SteadePod - any opinions?

[Dave Kendrick]

Hi,
A few days ago one of those one day sale companies offered me a SteadePod at what seemed to be a decent price so I fell for it . It arrived this morning so I've not used it yet. I bought it because I thought the theory of it sounded OK but, on receipt I'm not so sure .
See here for a review of the item but other reviews seem to be less enthusiastic, perhaps a 50/50 split: -

SteadePod Review

The 'anchor' that you put your foot on, unless it's made of space-age carbon fibre (unlikely ) would appear to be the most obvious weakness. I wondered if anyone here had any experience of using the thing and, if so, what they thought.
Cheers,
Dave.

 

[Hamish Gill]

It's an age old idea Dave, fairly easy to do a DIY version ...
http://www.realphotographersforum.com/content/524-genius-idea-cheap-image-stabilisation.html

I guess the cash is all in the build? How does it feel?

 

[Dave Kendrick]

Hi Hamish,
Build quality is fine - it's marked 'Made in the USA' so you'd expect that - but I anticipate 2 possible problems: -
1) I've got one of 'your/our' Strap Buddys' and only one screw hole in the bottom of the camera
2) The thing you put under your foot looks and feels a bit fragile and I suspect it may break easily if not treated with care.
The link between bracket and foot anchor is a nice fine wire rope and I anticipate it would be very easy to overstrain the 'anchor.

 

[Hamish Gill]

Give it a go and let us know Dave!
What camera are you shooting?

 

[Dave Kendrick]

Not taken any pics - no real pont?? - but have fitted it to the camera and gone through the motions. It seems to be very effective with a little upward pressure applied to keep the cable quite taught - the camera seemed very steady. Not sure if it would be quite so effective if doing a panoramic shot because side to side movement, although reduced, is still possible but I can see it being useful in static long exposure shots.
My camera is a FujiPix S9500 - I can just about take advantage of most of it's features but I'm mainly a holiday snapper these days but I did take some nice lens-filling shots of some Giant Lillies in the garden the other day (before getting the SteadePod ).
Dave.