25Oct Unfinished DIY PVC Bearing Gimbal
Many of you have probably already seen this video. It was posted up over a year ago as Part 1 of 2. I know i’ve had my eyes on it for quite a while waiting for the follow up, but Part #2 of this project doesn’t look like it will happen anytime soon. This one is based on the Gimbal Handle that is used on the Glidecam series stabilizers. There seems to be a million ways to make a Steadicam Merlin gimbal handle, but little ways to make a decent Glidecam type gimbal handle. In this interesting video, there’s some really nice techniques in mounting several bearings into some cheap PVC making it into a full 3 axis gimbal. It’s been a year already, and there’s some really good ideas in here to just let this sit back without being tackled by someone. Since video #2 hasn’t been released to follow up on this, i’m curious if anyone has attempted this DIY project, and how far did you get?
If you’re not familiar with what a Glidecam Stabilizer is capable of, check out my HD1000 video demonstration here: http://cheesycam.com/glidecam-hd1000-dslr-video-stabilizer-demonstration/
click image for pricing on Glidecam HD1000 Stabilizer System
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October 25th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I made one.. From all kind of stuff I had.. All from IKEA parts to some bracket from the local hardware store.. I will see if I can get some pics uploaded
October 26th, 2010 at 12:34 am
I’m, not sure if that will be a usable gimbal. The gimbal is the most important part of a steadicam sled, and you need precision machining in order to build a usable gimbal, otherwise you won’t be able to balance the sled with the camera on top.
http://hbsboard.com/index.php/topic,2221.0.html
http://hbsboard.com/index.php/topic,4335.0.html” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>http://hbsboard.com/index.php/topic,4335.0.html
October 26th, 2010 at 4:35 am
Check out this other succesfull PVC gimbal
http://www.yb2normal.com/DIYsteadicam.html
October 26th, 2010 at 4:44 am
And a more recent fully designed stabiliser http://www.yb2normal.com/DIYsteadicam5.html
October 26th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
There’s one on vimeo that’s very alike: http://www.vimeo.com/14408590
October 26th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
The only big con, at least for the one I made based on this, is figuring out how to make the camera plate adjustable (front to back, left to right) like it is on the glide cams.
October 27th, 2010 at 10:46 am
I am going to post up a video on my vimeo detailing how to do the top and the bottom with left/right…forward/back adjusting sled made out of 1/4 inch wood.
It works pretty good, although, it still need to play around with my DIY to find the right position for a t2i + tokina 11-16