Gyro stabilizers

[Lauri Kettunen]

Does anybody have experience of using gyroscopes to stabilize a camera about of the same weight as RED? Which way to do you set the gyros and how many of them are needed? Has anybody designed and built such a system?

[Priyesh P.]

there was a thread about gyros. just search...

[Robert Mott]

Does anybody have experience of using gyroscopes to stabilize a camera about of the same weight as RED? Which way to do you set the gyros and how many of them are needed? Has anybody designed and built such a system?
http://www.ken-lab.com/

They were very helpful.

RKM

[Stephen Williams]

Does anybody have experience of using gyroscopes to stabilize a camera about of the same weight as RED? Which way to do you set the gyros and how many of them are needed? Has anybody designed and built such a system?

Hi Lauri,

I used 3 for a Viper & SR1 recently.

Stephen

[jaadgy akanni]

All this talk about Gyros got me hungry. I haven't had a good ol' fashioned greek gyro in years. I might just go downtown to have one later.

[Lauri Kettunen]

Thank you all for the feedback. Following Kalone's comment did search for the thread about stabilizers and there was indeed a link to

http://www.camerasystems.com/gyrostabilization.htm

which gives a good background.

The Ken-lab pages

http://www.ken-lab.com/stabilizers.html

says

The unit operates two gyroscopic wheels which are in opposing axis to each other, and when they are up to their normal 22000 RPM operating speed, resist both pitch and yaw, when in line with the lens, the motors are brushless and the unit is helium filled, hermetically sealed and is maintence free. One can expect several thousand hours of worry free use.

So, the idea is a pair of flywheels spinning with high rpm, and the helium is there to minimize the drag -although I bit wonder how they manage to keep the helium inside the units for years. Evidently, vacuum -maintened every now and then by a vacuum pump- would do the same.

I'm thinking of stabilizers for crane use and I'm also planning a cable system. Once saw the extremely stable aerials in BBC's Planet Earth series it became immediately clear that this is what people will start to expect, but the obvious problem is that the best stabilizers are very very expensive. Still, not yet sure whether the production cost is really that enourmous, and that's also what the reasonable priced Ken-lab products seem to suggest.

Stephen, did the three units fully stabilize your system or do you think there is a need for additional active stabilization? Adding gyro sensors and a control system to Ken-lab gyros to stabilize high frequency components with electric motors is perhaps not that difficult task.

[Stephen Williams]

Stephen, did the three units fully stabilize your system or do you think there is a need for additional active stabilization? Adding gyro sensors and a control system to Ken-lab gyros to stabilize high frequency components with electric motors is perhaps not that difficult task.

Hi Lauri,

Without the stabilizers the shot was totally useless, with the stabilizers the shot was usable as is, however some stabilization in post is required if you're after perfect results.

Its important to power up the gyro's at least 10 minutes before you need them, the problem is, you forget how long they had been running & and the batteries do need to be changed.

Stephen

[Robert Mott]

I remember a few years ago there was a company that created a cable system that used the gyros from the Patriot missile system.

Also how could I forget about the warm up time for the gyros. Like he said I kept forgetting how long they were on for.

RKM