SteddiePod Follow Up
 

I read the few threads I could find here on the Steddiepod, but they were pretty old. Does anyone use this rig, and what do you think of it now that you have owned one for a while?

I know that I can buy a better group of specialized devices, but does it do a reasonable job as a combo unit? I am most interested in it as something I can take mobile and use it to get high, or as a monopod, or as a stabilizer for motion shots. Picture shooting at street festivals, the beach, or other active events. I know I can buy three things that will all do better, but is there abetter choice for a "do almost everything" (except tripod) kind of device? Is it a reasonably good choice as a stabilizer? Or should I just get a monopod and a glidecam? At $400, it is a moderate purchase and worth my time to research carefully.

I had the glidecam and just sold it as I opted out of the monopod/tripod/stabilizer route and wanted something that would do all of them. Up to last week I didn't know that any existed. I looked at the flowpod but I wanted a base on the monopod to really get stable footage and a monopod head to allow more versatilty. Plus at $400 for something rather simple I really couldn't justify the expense.

I just checked out the steddipod and it looks fairly similiar to what I came up with. In my opinion, build it yourself and save yourself 60% and get better equipment. The only downfall is that it won't look quiet as pro, but with the right materials you can definitely match the steadipod.

The one I built was fairly straight forward and and works excellent as a monopod for perfect stabilization and works very well as a handheld stabilizer. For ease of use and only having to use one tool for an all day wedding, I am very happy with it.

If your interested, I could send you how mine works and some ideas if you want to try and build your own. I could probably build you one with a bogen monopod for half the cost of the steddipod.

Well, sometimes when I build things they come out great, other times I should stick to pushing electrons. But I would be interested in seeing your plans and parts list. More than saving money, if it gives me a better unit (easier swap to tripod, better grip, easier to switch modes, less prone to rusting, ???) then it would be worth the trouble to make two (first one to practice building one LOL).