Motorized video stabilizers that smooth out shaky shots
For steadier shots. (Marvin Meyer via Unsplash/)When Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa ran up the 72 steps outside Philadelphia’s Museum of Art, the movie’s cinematographer needed a way to follow him without the footage bouncing around like one of Rocky’s opponents. He turned to a device called a Steadicam, which uses weights and counterbalances to help keep the camera steady and the shot ultra-smooth when the operator is moving. Unfortunately, Steadicam rigs are professional equipment with prices to match; what’s more, they can take months of training to fully master. Enter the three-axis, motorized gimbal stabilizer. Similar to a Steadicam, this modern marvel uses motors to control, on a micro-level, the tilt, pan, and roll of an attached camera so that it counters and negates every shake, bounce, and rattle of your movement.They’re fairly simple to set up, and learning to shoot with them only takes a bit of practice....