Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

This product does everything but nothing well. As a steadicam, the gimble is not large nor fluid enough for practical use. As a shoulder stablizer, the plastic parts flex too much.

Very disappointed with this product.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

All i read about it makes it look like what i needed, and not. Very dissapointing. I have a Canon T2i, and didnt worked at all. As a shoulder steady is fine but not for real steady use. Wont recommend it if what u have is bigger than a small picture camera with extra video capture. Not even a camcorder will work with it. Again . . as a shoulder steady is fine ..

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

I bought this to use with my Lumix GF2 to shoot video while walking. It almost works. It is better than just hand-held but unstable in its own ways. Better than nothing but not a miracle. Compact design is very ingenious though.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

Not good for dslr. After going home and looking the product up I learned that it was made for mini dv. The guy at b&h told me it was for dslr also. Well here's a heads up

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

I bought this item as a shoulder brace for my Panasonic HDC-TM700K. I wanted something to use when it wasn't practical to use my Glidecam or tripod. I never expected the steady cam feature to work and have not even bothered to try it. As a fold up shoulder brace it works pretty good. It is a bit more flimsy than I would like but it packs up nicely and is great for travel. If you need a decent shoulder brace and don't mind spending some money for it, this item will work. If you are looking for a steady cam, this is not for you. I recommend spending the extra money and buying a better one.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

Great idea. Tried it with a small point and shoot in video mode, and it did a decent job of stabilizing the footage.

However my T2i and 18-55 lens were too much weight for it to handle, and it could not balance at all.

The shoulder support mode also didn't work out too well because there was so much flex in the body, I didn't trust my camera on it without the neckband around me as a backup.

The T2i was even too heavy to use the table top tripod efficiently.

Might be good for small and lightweight cameras but not for anything bigger.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

didn't balance my camera at all[...]i'm sure it does its job as a tripod and shoulder mount, but not as a stabilizer.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

I purchased this unit & returned the very next week.
It might work well with a very small flip video camera or point & shoot, but it wasn't sturdy enough for a DLSR. I found it hard to get a comfortable feel & the proper balance that i was looking for. I was hoping i could get away without spending allot on a camera support. Guess i was wrong.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

ITS NICE AND EASY TO USE

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

I was looking for an entry level steady cam to use with a Flip HD and my GoPro HD Hero. This is an improvement over handheld shooting. I've also used it in the shoulder mode and that works too. So far, my favorite part is the built-in tripod.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

Things that are great about the modo steady:
*The table tripod fuction was great for slow pans and rac focusing

Things that arn't so great:
* the arm is pretty short if you have long arms and can be cumbersome, awkward and uncomfortable if you have a DSLR on it(like the 5D Mark II. All of the weight from the camera was being transferrred in to my wrist and which made me fatigue while shooting in longer periods of time.

*The fact that the tripot base plate could not transfer to another Manfrotto base, was inconvenient while shooting a wedding, as I sometimes will need to quickly change to a tripod and then a steady cam to follow what is happening right in front of me. Not having a quick release plate was the biggest downside

*It feels flimsy. This potentially could be a great product if a sturdier plastic or even carbon fiber was used.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

Good stabilizer for small video cameras, but my HDSLR's were too heavy to get the unit to balance balance.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

For a small still/video camera or camcorder this is very usefull. The setup is involved to learn how to best use it and it's only for a longer shooting session (not a quick picture)! But it folds into a small handful and goes nicely into my KATA bag. Great idea with very good execution and quality!

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

Bang for the buck this little fela is quit good "with a small camera"
I am using a Canon VIXIA

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

This is one of the worst purchases that I have ever made. I teach a high school class and expected this to help new students have the mobility of handheld with the ability to still get steady shots. This thing is really just floppy trash. None of the joints are solid, the counter weights for the steady cam mode are useless, and the mounting plate takes almost 2 minutes to put on the camera then attach to the main part. Over all I would say that I was VERY disappointed in this manfrotto gear.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

One star is too many for Manfrotto's Modo Steady. We bought one because Manfrotto made look so easy on their YouTube demonstrations. But in reality it never worked as it should. We followed instructions to a T, studied their demo videos...but was never able to make it work. We even took it to B&H and asked the video experts to help show us how to use it, and they weren't able to make it work. Even professional videographers we showed it to could not make it work. This product is so impossible to make work that it's not worth buying it.

For the record, we bought a second one in case our first one was defected. The 2nd Modo Steady did not work either.

My only advise: buy at your own risk, and only if you have money to throw away.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

Shoulder mount works great and tri-pod mode definitely does the trick. The one star off is really on the balance stabilizer mode which was really tough to balance at first. I am using the modo with my NEX and it took 10ish minutes to finally balance and get the desired effect. A pain to have to do that every time I break it back down. Other then that, it works pretty well.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

For use with very light cameras. Anything larger than your average handycam or DSLR will likely give you weight issues that the steady pod can't handle. Great design wish it would support more. Thought the table top tripod was a good feature but somewhat easily off balanced.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

Well, I've spent some time trying to like this and I'm still ambivalent about it. I'm using a Canon HV30 and I believe I have it working as well as I can by removing one counterweight. Although I haven't used it extensively, I think it's better than normal hand held mode. Seems to function pretty well at times, I guess it must be accepted for what it is and give up the notion that this is going to be a great steadycam. With the HV30 it's close to maximum weight for use on this product - that's without the wide angle lens and my external mic. Too heavy for the Modo Steady with attachments. So, I'll have it for certain circumstances and use a monopod for other hand held requirements when attachments are on the camera and a tripod is not feasible. I'll keep it in the bag regardless because it will probably have it use that will prove it's value. Is it worth it? Still can't answer. Disadvantages are offset by cost - a Merlin costs more than the camera and wide angle lens combined.

Comments about Manfrotto Modo Steady 585 Camera Support:

I'm sort of a hobby user, so I like to experiment with my video skills when I'm recording family or church events. I was getting really upset because I couldn't keep the camcorder steady when I zoomed in or walked towards a subject. I started doing research and ran across this steady cam support. I was hesitant because of the reviews I read, but I figured "any improvement is welcomed improvement" and for this price, I had to try it out. Well, I'm not disappointed in the least. I tried running with kids, zooming in on a toy being blown about by the wind, going up and down stairs... this thing is amazing! The notch on the ball joint takes a bit of getting used to, but once you get in the groove, it works like magic.