Project - Camera Support
The first time I was asked to shoot some behind-the-scenes video at a photo shoot, it was dropped on me at the last minute because I happened to be present with a DSLR camera that could shoot video. The shoot was quite dark, and the resulting footage had more shake than I was happy with.
When I knew I'd be shooting more video, I thought it would be a good idea to get a camera support, like a shoulder rig.
However, when I looked at shoulder rigs, they seemed to have the problem that both hands are kept away from the camera, making it practically impossible to adjust the focus. The next video I was shooting would have animals running around so I knew I'd have to be able to throw focus manually while shooting.
So I decided to create my own camera support. It was made to be as cheap and easy as possible. The two arms rest against your collar bones, and the right-hand holds the handle, which is slightly offset to the right. The left-hand wraps around the right, leaving finger and thumb free to adjust the focus using a focus-ring belt with an attached lever.
Another advantage of having the handle in the centre is that you can rest your elbows on your stomach, giving a total of four points-of-contact.
The whole thing was made from bits I had lying around, or scrap. The only things I had to buy were two rubber ferrules (50p each) and some wingnuts (I made the left arm removable to make it easier to transport).