Anyone know of an equivalent video motion stabilizer program to prodad mercalli that I can use on the mac?
Or...
if not, how to import shots into imovie9 that have been processed with prodad? (imovie's own proprietary motion software is pretty lame.)

Thanks!

You can stabilize footage with After Effects - FCP also has SmoothCam bundled with version 6+

Thanks for the info!

iStabilize .. haven't used it myself but it may be worth a look
Pixlock - iStabilize (http://www.pixlock.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=33)


or if you are aiming a little higher
SynthEyes (http://www.ssontech.com/synovu.htm)

Also, Lock and Load from CoreMelt

CoreMelt plugins for Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, After Effects and Motion - Lock and Load (http://www.coremelt.com/products/lock-and-load/lock-and-load.html)

This is all good. Good to know there are several options. I'm working on a backpacking video and a fair amount of my footage was handheld while walking. It sure looked stable in the viewfinder screen...

I haven't confirmed this myself, but I've read that if you're video camera uses a CMOS sensor (like most cameras do these days) you'll also get "jellovision" where vertical lines bend and warp. Stabilizing software wont fix that.

What about purchasing a hand-held stabilizer instead? Steadicam, Glidecam, VariZoom and others all make them for small cameras.

You're absolutely right. I've already encountered that with my footage. The only way of at least minimizing the effect (I think) is to choose backgrounds that hide the bending effect. For example, tall trees are not good for backgrounds as it's obvious the trees are "snapping." On the other hand, a blue sky or open horizon is better as there's less to focus on as being distorted abnormally, if that makes sense.