Camera Shoulder Rig

Here's my 'fat-and-poor-man's solution for "hand-holding" a 6-pound+ Canon High Def Camera ... frankly, it didn't work well. Camera is way too front-end heavy. Our bigger bones and muscles in the shoulder and back absorb and balance the weight of large cameras MUCH easier than lighter hand-held units. And of course ... the rigs for steady-ness are another story -- addressed by SteadiCam, Steady Tracker and Glidecam units .... I'd just like to hold the damn thing without cramps or a tripod in mobile situations.

I considered several commercial options -- from $69 to $600, and more. Then I bought this one for $69 and modified it. ... a simple PVC pipe arrangement in a Y shape (see photos) -- called a SpiderBrace at http://www.spiderbrace.com/. Frankly, it's totally useless for my purposes, since it had no counter-balance, and the camera is front-heavy. I added the 2.5 lb weight at the back (right), and the stick which clipped to the belt for added support.

Ultimately, I trashed the whole thing, and went to steadytracker.com --- and bought their 'extreme' version for $350. So far so good ... great shots in motion while walking, running, spinning and dutch angles. Only problem is the weight on my weaking wrists.