readySTEADY – A much cheaper alternative to a Steadicam for stable video recordings [review]

The readySTEADY is one of those little “why didn’t I think of that?”-devices that’s very simple but can do a really good job.

What readySTEADY does, is it helps you to stabilize your video recordings – if your camera is something like a Flip, Vado, Kodak Playsport, Sony Webbie or just about any other small point & shoot digital camera with video recording capabilities. It’s not for DSLR cameras, though, they’re simply too big and you won’t be able to hold it the way you can hold the smaller video cameras.

readySTEADY is made of sturdy aluminum and looks like a small UFO. You screw it open and remove the flexible camera stand that’s tucked away inside the UFO. Then you take this flexible camera stand and runs it through the readySTEADY disc and screw it into the tripod mount of your camera.

Now, hold your camera with one hand and place the other hand on the readySTEADY – like shown on the picture above. By applying a little bit of downforce on the readySTEADY disc, you’ll be stabilizing the video camera – and thus, get more stable video recordings. That’s how simple it works.

But does it work in real life?

Well, a little bit. I know how important it is to keep a steady hand when recording video – there’s only few things worse than watching a video from somebody who doesn’t pay attention to keeping a steady hand – and because I’m aware of it, it probably doesn’t help me much. In my tests I saw very little, if any, difference.

However, I’ll bet that most people who’s not into video and/or photography would be able to benefit more from the readySTEADY than I did. At the very least, it will help them be aware of how important it is and develop the skills for steady video shooting without the help of readySTEADY later on.

Alternative products such as a Steadicam, which costs hundreds of dollars, are probably not relevant to most people. The readySTEADY is only $29.99 and with free shipping within the US (from where it’s also made). It comes in aluminum or black – and a 30 day money back guarantee if it turns out you don’t like it.

For more information & order, visit www.readysteadyvideo.com.

Here’s a promo video made by the people behind readySTEADY – and yes, it’s “slightly” exaggerating 🙂