecting points is also crucial.

 

[Emilian Dechev]

Wow ok this Tranquilizer seems a very interesting product. Thanks for the heads up!
Proaim wires may be crap, but I am very fond of the magnetic arms, I found these very easy to operate.
I will look into the option to combine the Proaim Base with this Tranquilizer.

 

[Vance Colvig]

Try cutting a foam block to fit snugly between the two plates with the sides pressing lightly on the wires. I bet it will worl.

 

[Vance Colvig]

Try cutting a foam block to fit between the two plates with the sides pressing lightly on the wires. I bet it will work.

 

[Mark A. Jaeger]

From an engineering perspective these are Force - Mass - Spring - Damping systems. Said another way: it is a combination of the input force (with consideration of frequency), the weight of your gear, the springs (wires, rubber, etc) supporting the weight and the damping of the system (preventing the springs from oscillating endlessly). The solution for a light camera on a washboard road at 10mph will certainly not be the same as a heavier/lighter rig going through chuckholes at 50mph. By looking at the solutions of several manufacturers you can see variations on springs, damping,length of arms, weight, etc. None of the commercial solutions will work for all conditions without adjustments. So, if you want to stay with DIY, you should expect some experimentation.
I cut out some plates, fabricated some wire brackets and assembled a rig (see photo attached). Experimenting with different size and number of cables heavily affected the performance. It wasn't bad on smooth gravel and paved roads but was wholly inadequate on heavy washboard and chuck hole roads. For that, one needs the vibration reduction "head" and a product like the Black Arm. BTW: the aluminum block increased the DSLR to DSMC2 weight.

Good luck

 

[Emilian Dechev]

Thanks for detailed info and advice!

Actually Proaim answered about my problem like: "if you experience wobble, that means your setup is too light for 8 wires, so try removing 4 of the wires"

ANd then this is the answer from Flowcine about using their stabilizators on top of 3rd party structures:

"We do not recommend to use the AVM overslung. Some have made it work but we have not designed it to be used that way. Both the different AVM´s and the Tranquilizer were designed to be used underslung."