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DIY Steadicam for the iPhone

by Mike Schramm Jul 21st 2010 at 10:00AM


This is really awesome. While there are rumors that an iPhone 4 Steadicam is in production, Spencer Watson didn't wait -- as you can see above, he went ahead and built a Steadicam-type rig for his own iPhone out of some parts he had sitting around. As you can see from the video it takes, it works pretty well. While you probably wouldn't want to use it in place of a professional rig (the iPhone isn't really meant for high-motion video, and it looks like he's applied some other stabilization filters), it definitely looks better than if the iPhone was on its own.

You can pick up some of the parts he used in his online store, but it all looks pretty easy to put together. All together, he says it was about $40 of parts from Home Depot or a skate store, and I'm betting it's about a weekend of work. Very cool.

[via Make]

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This is really awesome. While there are rumors that an iPhone 4 Steadicam is in production, Spencer Watson didn't wait -- as you can see...
 

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MattB

It's a complete rip-off of this:

http://www.freshdv.com/2009/07/diy-stabilizer-with-gimbal.html

July 21 2010 at 9:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jason Grasshoff

I've been playing with the idea of a Steadicam for my iPhone 4 also -- this seems like a step in the right direction, but the long pole and counterweight seem to make it impractical.

I've also been looking for a great Tripod Mount for my iPhone 4, and I came across a video on YouTube recommending this one: http://bit.ly/dpOzv3 (eBay Auction)

So far that's the best Tripod Mount that I've found for the iPhone 4.

July 21 2010 at 3:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Jason Grasshoff's comment
murrayhenson

$7 and they basically ship free to anywhere. Normally it costs an arm and leg to get stuff shipped to where I am (Poland) so for that price ...why not? Thanks for the link!

July 21 2010 at 8:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jason Grasshoff

Oops, looks like that eBay link I posted above has ended ... the iPhone 4 Tripod seller has relisted them though, still the same price and everything.

http://bit.ly/iPhone4Tripod (eBay Auction)

July 28 2010 at 11:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kaveh

get a life moron!

July 21 2010 at 2:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
The Apple Doctor

Spencer,

After viewing your video, I just had to tell you how good your video was! I'm a former manufacturing engineer who has done many of the same things in my career. I was impressed with both your design(even though the bar at the bottom is a little big to deal with) and your video production. Don't let the critics get you down!

July 21 2010 at 2:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ray

This is pretty cool.

July 21 2010 at 1:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
nicleT

Wow! great project and well realized. Also, gorgeous studio booth!

July 21 2010 at 12:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Erick

Im not sure why he needs a 3 ft long bottom weight. Obviously you need weight to offset but does it really need to be so long?

July 21 2010 at 11:21 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Klaus

Kudos to him for making it, but it's too big for my liking. If I ever need to get a Steadicam for iPhone, I'd probably go with the real deal: http://techpatio.com/2010/tech-news/steadicam-iphone-merlin-what-is (when of course one is available for iPhone 4 - it did seem a bit useless for iPhone 3GS because of non-HD video).

July 21 2010 at 10:14 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Klaus's comment
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