Inexpensive & Flexible Camera Stabilizer

by Jared Flesher

With all these small video cameras, having a good way to stabilize them is obviously very important. But many of the rigs you can buy are ridiculously expensive. I’ve taken a Spiderbrace ($70 at Spiderbrace.com) and fused it with a Bogen monopod and quick release monopod head ($60).


My “Spiderpod” has turned out to be a light-weight, portable solution that’s great for run-and-gun documentary filmmaking. It gives you four points of stabilization: your two-hands, your shoulder, and the ground. Or you can shorten the monopod up and walk around with it, with the fourth point of stabilization resting against your stomach. Either way, you don’t ever get tired of holding it -- you can keep it steady for hours.


The monopod handle also screws off easily, so you can use the Spiderbrace as a ground tripod. The quick-release monopod head let’s you get the camera on and off very quickly if you need to switch to a standard tripod.




Jared Flesher is using this stabilizer to shoot his upcoming documentary Sourlands. You can check out the trailer he's put together, and support the project, here: Sourlands: A Story of Land, Energy and a Life More Local. You can also read about his previous project here: The Farmer and the Horse

See Also:
NotesOnVideo: Filmmaker Jared Flesher - Sourlands
NotesOnVideo: Interview: Filmmaker Jared Flesher

Comments

Kudos said…
Genius idea. I've been trying to think of a way to combine a monopod with some type of dual grip handle or shoulder brace and couldnt find anything online, until I just came across your post here. One question though, how exactly did you "fuse" the spiderbrace and the monopod together. Is the monpod head still pan and tiltable? If this idea works I might opt for a tripod with legs for a little more stabilization.
Apr 17, 2012, 12:39:00 AM
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