DIY Steadicam + Nikon D90 Video

Years ago, I built this do-it-yourself poor man’s steadicam (which you can buy preassembled here) for about $20. It was for use with my mini-dv camcorder at the time. It worked pretty well and like that camcorder, has unfortunately been collecting dust in my garage for a few years now.

I thought it might be fun to see how it worked with the D90 in video mode. There has been a lot of discussion about using the VR mode (vibration reduction) on the D90 when shooting video (whether it hurts or helps stabilizing the video) so let’s try both ways. The video clips aren’t that exciting – I would have preferred to shoot it outdoors on some wider steps but if was raining out and the game was on…they should still convey the differences…I also thought they show the low light to brighter light transitions as well in video mode.

I’ll let the results speak for themselves but the $20 rig definitely makes a difference:

Handheld 18-105mm lens (no steadicam, VR mode on):

VR mode turned on with 18-105mm lens:

VR mode turned off with 18-105mm lens:

10.5mm fisheye (no VR – just for fun):

Bonus video – throwing the Zi6 on the steadicam (balance is way off):