DIY 3 axis gimble for small cameras

[sidd finch]

One of the most frustrating things about small camcorders / smartphones is how hard it is to get a stable shot while moving. The Tiffen smoothie looks good but at $100 and a super steep learning curve it is not my cup of tea. There are many others including the brushless motor that looks cool but to me they are cost prohibitive. One of the things I like to do is use my camcorder in combination with a monopod. It opens up a lot of interesting angles and allows me to have super reach in terms of where I can place my camcorder.

I stumbled across this DIY project that I adapted to suit my needs. I omitted a ball bearing as I find that the movement is really hard to control. Below is a picture of the one I made for my monopod. It works really well and cost me less than $4 USD and approx. 20 minutes of build time. It is made out of PVC and 1/4 screws

When I have the camera connected I hold the outer ring with my hand and let gravity from the monopod keep things straight. It works really well and is not such a spectacle when out in public. I should paint them black to make it more non-descript.



Sidd

[momoffduty]

So the axis is on the 4 screws? Trying to understand how this works.

[sidd finch]

A series of concentric rings. The outermost ring mounts to a larger surface. The next largest ring connects to the outermost ring at two points that are perpendicular to the outer ring's surface mount. Then, the third largest ring mounts to the second largest one at two points perpendicular to the connection between the first and second ring,



Sidd

[momoffduty]

aha! Thanks for the diagram.