22Jul First Attempt IndieHardware Stabilizer
I’m not going to show off any fancy video making skills. This review is mainly to compare the IndieHardware Stabilizer vs. The Hague MMC. This is my first attempt at balancing the IndieHardware Video Cameara Stabilizer. I was able to balance this thing fairly quickly. I might not have it dead on, but it is possible to balance a Canon 7D + Sigma 20mm or even a Canon 5D Mark II + Sigma 20mm. I tried this same setup over on a Hague MMC, it just couldn’t handle it.
click images to find prices
The limited range of movement in the handle is going to prevent you from performing hardcore running shots, but for very smooth patient walking movements, the handle works. The Hague also suffers from a limited range of movement (they have almost the same design), but the Hague MMC has a longer handle. Having a longer handle ‘appears’ to have more range. It’s like when kids cut the stick shift in their car, same stick shift, but feels like you’re throwing it shorter when changing gears.
There seems to be 2 different versions of this stabilizer, so make sure you contact the seller to be clear about what camera you are trying to balance. The one I have has support for 2 weight stacks. There is another one that has only 1 weight stack similar to the Hague. I guess this is for really light camcorders. More weights means you can support a heavier camera. Can you just add more weights to a Hague? Not really, the IndieHardware gimbal is larger than the Hague which means it can balance and control that weight much better too.
This isn’t a Steadicam Merlin or Glidecam HD, but the price isn’t $400-$800 dollars either. If you’re work consists of only a small percent of ‘Steadicam’ type shots, and you’re not ready to invest into something expensive, you might want to try this one over the Hague.
Excuses, Excuses. Sorry everyone, I’m not happy with this review, and i’ll do a better job next time. I end up trying to do this piece by piece, in the middle of the night, or out in a parking lot. Quality is poor, but I’ve been getting alot of comments about this particular stabilizer so I wanted to get something out to those who have been waiting.
If you care to know what my 5 hour per day / 160 mile round trip driving adventures are like, check out this old video below.
You might have seen a few of my other videos talking about how i’m always fighting traffic. I have about an 80 mile commute (one way) I drive pretty much everyday from Brentwood to Redwood City. This is some random photos I took coming home one day. Excuse the dirty windshield, but maybe you’ll get an idea of the drive I take to get home.
Redwood City to Brentwood
10 Different Freeways (& a couple of Back streets)
Approx. 2.5 hour drive
Approx 80 miles
About 2300 photos (smallest JPEG)
Edited in Sony Vegas
Shot on Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 50mm F/1.8
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:06 am
thats a brutal commute indeed! i live in concord, even antioch to walnut creek is too rough for me! highway 4 FTL!
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:08 am
Bro, you drive pretty slow man…..
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:48 am
Wow. I was about to buy one based on your first post for this stabilizer. Now seeing this review, im off to eBay! For that money, you cant beat this.
I would like to see more though. Maybe some stairs, following a kid… you know your regular tests.
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:58 am
I always appreciate your post and review.. and wow! 5 hours/day on the road monday to firday?
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:09 am
Great review!
I think I’m gonna get one even if it doesn’t come with 2 spots for the weights.
So do you think that replacing the IndieHardware handle for a longer one will improve the limited range of movement?? Would it help on running shots?
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:19 am
I bought the Hague MMC after seeing it on this website but I can’t get it to balance. The camera screw section is more on the left side so the camera always topples on the right. Can anyone help?
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:13 am
Shifting the lower counterweight off to the side will compensate for the unbalanced upper weight. Check this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQhoh6-KHQ8
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:14 am
Yes it will. Actually in my head i’ve been thinking of replacing that design totally. I’ll have to run to the hardware store and see if I can come up with a better ‘more range’ gimbal.
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:22 am
Just ordered mine. I was going to order a Glidecam 2000HD, but for $100, it’s cheap enough to try. Hope to use it for a music video I’m shooting next month.
Thanks AGAIN for the hookup. Keep ‘em coming….
July 22nd, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Wow, I feel ya on that commute. Hopefully the job pays well enough to make it worthwhile. Judging from all your toys, my guess is it just might!
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:14 pm
5 hours on the road and you still have one of the best DSLR blogs on the net. How do you do it?
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:21 pm
Lots of help from the readers who love to share!
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:22 pm
LOL. It’s a Ying Yang thing. I balance out making and spending and I’ll average out to be flat broke consistently. hahah.
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Cool, if it can balance a 5D Mark II and Sigma, it should be able to do a T2i easy. I balanced the Sony NEX last night, didn’t post that video. I’ll get to the T2i maybe this weekend.
July 22nd, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Wow! You drive by my area all the time!
(I live in Hayward), thats pretty cool! 
I really like the time lapse, and I cannot wait till September for my 5D Mk II 
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:53 pm
ahhhh HWY 4!
July 25th, 2010 at 1:53 am
All sold out on ebay. How much you wanna bet when Terrys back the prices will go up?
July 25th, 2010 at 2:53 am
Not on ebay anymore, buyer is out til tomorrow. How much you wanna bet it’s going to be more expensive when he has more?
