Camera lens Stabiliser be on or off?
 

Should the camera lens stabiliser or Steady shot on the camera lens be switched on or off when using a Glidecam system?

Regards Barry

I'd say off. Why buy a stabilizer and then cheat.:) you will not become a better operator by doing this.

Hi Charles, up tilll now I have had it switched off, same as I do on a tripod.

It is well known the problem it causes on a tripod but I have not seen it spelt out for a Glidecam system.


Thanks, Barry

On a steadicam you're going to be doing fast pans, intentional fast pans, if you have the camera image stabilisation on the picture is going to be doing the "catch up" thing.

When using a tripod i sometimes have the ois on, but only if i'm not concerned what the pan looks like, for example, filming a wedding on a long isle i'd be zoomed all the way in on the bride and groom if i was at the bottom of the isle, the ois will help with this, if i spot something else going on and i do a quick whip pan to it this the whip pan won't get used in the final edit because one of the other cams will cover that whip.
If i was doing a shot where the pan is in the shot then the ois is off.

Paul.

Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) tries to keep the frame still when there is a slight shake.

If you want to keep the frame still, turn OIS on. This goes for tripod, when you lock-off the pan & tilt. Also for hand-held, when you're trying to hold the camera as still as possible. Or for steadicam, when you're just standing there not moving or panning for the whole shot.

But when you want a moving frame, then OIS is a bad idea, since it will try to keep the frame still, and then jerk when it gives up. Often ends up looking jumpy instead of smooth.

So the real question is this: Why would you put your camera on a Steadiam/Glidecam, and then want to hold it still for the whole shot? The only reason I can think of is that you would rather use sticks for that shot, but you don't have time to switch.

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I'm going to go against the grain here and say that I've had good success using IS. I agree with others that if you're panning tilting fast then turn it off; if you're zooming in then you want it on (but it shouldn't be on a steadicam at this point).

On my glidecam I'm so wide that I don't need it, but on a tripod its a great tool that I sometimes use.