Do It Yourself Steadicam for iPhone 4

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.tuaw.com/2010/07/21/diy-steadicam-for-the-iphone/' target='_blank'>http://www.tuaw.com/2010/07/21/diy-...for-the-iphone/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"This is really awesome. While there are rumors that an iPhone 4 steadicam is in production, Spencer Watson didn't wait -- as you can see above, he went ahead and built a steadicam rig for his own iPhone out of some parts he had sitting around."</em></p><p><object width="600" height="360" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/MKxMuwq22sM&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;ap=%26fmt=18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MKxMuwq22sM&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;ap=%26fmt=18" /></object></p><p>This is pretty ingenious, and done with parts you can find in your local home improvement store (all but the Nerf gun unless your home improvement store has a wider selection than the one that I go to). I don't think I would have much use for this since my filming is limited to family stuff, but I certainly can see the advantage if you are using it for stuff like he does in the video that follows after the break.</p><p><MORE /><object width="600" height="360" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/VQOL7igfbjA&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;ap=%26fmt=18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VQOL7igfbjA&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;ap=%26fmt=18" /></object></p><p>It really works well doesn't it? I may change my mind and try this out. I always have to figure out how much it would cost me in time before I attempt projects like this. Is it worth my time to build or should I just buy one retail. What are your thoughts on steadicams? Do you have a use for one with your iPhone? Would you build it yourself or just pay the extra for one retail?&nbsp;</p>

[Brad Adrian]

This looks almost a little fun, and something I might throw together on a Saturday afternoon when I'm in one of my "W?BIC!" moods ("Why? Because I Can!"). That's the same kind of proof-of-concept mood that prompted technophiles like me to force our 2004 Windows Mobile phones to FTP files to our desktop PCs which were sitting in the next room and to get our AT&T iPhones to tether to our notebooks even though the notebooks had other connectivity options.

Anyway, the best advice in this video is the iPhone "holder thingy." I use a similar Bracketron holder, and it works great for gently and firmly holding my iPhone on my various dashboard and cupholder brackets.

As far as cost is concerned, I bet I could make this with parts already in my garage and a quick trip to the hardware store and still spend less than $10 and less than 2 hours putting it together. The design really is pretty simple, but trying to buy one would surely cost more than $100 (not that I've even seen one available for the iPhone).