As much as I like to rely on Tamron VC for moving video shots, it only make the footage less shakey and doesn't make the footage more fluid. This is where camera stabilizers like the Steadicam and the Glidecam have come in, but both options tend to be extremely heavy and take a long time to properly calibrate. There have been a few new innovations in camera stabilization, the latest of which is the Casper Mini which solves both the aforementioned problems and works ideally with smaller cameras, what I think are the future of filmmaking.
So what makes the Capser special? The developers, Embrace Cinema, claim it will be the fastest stabilizer to balance because of their unique 2-axis slide which they have developed in-house. In addition, it is completly collapsible and can be re-assembled in just a few seconds, which is critical for traveling video guys like myself.
The most appealing part of this product is the weight: it's only 2.4 pounds. I have a glidecam and the biggest issue for me is the weight of the unit and the required balancing weights. A working rig that weighs only two and a half pounds would be hugely beneficial. Embrace Cinema has custom tooled a quick-release system for the cameras they believe would be best suited to the stabilizer: the GH4, the BMPCC and the a7S. These custom plates can be realigned to work even with a larger, heavier lens attached.
The unique cross shaped base adds greater mass and therefore greater inertia to the balance of the stabilizer. This also allows you to set down the stabilizer without having to worry about it tipping over.
Embrace Cinema appears to be using Kickstarter not to get funding to launch the product, but to sell a set at a lower price point before going 100% to market. Though it's probably not the original design of Kickstarter, but you also probably don't have to worry about the product falling through, which is generally a major risk when backing other Kickstarter projects. At any rate, you can read more about the Casper Mini and the project over at their Kickstarter Page.
