Floating Camera, Smooth Shooting

Have you ever wondered how Hollywood filmmakers get those terrific gliding dolly shots when the camera seems to float with an uncanny smoothness over rough terrain? Or how they make the camera move through narrow hallways, in and out of elevators, and up and down stairs-without a dolly track ever appearing in the picture?

The tool behind the trick, called a "Steadicam" (credited to the genius of Garrett Brown), earned an Oscar for "outstanding technical/scientific achievement" in the motion picture industry.

How might a videomaker with a consumer's budget accomplish some of those smooth shots without spending a cool 40 grand for the necessary equipment?

The Next Best Thing

What works for me is a makeshift contraption which mounts a camera on the end of a pole, balanced with a counter-weight at the opposite end.

I've put together what I call a "Steadi-Vidcam" from mostly odds and ends around the garage and my miscellaneous photo equipment. I paid a total of $50 for parts, the most expensive one being an electronic viewfinder (EVF) extension cable.

Unless you wish to mount your camera at the bottom of the pole (with the EVE remaining at the top) for low-angle shots, this cable extension is not required.

If using one, however, its length should be no less than 4 feet, because there are other practical applications for an EVE extension. Future uses, including other projects to appear in this column, should be anticipated.

The stock 6-inch length of cable, the one from the FVE with the eight-pin male connector that plugs into my camera, lists in the JVC parts catalog for $8.70

It was a running battle to get JVC to sell me extra cable only; they insisted I would have to purchase an entire new $180 viewfinder, even if I had the misfortune of breaking the little plastic connector. I finally located it through a friendly local VGA repair shop.

The next most important component is the viewfinder. If your camera is equipped with a detachable EVE with a swing-away rubber eyecup and diopter magnifier glass, you're in luck, Use it as is. However, if your EVE is too small (two-thirds-inch tube) or has a fixed rubber eyecup, you should opt for a separate (larger) modified viewfinder

I've found a number of various sized viewfinders in the $10 to $15 price range at camera shops, surplus electronics stores, and electronics swap meets. Most are from older, obsolete cameras taken in trade or from new ones converted for surveillance applications.

If they are direct-view or in-line viewfinders, no modification is necessary other than adding a standard mounting shoe. If they are the right-angle mirror-reflector type, however, the following steps should be followed so that viewed images read correctly without the mirror's type rev…