July 31st, 2010 at 2:02 am
I’ve gotta say man, you’re a breath of fresh air when it comes to this whole helping people out with their setups thing. I’ve been searching everywhere for information on practically everything and I don’t think I need to go anywhere else ever again for my diy indie stuff. You have a new and definitely faithful follower my dude and I DEFINITELY will be donating to keep you in business. The things you do for us as a following you really don’t have to and it is all the way appreciated. I bought both the hauge and the indiehardware stabilizer just off of your recommendation alone. I’m still having problems with both since I don’t know what the hell I’m doing but regardless of that you NEED to be endorsed by these companies. Once again dude my faith and trust in you as an HONEST source of information will not falter. YOU ARE THE GO TO GUY and anyone who disagrees only does so because they have nothing better to do with themselves.
July 31st, 2010 at 4:57 pm
anyone find a better handle?
August 2nd, 2010 at 8:34 pm
I just got mine in the mail. I ordered when he restocked. So if you want one, go get it now.
As for the stabilizer, its pretty sweet for $100 bucks (thats with shipping). A bigger handle would be nice. I also learned I’m much smoother if I use my left hand.
Thanks for finding this!
August 3rd, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Fixed.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HARxt1DofaMw-iMCvzwfZB9v87pY7uoP6GMpzC8dbTQ?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4H7WRKLAq1W3La-Rckjhph9v87pY7uoP6GMpzC8dbTQ?feat=directlink
August 12th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Great pics gautch, but how did you switch out the handle? I can’t seem to remove the handle from mine. Did you just place the other handle over it?
August 24th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
did anyone else find a bigger better handle?
i need something fast.
September 7th, 2010 at 11:12 am
2300 Photos for the roundtrip. What settings did you have your canon camera set to to take so many photos.
September 7th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Forgot, but since I was driving pretty fast, I set it to take photos fairly quickly. Maybe every 2-3 seconds. It’s a long drive and lots of traffic so I was able to drum up quite a few shots.
September 18th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
is it posible to balance a t2i + zeiss 50mm with the indie?
September 19th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Haven’t tried with that combo. Not sure how heavy the Zeiss is.
September 19th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
is it more dificult to balance a 50mm than a 20mm? or it’s the same thing? what i want to ask is if the tele lens are more dificult to balance?
September 20th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
It wouldn’t be any more difficult to balance, but a wide lens will mask the movement while zoomed lens would exaggerate any irregular movements.
October 18th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
does anyone know where I can purchase the indiehardware rig. It seems like they have been removed from ebay or something
October 18th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Just out of stock. Hang in there, it’ll come back.
November 24th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
I just got this and have the Canon t2i with the kit lens. I’m having a hard time getting it balanced. Any pointers?
thanks
ivy
November 24th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
@Ivy – they all have the same basic principle to balance. Must be slightly ‘bottom heavy’. Check the tutorials on YouTube on how to balance Glidecam or Merlin, it’s the same procedure. Just add enough weights to make it slightly bottom heavy.
March 6th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
that seems like a funky route emm. what’s your beef with 580E? New lanes make it flow!
May 24th, 2011 at 7:54 pm
its my first time to play with stabilizer . i bought the indiehardware . i got it right on leveled but everytime i walk it sways . i dont know what to do i got a t1i with kit lens .
May 24th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
@jon – You ca get it level, but this could also mean you have too much weight below. Try lightening it up and level again.
May 24th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
its frustatiing . if i put less weight it sways side to side and i got it as close to not swaying but still awful footage . how many weight should i put u think?
May 25th, 2011 at 6:48 am
@jon – You might need an ‘in between’ weight. Try grabbing some lighter fender washers. You might be going too heavy and then too light. At one point I used a few super light washers to trim the weight properly.
May 25th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Thanks for all the help
i almost got it.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
I’ve struggled with balancing out a little Canon VIXIA camera on the Indie Hardware Camera Stabilizer. I found that drilling a hole an ‘loading’ the top of the stabilizer made all the difference. Link to pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39389118@N07/5812813126/in/photostream
June 8th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
@John – Awesome stuff, one of my suggestions is to always load up the stabilizer. If the stabilizer is too overkill for the camera, it will go crazy.
June 8th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
@Emm – My ‘Aha Moment’ occurred when I looked at the comparative weights of cameras being used on the Indie Hardware stabilizer… a Canon 60D w/ lens = approx. 1250 grams… a Canon Rebel Ti2 w/lens = approx. 1100 grams… a Canon 5D (or 7D) even *more*… and my little Canon VIXIA = just 500 grams! Then, a solution was pretty obvious. I needed to *really* load up the top of the stabilizer with addditional weight!
June 24th, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Any advice on balancing a gh1 and a canon fd 50mm 1.4 or a 35mm?
October 30th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
where can i find it? its no longer available on ebay
October 30th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
@Sean J – Correct, they are no longer available. Check out these: (click here) for DSLR Video Camera Stabilizers
December 31st, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Can you please demo this stabilizer or Hague with Gopro? There are so many demo videos out there with Iphone & DLSR cameras but rarely with Gopro. Somebody posted a video that he recorded using go pro and lennse midx but it swayed so much like a pendulum. Check this out… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SAUFZoniQ4
December 31st, 2011 at 1:20 pm
I’m interested to see how you set up and balance the stabilizer with gopro (w/ and w/o LCD) correctly. Thanks for your help.