If you like to shoot with telephoto lenses there will come a time where you want to work with a gimbal tripod head. There are a lot of options , some expensive, some even more expensive. Then there is the Manfrotto 393 . It is not brand new, it is not fancy. It is a Heavy Duty Gimbal, the answer to a few of my new needs. As seen in some of my reviews, I have been working with big telephoto lenses. I have also begun to like shooting with my camera low to the ground . I needed a tool to attack both these task and after much searching , this was it.
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A couple of months ago we mentioned some info about the Picosteady. It was a project that came to life with the help of a very successful kickstarter. What you are looking at here is a camera stabilizer system that is priced well under that of much more higher end units. In my time with this unit I ran into some frustrating moments with this unit. More on that below.
When brothers Karim and Nadim Elgarhy, amateur filmmakers, had a heck of a time stabilizing their handheld shots, they decided to make a camera stabilizer for amateur filmmakers. They came up with an idea to make a low-cost, light weight system that could be used with ease. So, they put their idea on Kickstarter, set a goal to make a batch of units–and with the support of many achieved their goal.
The Picosteady comes in at an incredibly light weight of just 6.50z. It can support many different types of setups: iPhones, Micro 4/3’s, Sony NEX, and even some DSLRs like the Canon T2i. Although lenses were not mentioned for use with the Picosteady, I would think Canon’s nifty 50, or brand new 40mm f2.8 would be good candidates for this unit.
One thing I do like about this unit is the price. $179 dollars is pretty hard to beat.
We will have more info on the Picosteady when we get a unit in for review. Hopefully soon.