The annoying shake you get when filming with pocket digital video cameras can be greatly reduced by using a solder rod to hold the camera steady. A cheap and easy rig that 'folds' away when not in use.
Solder 'rods' come in various lengths and gauges so you get a choice, but the property that suits this rig is that the rods are flexible while remaining stiff.With a hand on the base and one just below the camera, the tension is sufficient to offset much of your body's tendency to shake while filming and it is that shake that gets transferred so easily to the video file when using these small light weight digital cameras.
I attached the rod to an old mini flexi tripod with duct tape and screwed that into the camera mount.
The whole rig sort of rolls up and folds when not in use.
Works for me.
Solder 'rods' come in various lengths and gauges so you get a choice, but the property that suits this rig is that the rods are flexible while remaining stiff.With a hand on the base and one just below the camera, the tension is sufficient to offset much of your body's tendency to shake while filming and it is that shake that gets transferred so easily to the video file when using these small light weight digital cameras.
I attached the rod to an old mini flexi tripod with duct tape and screwed that into the camera mount.
The whole rig sort of rolls up and folds when not in use.
Works for me.
I just can't cram that much rod in my purse.
There are a few devices that do the same thing following the same principle of tension like the ReadySteady. However, solder which is used for soldering metal to metal is flexible while retaining its stiffness so it rolls up and folds on itself.And lead free solder is, of course, minus the lead.I'm sure there may be other materials some which are plasticated. But solder is dirt cheap and is a standard hardware store item.I had previously used cords either supported under my foot or attached to my belt to create the tension while filming but they wave left and right and the vertical tension isn't always constant as it depended on my pulling upwards.I'm thinking that because I can twist the rod to suit so that I anchor it to one side by bending it into a hook for my right hand I have much better lateral support than I would have with a sharply vertical stem which would tend to act like a pendulum.
