CAME-TV 101: 3 Innovative Solutions to Stabilize Your Shots

No other manufacturer offers the wide range of options for mounting cameras, from traditional tripods to innovative gimbals than CAME-TV. Here, we will detail three of the company's newest offerings for stabilizing your shots.

Spry Gimbal

If you are interested in exploring stabilizing your camera with a gimbal, it's a good idea to get started with a simple gimbal for practice on low stakes or no stakes jobs. CAME-TV has one of the widest selections of gimbal equipment in the industry, and has specially designed the Spry as just such a bare-bones package to get you up and running and learning about gimbal operation with the least amount of frustration possible.

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Credit: Charles Haine

The Spry is great for cameras up to a pound, making it a fantastic tool for GoPro or other action cameras, phone videography, or the smaller mirrorless cameras. In fact, it even works to control the small Sony RX line allowing for roll/cut from the handle and making for smoother shots without the "bump" you get from hitting the roll button. It's a great place to get started really exploring all the ways you can move a camera once it is gimbal-stabilized and to get your mind turning on how this new method of coverage will affect your upcoming productions.

Credit: Charles Haine

Prophet Gimbal

Once you are a full-fledged gimbal warrior, the CAME-TV Prophet can help up your game, carrying heavier cameras and executing more complicated moves. The Prophet will carry payloads up to 6.6lbs, making it an ideal choice for all of your mirrorless, DSLR, and even small cinema camera needs. It will easily carry the new EVA1 or C200 cameras that are going to be popular gimbal options starting this fall, with weight to spare for a lightweight lens and wireless follow focus accessories.

The Prophet comes with wireless control of the gimbal, 32bit encoders, wireless video, and an entirely tool-free setup to get you executing and approving your shots faster.

Credit: Charles Haine

Mounting options

CAME-TV offers additional mounting options for its gimbals as well, with both solid ring mounts and spring mounts available to help you get the shots you need. The spring mount is ideal for highly dynamic situations where the operating might include bumping or running over rough terrain, with the springs adding an extra layer of smoothing and stabilization to the shot and making the job of the gimbal motors easier.

The ring makes complicated moves easier to choreograph by giving the operator more hand hold options, allowing for higher and lower shots and smooth handling of the transitions in between without the kind of strain on the operator's body that frequently leads to unsteady operating.

Credit: Charles Haine

Industry standard parts

CAME-TV works hard to make gimbal operating an affordable system to integrate into your filmmaking package by focusing on widely available industry standard parts. For example, rather than using a custom tripod plate, the CAME products use the common Manfrotto 501 plate. Rather than custom lithium-ion batteries, CAME has gone with the strong Sony BP batteries, which can provide 10 hours of operation on a single charge.

By avoiding proprietary designs wherever possible, CAME-TV makes the long-term ownership and maintenance of its rigs easier on the operator.

Credit: Charles Haine

Carbon Tripod

As wonderful as a gimbal is, it doesn't work for all shots, and when you want a long slow pan or a lock off, a gimbal will never give you the stability of a tripod, which is still an essential element in any shooter's kit. In addition to its exceptionally diverse selection of gimbal offerings, CAME-TV also make high quality tripods, starting wtih the affordable 15T Carbon at only $988.

Ready for packages up to 26lbs, making it perfect for RED or DSLR style shoots, the Carbon's signature feature is its pro-quality fluid head offering four pan and tilt mode settings and eight counterbalance modes. It features an industry standard 100mm bowl mount, making it perfect for use with a variety of mounts including a standard bowl style high hat.

If you are looking to support your camera in the air or on the ground, CAME-TV is a great place to start looking.

Credit: Charles Haine

Credit: Charles Haine

Tech Specs (Prophet Gimbal):

• 6.6 lb Load Capacity
• 32-Bit Alexmos Control Board
• Tool-Less Balance Adjustment System
• Wireless Joystick Remote
• Detachable Handgrip
• Wireless Video Transmitter
• Optional Ring and Spring mounts and overslung handle