ProMax Steady Tracker

[jasper_window]

Do any of you own this or have you heard anything good about it?

http://www.promax.com/products/detail/6214

[TheVoiceOfNick]

It's a poor man's steadicam. I made the $14 steadicam (http://www.student.virginia.edu/~fms-uva/steadycam/) and it works great...


Nick

[jasper_window]

It does?  Is it smooth, steady, all that?  I looked at the instructions and watched the video and it look all right.

[TheVoiceOfNick]

It works fine. I actually made it a little bigger with 3/4" pipes rather than 1/2" pipes, and used a heavier weight, and it worked great. I have a larger camera than the one he used, so I needed the extra weight for balance.


Nick

[ReelHotGames]

This is basically the same thing as a glidecam, they run off the concept of a free floating gimble which allows smooth steady motion, but it relys heavily on the wrist and arm strength of the operator for extended shooting sequences.

And while the poor man's steady cam (above) is a great alternative to spending a few hundred bucks there are differences and they are noticeable, just as there are differences between the glidecam/pro max and a steadicam jr, and they too are noticeable.

If you have it in your budget for a pro max, I'd say the money is worth it, but I would also consider the option of waiting and adding to the budget to get a steadicam jr as they are the real deal for smooth operating.

One thing to remember is don't get your rig the day you plan to shoot or even the day before and expect to have the ability to handle it the way you want. Give yourself some practice time.

Good luck.

[jasper_window]

Thank you.  The free floating, gimble based rig is exactly what I was curious abou and wheather or not the ProMax had one.  I had found one on ebay and eventually lost the auction because I wasn't really sure how good the ProMax was and if it was worth the money.  I appreciate the response.