A SIMPLE, STEADY SYSTEM

by Anthony Burokas (IEBA Communications), Twenty-year veteran,  contributor at FreshDV.com, DV Magazine, EventDV Magazine and IEBA

WEIGHING IN WITH THE BALANCE BEAM

One of the problems with using deceptively small HDV gear is that, on a small tripod, you've ended up with a considerable amount of weight atop your usually non-counterbalanced fluid head.  This creates problems when making smooth pans and professional moves. 

High-end tripods have built-in counterbalance systems that push back the harder the greater the tripod head is tilted.  Pay more and you can ‘dial in’ your counterbalance to perfectly match your camera system.  But itís seldom you find a $5,000 tripod system under a $2,995 HDV camcorder.

Even panning is an issue because little cameras have no inertial mass, meaning they shake and twitch at the lightest touch.

A big camera won’t readily react to button pushes, and pans are much smother.  A tiny camera shows all your mistakes.

The Balance Beam is a 9 pound system.  It features a bent, machined aluminum beam, two weights that can be slid some distance up and down on each end of the beam, and a Bogen/Manfrotto 3273/3272 quick-release plate in the middle that affords about 8 cm of movement front to back.  There are also six unthreaded holes at the (back) end through which you could mount additional accessories.

I added the Balance Beam to my Bogen tripod with the Sony HDR-FX1 camcorder on top.  It immediately felt like I had a big on-shoulder camcorder on there, except the camera was less top-heavy.  This comes from the fact that the two ends of the Balance Beam are bent downward, lowering the center of balance of the entire system.  The weights on the Balance Beam do not move in and out to a great extent (+/-1.5” each) because of the bend.  Some of the motion is vertical, some is horizontal.

By moving the front weight in, and sliding the rear weight out, moving my camera all the way back, I was able to balancer my camcorder to get more tilt than normal and much smoother panning.  The two big weights included with the Balance Beam may be too much for tiny camcorders, yet may not be enough for the Canon XL-H1 with itís big 20x lens on the front. Without the ability to take just a few disks from the front an move them to the back, the user is limited.

The weights do adjust quite easily, though, with a simple grab-and-twist lock ñ an instinctive procedure that requires no special tools.

Overall, I found the Balance Beam a useful tool with the small or off-balance camera that needs a bit more mass to achieve optimum smooth camera moves. 

At just $249, itís considerably cheaper than upgrading to a properly counterbalanced and multi-step adjustable fluid motion tripod.  I’d recommend the next version offer the ability for users to move weights fore and aft as they need it, or reduce overall weight altogether.

SCORE: BALANCE BEAM

PROS: A simple, affordable tool that smoothes out lightweight camera tripod movements.  Weight adjustments are instinctive.

CONS: Fine-tuning the weights is limited; may not work with certain large cameras.

BOTTOM LINE: Cheaper than upgrading your tripod.  A good buy.

_______________________

I'd like to tell you how impressed I am with your Balance Beam video

camera stabilization system. I am Director of Media for good-sized

church in California, which includes overseeing a team of volunteers to

run the media on Sundays. As you might expect, we don't have a huge

budget, or pro-level equipment--just three pro-sumer level video cams

(older Canon XL1s and a Sony PD150). These are not really heavy cameras, and even thought we've invested in decent Manfrotto legs and heads, the problem still remains: How do you get smooth shots with non-pro cameras,

used by people who don't do this for a living 40 hours a week?

Here's my answer: It's a combination of training and your Balance Beams.  Because our cameras don't have the mass (and therefore smoothness) of larger pro cameras, they're more prone to sudden movement, particularly

when panning (and our Pastor is all over the stage when he's

preaching!). This is where your Balance Beams, as advertised, have helped considerably. It makes it easier for my camera people to deliver good shots more smoothly, and with greater confidence.

The other side of the coin is training, obviously, and honing one's

craft as a camera operator. My people do a commendable job with the

tools we have, and I'm blessed to have them. But the bottom line is, our

camera operation during our services on Sunday mornings is now smoother

than it was without the Balance Beams. To us, it's worth the investment,

especially since we will soon offer videos of our Sunday morning

services to our congregants, and on our website.

I'd also like to comment on the excellent quality of your Balance

Beams--machined with precision, finished nicely, and even including a

Manfrotto camera mount. Way to go!

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and you obviously thought

this design through before offering it to the public. Thanks for a great

product - I highly recommend it!

--John Welsh

Director of Media

Quail Lakes Baptist Church

Stockton, CA