Cinematography : Stedicam or Movi? by Rob Tyler

I should probably add that my main cam is an fs700..

Steadicam and Movi are two different flavors of two different machines. See if you can rent one each, spend some time and see which one works best for you. If you have the cash, get both.

Thanks Brandon, unfortunately due to my location i don't ever have the luxury to rent gear, its always a case of biting the bullet and buying! :/ I currently have a glidecam4000 and have a decent reputation operating it. I think i might just buy a bigger/better rig and stick with it! Many thanks.

Our little company has one of those as well. I hate it, LOL. With no tension-er for the L and R axis it just drives me insane trying to operate it. So we hired a guy with an actual steadicam rig, he totally crushed it. I want santa to bring me a Movi because the footage from that thing looks SICK. Seriously. Steadicams have their place but the Movi is insane to me, just blows my mind with the possibilities.

Biggest issue of a movi is that is requires 2 people to operate-- plus a focus puller. I've seen them, and I am not necessarily impressed for that price point. Were I you, if you are a good steadicam op I would upgrade that package, and keep working steadycam and see where the industry goes. maybe movi will take off, maybe not. And maybe they'll make a better product soon. I haven't seen nor heard of 'em on any shoots here in LA, and certainly haven't had a need for one since a steadycam will work for just about the same shots and often at a lower price (people cost money). Another option is to buy nothing-- but if you need one pick one up. I don't ever really see the point of buying gear to have it gather dust. Leave the dust gathering for until after it has had some kind of use.

Cheers chaps, appreciate your input :) Looking at the prices and considering the size of my rig, stedicam seems to be the best path!

Daniel, Thanks for the feedback, those rigs look fantastic! I think I'm pretty much decided on Stedicam. The work i do get at the moment requires me to have it on for long periods at a time. The Movi rig would just be a pain!

Glide cam and Merlin both work really well Merlin for DSLR's and I use a glide cam 4000 with spring arm and vest for cannon xf300 in fact when shooting two camera set ups for diologue scenes I use the glide cam instead of tripod this allows for faster adjustments and slider type shots

movi m10 if money is no object

I would go with the Movi

yes yes yes Movi haha

Movi isn't an option. Requires two people to operate properly and is no good for long shoots. cool bit of kit though.

SteadiCam can work 5 days a week with a good operator. MOVI... not so much yet, and more limited. They are just different, that's all- the MOVI is more limited yet has certain strengths. Producers will hire MOVI on curiosity factor, to play with.. but SteadiCam is known, and will get hired and asked for with certainty ( the expected results are knwon too, which means without a solid SteadiReel, you may not get called...)