Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact for Camcorders with 1/4"-20 Tripod Connection

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

I´ve been using the steady stick with my Canon 5D.
It´s light, easy to carry, and it works well. I manage to shoot 90 minute gigs with it with quite steady images. Also for interviews and videos I have to shoot on the move in the streets. Before this one I bought a US$ 2.000 Red Rock Micro Cinema Bundle but couldn´t use because it was too heavy for me (I am a female). Sold the Red Rock and I am very happy with this one.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

The new SteadyStick is great for many different applications in shooting video and photography. It's versatile, compact, easy to use, easy to store.
My one complaint is the plate which attaches to the camcorder should have included a rubber adhesive footing. When the thumbscrew is completely tight, slack space exists causing the camera to rock a bit. To compensate for this deficiency, I adhered four small circular felt stick-on pads to the plate. Problem solved.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

For such a simple design it works really well

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

For the price, this is a great stabilizer. I've used it many times, after flying from airport to airport, without it taking up much space in my bag at all.

It does have some serious drawbacks though. While it is great for any shots you may get while standing still, you can't really walk with it. Additionally I found tilting it up or down to be difficult to impossible, though panning right to left worked well.

Also after a while, the thing just started to fall apart piece by piece. First it was the belt buckle, which is more or less a cheap piece of plastic, then the screws started popping out until finally I was over replacing parts for it. I would consider buying it again, as it is extremely affordable, but I think I will look for another option first.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

I use my Steady Stick with ease and comfort with a variety of different formats of camera. Whether it be snapping 35mm stills on my SLR free of motion blur or setting up my bulky sticks, or shooting NTSC and HD material on all shapes and sizes of camera body. The smooth handling and desirable movement that the body harness/steady stick offers is great for any shooting event, weather it be an on-the-fly event for documenting or for a character driven action sequence. We all know filming anything handheld can be frustrating or imperfect, especially for me, working with a fine tremor in my hands (A neurological movement disorder) But with my steady stick, all of the wait from equipment is placed on the waist, leaving the hands to function smoothly. I would have to say the only negative things about the overall design of Tiffen's Steady Stick is the lack in length of this models extender rod. I seem to remember using an older version where the camera could extend at least one foot over my head for birds-eye shots. (although I am 6' 4") The other design flaw was that there isn't a safety feature on the fastener bolt for the extender rod. If I were in a quick pinch, I would want to know 100% that if the device were flipped upside down with the camera would still be intact without slipping or loosening. With this said, this device is a wonderful, inexpensive, skies the limit piece of equipment that every shooter should have under their belt, literally!

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

Use this for sporting events mainly, basketball to be specific right now and after some fiddling and learning how to use it to get the smooth shoots I need and I love it, but it requires 2 hands to use it.

The extra handle is a little long to use it daily makes a great way to turn this into a shoulder mount, the swivel mechanism is not the smoothest and the nut that holds the pivot method requires constant attention cause once you move the camera up and down its loose and will eventually fall off.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

For the Canon XHA1 the Steady Stick is a great add-on! Comfortable, functional with or without the belt.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

Good for the shooter who is going handheld for multiple hours.

The negatives are switching between that and a normal tripod head is a pain, the tightening wingnuts aren't the best, and the fact that it has no shoulder strap or holding strap means you have to carry it on the system even when not shooting. So forget about needing 2 hands for anything else

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

This item fit perfect to my cam. Perfect buy with a perfect price.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

Used with shoulder mount, adds high stability

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

Way too awkward to use. Quality construction, but useless for me.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

Tv productions

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

Purchased along with a Chestpod Magic Camera Support by Cullmann for comparison.

This product is cheaply made by our friends in China, does not feature a quick release clip, and the camera support bar does not connect via any shoulder straps so you can't take your hands off it, even for a few seconds.

I suppose if you add a quick release plate to it and MacGuyver some way of attaching the support bar to your chest it'll be ok.

If you're really hurting for some stability, get the Chestpod Magic Camera Support by Cullmann instead.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

For the price, it's the best you can get. I'm using it with my Sony NX5U and so far it works great. I wouldn't recommend it if you plan to use only the viewfinder cause it's a little uncomfortable but with the LCD works perfect and I feel I don't have any weight on my arms or my shoulders.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

I used the product for a theater event and I needed to run and gun shots in the aisles. It does help to keep shots steadier, but it's design is flawed.

The head is attached to the stick by a quick-release that has an inherent wobble to it, so to tighten it up I had to tape it with gaffers tape - so long quick release. But again - it was relatively cheap, and if it works for me for a year, I'm good with it.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

I found the Steady Stick by itself to be a little lacking. It wants to fall forward from you unless you hold the foam stick close to your shoulder, which is awkward. I bought a steel strip from the [...], bent it into a shoulder bracket, and drilled holes to attach it to the mounting plate. Works great now. The Steady Stick puts 98% of the weight of the camcorder onto your midsection instead of your arm. I can shoot all day with this setup.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

I had to cover a 2-day event by myself and didn't want to add a tripod to all my equipment. I used the steadystick with a DVX100 that had a light and camera mounted on it. It definitely helps with fatigue and takes the weight of your arms when shooting for long periods of time. Just don't expect steadycam-like quality; it doesn't absorb shock well so you'll get pretty shaky/jerky results when trying to move.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

I really needed something like this. I typically try not to ever shoot anything handheld. i'm a strong advocate of the tripod but for events there is no way around it. This is a pretty good solution if you don't want to deal with a cumbersome shoulder rig. I've only used it professionally once so far and it seemed to do the trick although it is somewhat difficult to find a way to adjust focus and iris while still holding the handle and the camera. Because of the questionable quality of the device i didn't feel very comfortable completely letting go of the camera which the instructions also advise against. The knobs are cheap and do not tighten to the point of not allowing any movement and do not offer ideal camera movement. The plate is bordering on the scary side. I don't think the camera will fall off but i like the extra feeling of security. I would recommend this product but i also wish they would make a more professional compact version

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

I USE THIS STEADY STICK, TOGETHER WITH CAVISION SINGLE SHOULDER STABILIZER, I HAVE MY SONY HDR-FX1000, AND WORKS PERFECT.

Comments about Davis & Sanford Steady Stick Compact:

Belt latch broke on the first day of shooting. Never got to use the rig to shoot our film.