I have long had a passion for the visual arts in all regards, but especially within photography and film. Over the years this has led to a number of projects looking to reproduce classic film equipment with whatever I can build myself. In this case, going into my sophomore year I was dismayed to see just how expensive many of the higher-end pieces of equipment were, I decided I needed to come up with some self-made solution. As such, I jumped right into what I saw as the holy grail of film: a Steadicam.
In order to achieve the smoothest shot possible, a Steadicam acts to isolate the camera from the user’s physical input. For this design, the Steadicam effectively acts as a three-axis gimbal, preventing the camera from altering pitch, yaw, or roll, without a more focused intentional motion. While all the small vibrations and bumps get smoothed out, the larger desired motions of the camera are still able to be achieved.
Starting from images of industry-standard Steadicam rigs, I quickly developed a Steadicam of my personal taste, with the handles, mounting configuration, and overall proportions specifically fit for my camera and my physiology. As with all my projects, I aimed to create a widely user friendly and flexible product. Therefore, I ensured all components were easily editable through parametric modeling so they could be easily adapted for different camera weights, various hand sizes, and any other aftermarket add-ons.
Another main goal of the project was affordability and producibility of the overall product. This was achieved partially via 3D printing and partially via close consideration of all non-printed components to ensure low cost and widespread availability.
Most of the main components - including the gimbal itself, the adjustable mount, and the counterbalance rack are 3D printed. Outside of that, the only purchased components would be the bearings, fasteners, and the threaded shaft that acts as the backbone of the Steadicam. The bearings used are all as generic as possible (most of them being 608 skateboard bearings), and all fasteners are UNC ¼”-20. Due to these design choices, the Steadicam components are not only affordable but also readily and easily available.
Above all else, perhaps the most important requirement of a Steadicam is the ability to securely hold your fragile camera equipment consistently without any failures. As such, I spent quite a deal of time designing the adjustable mounting point. This component must have the structural integrity to hold the weight of the camera and its attachments but also the flexibility to easily adjust the camera rig so that its center of mass sits directly in-line with the threaded shaft running down the center of the Steadicam. This adjustability was achieved via two sets of bolts running through the mount.
One pair of bolts, running horizontally through the mount, controls the ability to move the camera’s mounting point forward or backward. The second set runs vertically through the mount (at the four corners), and allows adjustment left or right. Together with the main camera mounting bolt, these bolts are responsible for all of the adjustability and most of the structural rigidity of the mount. Regardless of this mount being made from four individual and relatively small 3D printed components, the mount stays quite rigid and in my use of the Steadicam I have not noticed any slip or play in the mounting point.
While the general design of the gimbal itself is nothing new or revolutionary, this specific application did pose a few complications in design, when compared to “traditional” mass produced all-metal gimbals. First, I was limited greatly by the mechanical shortcomings of 3D printing. Of course my printed gimbal would therefore have to be designed with this weakness in mind. Coupled with the use of 608 skateboard bearings, the gimbal ended up needing to be relatively large. Fortunately, this increased size had no noticeable adverse effects, and the gimbal has operated without flaw through many shoots.
The final component of a Steadicam is the counterbalance. This component acts to ensure the center of mass of the overall Steadicam stays located below the gimbal mounting point. This of course leads to the inherent stability that Steadicams offer, similarly to modern rockets having the center of thrust below the center of mass.