What is Steadicam?

​Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizing mount for motion picture cameras that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement. It allows for a smooth shot, even when moving quickly over an uneven surface. Before the camera stabilizing system, a director had two choices for moving (or "tracking") shots:

1) The camera could be mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled mount that rolls on tracks or leveled boards. This is time consuming to set up, and impractical in many situations.
2) The camera operator could hold the camera in his hands. This allows greater speed and flexibility, but even the most skilled operator cannot entirely prevent the camera from shaking. Hand-held footage has traditionally been considered suitable mostly for documentaries, news, reportage work, live action, unrehearsed footage, or as a special effect to evoke an atmosphere of authentic immediacy or cinéma-vérité during dramatic sequences.



While these cinematic techniques are still common, the Steadicam has added another dimension to motion picture cinematography and videography. A Steadicam essentially combines the stabilized steady footage of a conventional tripod mount with the fluid motion of a dolly shot and the flexibility of hand-held camera work. While smoothly following the operator's broad movements, the Steadicam's armature absorbs jerks, bumps, and shakes. Thus making it possible to get smooth tracking shots in locations with uneven floor or narrow hard to navigate places. Steadicam also is a great time saver on location, since when we need to change angles we do not need to reset the tracks etc.