TWO QUESTIONS.

Firstly, some eight or so years ago, I recall vaguely somebody talking about a small stabiliser which was used to support small camcorders. It was home made and involved small electric motors and flywheels. The thing apparently looked like an upturned flower pot with the camera mount on the base and a handgrip inside the base and the motors attached around the bottom edge. It was apparently to be used within the confined cabin space of a light aircraft where a more conventional steadicam styled appliance would not conveniently fit. The thing was called Darth Vader's gauntlet or glove or something like that. Inside the handle was a release grip which enabled the camera limited free panning movement. Does anyone have a design I can copy from. I disregarded the idea then but have since arrived at a situation where I would now like to build such a device.

Secondly, I am presently cleaning dust from an airshow out of a KY-F50 camera. It has ended up between either the blue filter and the CCD block or is on the blue filter itself. Does anyone have recommendations on an appropriate cleaning solution. The manual does not go into this detail. The parts seem not intended to be serviced in the field. There is no info on whether the blue filter is gelatin or glass.

Advice will be greatly appreciated.

Bob,
I do not know if you are aware of this rig:
http://www.motionpicturemarine.com/
I saw it at Showbiz LA in 2000 and it performs very well. You could do the same but much smaller (for video) and here is what's in there (in short):
two gyros (for X and Y) that command two motors to turn the whole thing to compensate for the amount of movement detected. End result: head (with camera on it) remains static regardless how much movement comes from the base (just like a chicken head vs body) while pan and tilt are all yours.
Parts (in your case)
three gyros (xyz)
three big servos (R/C stuff) biggest you can get or, wind-chill wiper motors (they will need a lot of power and they'll get hot though)
three speed controllers (they will allow a greater power to the servos and faster reaction time)
Mount one on the other on the other and then the camera.
I was planning to do it as a car mount but... eahh....too much trouble for me only.
As a rental item I think it would be OK though. Just an idea.
Try this
http://www.lenspen.com/clean/

for the blue filter if it is on the outside. I did the same and is OK.

Yeah I played with the Perfect Horizon and noticed a slight amount of shake most likely caused by the electrics motors which made me wonder - one would think that simple physical geometry could figure out a way to keep the tripod head level but apparently not.

Thank you Dan and Brett.

I have made a very simple prototype of a gyro stabiliser using a GM autmotive fan motor. You really need two gyros in counter-motion otherwise all it does is twist sideways instead of resisting movement.

The aviation mechanic I asked about the 12v systems asked me if it had a steel flywheel which weas yes, then if I was going to put it anywhere near his compass. So I have remade the flywheel in brass.

Bob,
I am having second thoughts here:
A gyro system would be overkill for the high vibration in an airplane. Although most appropriate for waves, it would not be the best solution for plane (helicopter) The giros/motors would go nuts trying to compensate for a high no of changes in position every second (vibrations) and lead to an inefficient stabilisation.

I think a better way is rubber/gimbals/springs head. Rubber bands would absorb all vibrations and a gimbaled head (mounted on springs) plus gravity would (to a certain extent) provide the best and most suitable way to isolate the camera from external support influences. Sorry for the late reply. Thought of it a while ago but got carried away and forgot to post. I hope this helps. Sorry again for the late post.

End result: head (with camera on it) remains static regardless how much movement comes from the base (just like a chicken head vs body) while pan and tilt are all yours.

Ha ha ha!

Dan, anyone who has not grown up in a rural area or at least held a live chicken and noted its "head stabilization" techniques, will be totally puzzled by your comment! ;-)


Bill Porter
Chicken35

I knew it!!!!! but I was just curious to see what comes out of it....hahaha
(I wish I'd grew up in the country side FT, but I was there only occasionally... I still have lasting impressions and secret wishes to go back to that peaceful life..)

Here in .au, we call domestic fowls "chooks". I too was fortunate enough to have had a semi-rural upbringing. I took it upon myself one day to provide to a chook the experience of riding down a steep hill fast under my arm on a hill trolley. In the US you call them billycarts. A chook's head works back and forth like a jack-hammer in that environment. A week later, I collected the biggest doubleyoker egg in the entire universe from the pen and we attributed it to the wild ride.

Sadly, soo many children and teens miss out on the experience of the direct link between the providence of the land and environmwent and the sustenance and well-being of all. There is no more direct evidence of the need for effort as a direct link to the neccessity of life than living on the land. It is not too unrealistic to suggest that to describe to a young person a cow as a biologically contrived animatronic logo for their favourite dairy product mioght just be believable.

Sentimental rant aside, --- a report on the gyro experiment. --- It failed
the magnetic interference test as it induced a 3 degree deviation on the aircraft compass at 2.5 feet. This would amount to 6 degrees with a completed specimen consisting of two gyros = completely unacceptable. My advice was that this would be sufficient to cause permanent magnitisation of nearby steel in the airframe which would have to be de-gaussed, so back to the drawing board. My rough flywheel also was not running true and induced a vibration at fuill zoom on the PD150, however, there is an increased ability to reduce the wanders at long zoom ranges and this was only with a single gyro half-appliance so stabilization for hand-held work is seriously worth investigation.

The "real thing" the Kenlabs product range, interestingly uses systems which were independently recommended to me by avionics and airframe engineers, namely AC motors, high frequency AC power and an inert gas, helium in an enclosure to limit friction on the spinning flywheels. The high frequency AC motors are a seriously expensive option. I have been directed co-incidentally to investigate, aero-model technology, which validates the suggestions alrady made on this site.

Regards all and thanks again.