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So here is my much delayed reply. I wrote most of this up a couple days ago, but ran out of time. So without further ado...
First let me just say that I would never call myself a video Pro, but I appreciate the comment.
I'd also like to say that even though I stabilize everything in post, that's NOT a complete solution. There is only so much you can do in post to stabilize. The smoother the raw footage is, the better. I've had to scrap many many many many shots because we couldn't smooth out the vibrations in post. For personal stuff, I don't have a very high standard and will just use a cool shot even though it might have some shakes here or there. It's just easier and faster - and it's pretty much just my family watching (and maybe some of you guys if I post a video here). Even for the personal stuff it's still frustrating to have vibrations. It bothers me when I see it. So yeah, I'm always willing to try something new. When I look at your footage, I do see some vibrations here and there, but it's very obvious that the few vibrations there are could easily be fixed with a light pass of stabilization. An example is in the first video when you throttle up at about 20 seconds in. Easily corrected to cinema grade stability.
As an aside, the reason I stabilize everything is because it's painless, and often times footage that appears totally stable on a small screen will have some apparent vibrations on big screens. You'd be surprised. Footage that seems totally locked down usually has some vibration. Even footage shot with a camera on a tripod indoors can have vibrations from people walking across the room. A camera on a tripod outdoors will shake a tiny bit just from the wind. Most don't notice it, but you don't need a trained eye to see it - you just have to tell someone to look for it. Anyway, that's why you stabilize EVERYTHING.
I'd probably be willing to pay $20 to $80. Maybe more depending on what it is. However, if it's just a different set of replacement dampeners, then I'd feel taken advantage of.
When it come to dampeners, temperature matters.
I often fly in cold to extremely cold environments. A set that is fantastic in 70F might be total crap at -10F. So that's something to keep in mind. If you'd like me to do some testing for you at different temps, I can probably do that over the course of the winter. Just PM me. I'm spending a lot of time in Vermont and will undoubtedly get a few -10F days. And I'll get lots of days between 0F and 30F. I also will spend a lot of time in PA where temperatures range from the 20s up to 60F.
The question is how to do the testing scientifically. I have 3 Solos, but the best method would be to compare results on the same Solo/props/motor configuration with and without your system.
First let me just say that I would never call myself a video Pro, but I appreciate the comment.
I'd also like to say that even though I stabilize everything in post, that's NOT a complete solution. There is only so much you can do in post to stabilize. The smoother the raw footage is, the better. I've had to scrap many many many many shots because we couldn't smooth out the vibrations in post. For personal stuff, I don't have a very high standard and will just use a cool shot even though it might have some shakes here or there. It's just easier and faster - and it's pretty much just my family watching (and maybe some of you guys if I post a video here). Even for the personal stuff it's still frustrating to have vibrations. It bothers me when I see it. So yeah, I'm always willing to try something new. When I look at your footage, I do see some vibrations here and there, but it's very obvious that the few vibrations there are could easily be fixed with a light pass of stabilization. An example is in the first video when you throttle up at about 20 seconds in. Easily corrected to cinema grade stability.
As an aside, the reason I stabilize everything is because it's painless, and often times footage that appears totally stable on a small screen will have some apparent vibrations on big screens. You'd be surprised. Footage that seems totally locked down usually has some vibration. Even footage shot with a camera on a tripod indoors can have vibrations from people walking across the room. A camera on a tripod outdoors will shake a tiny bit just from the wind. Most don't notice it, but you don't need a trained eye to see it - you just have to tell someone to look for it. Anyway, that's why you stabilize EVERYTHING.
I'd probably be willing to pay $20 to $80. Maybe more depending on what it is. However, if it's just a different set of replacement dampeners, then I'd feel taken advantage of.
When it come to dampeners, temperature matters.
I often fly in cold to extremely cold environments. A set that is fantastic in 70F might be total crap at -10F. So that's something to keep in mind. If you'd like me to do some testing for you at different temps, I can probably do that over the course of the winter. Just PM me. I'm spending a lot of time in Vermont and will undoubtedly get a few -10F days. And I'll get lots of days between 0F and 30F. I also will spend a lot of time in PA where temperatures range from the 20s up to 60F.
The question is how to do the testing scientifically. I have 3 Solos, but the best method would be to compare results on the same Solo/props/motor configuration with and without your system.
