Steadicams have been around for a while. They have been invented in 1976 by Garret Brown and were mostly seen in professional camera equipment sets. Now Tiffen, from Hauppauge, NY, is launching a handheld version of their Steadicam mount for smartphones. They call it the Steadicam Volt.
The Volt version tries to deliver all the advantages of a large Steadicam for a consumer or semi-pro audience. They are planning to sell the product for $199, once it is available to be sold.
As of now they have completed their Kickstarter campaign goals of $100,000 with a backing of more than $500,000 and they are still going for another 34 days.
Why Steadicam?
With a Steadicam mount you are able to capture action video content without shaking in the recording. Moves, shifts, pans and all kinds of camera movements, no matter how fast or how slow, will look a lot more smooth than if you’d attempt to tape the same thing without a Steadicam.
What can the Steadicam Volt do?
If you mount your smartphone on the Steadicam Volt, you are able to record motion video a lot smoother than before.
Steadicam Volt can do that with the help a motorized three-axis camera stabilizer, that you can control with just one hand.
Here are some product features based on the Tiffen press release:
- Lightweight and folding design enable easy storage and transportation
- Accompanying iOS app allows for precise balance and tuning (Kickstarter page references Android app as well)
- Haptic control utilizes Simulated Inertia dual operating modes for beginners and experienced users
- Uses long life rechargeable lithium ion batteries
- Accommodates phone sizes with or without case from 100-200g in weight and 58 to 80mm wide
- Bluetooth enabled
If you ever struggled wth rugged, shaky camera moves in your video recordings, then the Steadicam Volt might be something you want to look into. If you do, make sure you drop your comments below and perhaps even link us an example of your work.
YouTube: Steadicam Volt | Shake-Free Videos
Photo credit: Michael Cassara (Tiffen)
Source: Press release by Kaitlyn Isola (Tiffen)
