Panoramic Camera Stabilized Support advice

[Marc Bakel]

Hello guys,

I'm looking for a mobile support allowing me to put my panoramic camera (with 5 lenses all around the camera) over my head and film while walking, which implies a stabilization system.

The camera can be used for long walks so that means the whole system needs to be quite "ergonomic".

You can see what the camera looks like on the following link: http://weblogs.vpro.nl/beingthere/fi...41-300x200.jpg

The lower part can be attached to a tripod.

One solution could be something like this:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/attachme...ort-axh6bl.jpg

Do you think that this kind of rig has a good stability by using the whole body to stabilize ?
Anyway this seems to be homemade and I have no clue about creating someting like that...

Another solution, easier to make would be to use a backpack with a monopod very well attached inside and the camera overhead, which would lead to something like that:

http://www.gadgetreview.com/wp-conte...-Flash-jpg.jpg

The only problem is the stabilization...

Do you think about a miracle setup which could do the job ?

Thanks a lot for your advices, I really need them ! :))

Marc

[Giroud Francois]

you have to build a helmet that has a pivoting point at the top.
the gimbal can be a ring positionned at the level of your mouth.
there is something like this called rotormount (www.rotormount.com) but since your are not shooting yourself, you can skip the tube with the two camera.
usually you need to find a part of the body that is steady and the head is ok if you are not moving it too much. Else you can skip the helmet and une some backpack with a pole going up, over your head.

[Marc Bakel]

Hello !

Thanks for your answer but I think I wasn't clear in my dscription: I don't want to do panoramic shots with a regular camera, I already have a panoramic camera with 5 lenses all around, so the idea is just to find a way to put the camera above my head, stabilized, but using my body to carry it since the weight is to important (3 kg) to carry it on a helmet for example for a long time.

Thank you anyway !

[Giroud Francois]

yes, the system is the same, for helmet or backpack.
the problem with backpack is the point choosen on the body (usually the around the hips) is stable, but if you add a pole going up over your head, you create some kind of lever. So a small move on the hips could result into a big move at the end of the pole.
Attaching the pole in a way it is fixed on two points (hips and shoulder) could improve that, but it also could make the system rather difficult for your back.
I would imagine a kind of gimbal that is fixed on the body between the blades.
The gimbal would be into a large vertical tube with at the bottom (at hips level) the counterweight.
At the other end, you would get the camera.
the tube itself would be fixed on the backpack with some articulation allowing the tube to move a bit, to compensate small balancing of the backpack