The Steady Stick by Tiffen - aka Canon Steady Stick
by: Aaron Rosen
I just took order of my new Davis & Sanforn / Tiffen Steady Stick a.k.a. the Canon Steady Sick. It was ordered from B&H Photo Video for $114.95 USD Part # CASS.
I was a bit skeptical at first glance not being able to find anything on the web except for the manufactures description. Poking around in some other DV forums also drew a blank.
So I made a few assumptions by the manufactures description that proved to be wrong. With a large all day shoot coming up I decided to take the plunge and get it anyway. It was a good choice. First guess: the support bar was somewhat of a “shock” absorber or spring loaded to hold the camera. Second, I could walk around and get a smooth shot. I’ll explain what’s really up later.
With a large all day shoot coming up I decided to take the plunge and buy the Steady Stick. I could not be happier.
B&H shipped it over night from New York to California via UPS for $43.50 and it arrived by 3 pm. Outstanding.
The box it came in was long and thin. I was greeted by something that looked like...nothing. A few parts and some basic directions. Keeping with my family tradition I flung the directions aside (If all else fails, read the directions) and began trying to figuring out what went where.
It didn't take long to have the support assembled. The parts are fairly intuitive and connect easily. The hardest part was taking the 2-inch nylon webbing, separating the Velcro and removing the buckle to attach the support base. With that done I had the making of a good support. One problem: I had to fight with the Velcro again so the belt fit my waist.
5 min later I was in business. The Velcro and Nylon Support Belt felt secure and strong. Over kill for my XL1s. Attaching the quick connect camera base to the tripod hold on the camera was easy.
My assumptions were dispelled after my Stick was assembled. The support bar was not a shock absorber or spring loaded. It was static and you had to release the screw to move positions and tighten it when there. I quickly dispelled the idea that I would get smoother shots when walking. With the Stick attached to your waist every movement when walking is transferred up the Stick.
But when not walking the shots were nearly as good as tripod...
I was please to find that the camera weight was immediately distributed to my hips and off my arms and back. The rig is a little awkward at first, as is any new toy. I was a little worried that it would not have enough mobility for the shoot on Monday. I put the support away for the weekend.
Monday morning rolls around and I'm on location with 1,500 participants pretending to be victims of a Smallpox attack. This was a disaster drill for the County, the largest in the nation. There are 2 other camera guys there as well. All of us had the Canon XL1s and a lot of people to video and a looong day ahead.
After the initial briefing we donned our gear. I strapped on the Steady Stick and attached it to the XL1s. Getting some weird looks at first I was wondering if bringing this to such a public place was a smart idea. It was. After shooting for 6 hours and running around a huge location I was still fresh. The Steady Stick held the cam off my shoulder and out of my hands. No back pain! Amazing. 6 hours of insanity and no back pain.
The belt bracket cut into my hip a bit but overall it was a pleasant shooting environment. I did notice some improvements that I would want to make.
The weight of the camera pushes down on the belt causing some extra sag taking the belt and your pants down a little. The belt needs suspenders.
The other minor issue was the camera attachment plate. The Steady Stick plate does not play well with my Bogen 501 tripod head. I needed a quick release to go from Stick to tripod and back with no hassle. Newswear.com Chest Vest for $95 USD, both bought at Samy’s Camera.
The Bogen 577 was screwed onto the existing camera attachment plate on the Steady Stick now allowing me the freedom to move from support to tripod with ease. The only issue I have currently is that the ease of attachment puts the quick release plate a bit far back undermining the locking mechanism.
KEEP YOUR HANDS ON YOUR CAMERA! The proper way of attachment should be to drill a few holes in both plates allowing you to center the plates above each other. This would eliminate the offset and locking problem.
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The Newswear.com Chest Vest is great. It has 4 huge pockets and some nice thick nylon suspenders and waist belt. The vest is made to be worn with the pockets in front on your stomach but that didn't work for this application. By wearing the vest with the pockets in the rear you gain a few advantages.
First you have some great pockets to store your gear. This is especially handy for your video light batteries. No need to wear 2 or 3 belts when one will do everything.
The second advantage is that the waist belt and Steady Stick bracket match great. The suspenders hold the belt and your gear up while the camera is pushing down on your hip.
In closing I wanted to add that I will never shoot another long day without the Steady Sick. My back and arms felt great. The Stick did what is was designed to do and after a bit of modifications it is even better and well worth the cash when your back dose not hurt.
PRICE BREAK DOWN:
- Canon Steady Stick - $114.95
- Newswear.com Chest Vest - $95
- Bogen 577 Adaptor - $62.20
Total Cost excluding shipping: $272.15
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