Customer Reviews

Cam Caddie Scorpion

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I do a lot of home video recording of my 2 year old daughter. I realized running after her and circling around to get a nice shot was causing a lot of shakes in the video which is pretty annoying once you watch your clips on your computer. So I started looking for a cheap and easy to use camera stabilizer but all the stuff I was finding were expensive and/or really big and odd in shape. I found a Cam Caddie review on someone's blog which was raving this little tool so I ordered one.

After using Cam Caddie for a few hours, I find it easy to use but it doesn't do an excellent job of stabilizing the camera. It's been more comfortable recording my daughter run around the house with my camera attached to Cam Caddie because it allows you to handle and rotate the camera much much easily. In that sense I love Cam Caddie. When it came to stabilizing the camera, I could still see my hand shakes in the video clips but it's not as bad as before. I think Cam Caddie is too light to be able to provide good stabilization. It really feels like it needs to have some weight discs attached to the bottom. I'm planning to find a way to do this which I think will improve camera stabilization.

Installation was pretty easy; you place your camcorder as shown in product images here and then attach the camcorder to Cam Caddie using the provided screw. The installation took me maybe 30 secs or less.

I think I read this in another review and I agree that depending on your brand/mode of camcorder, Cam Caddie's base will block your battery if you need to remove it to charge or replace it with another one. For me this is not a big issue really because I can always unscrew the whole thing in seconds.

I've always wanted a handle like this for filming skateboarding with my friends, I have a regular consumer 3ccd video camera and all the serious filmers use the prosumer cameras with handles on them, it really does allow you to be a lot more stable than holding the video camera with your hand wrapped around it. I bought this one at a skate shop for like 70 bucks, and I see i got ripped off by that skate shop.

But regardless, it has definitely made it easier for filming. The design is pretty decent, sometimes the screw that hold the camera in place is tough to put on but it is held very well, the camera doesn't budge, I can film with the little side screen open. Only thing is with my camcorder the battery release is on the underside and the battery pulls down so I can't switch batteries without unscrewing the camera from the caddie. Overall a great product I think.

I've long ago given up saying, "I wish I had thought of that". But I'm tempted this time. Having young grandkids is my main reason for this purchase. No longer do I need to video them from 6 feet off the ground. They don't see life from that perspective, so it makes sense not to record them that way. There are other good effects made possible by this gizmo, too. Shooting objects, both animate and inanimate, from low angles makes them appear larger, an effect used frequently in films.

The Cam Caddie Stabilizer is made mostly of a tough plastic material with a very nice rubber-like cover on the under-side of the handle. It has plenty of holes in the platform base making balancing the camcorder pretty much a sure thing. The added weight of Cam Caddie is almost negligible, even after adding a LANC controller to the handle to make camera control more convenient.

Every upside seems to have a downside, and in this case, that would be the price. Supply and demand, I suppose. But it's a great video accessory for the smaller sized camcorders, and could very well be worth the cost to many people. It was to me.CAM CADDIE CAMERA STABILIZEReBenk Universal LANC Zoom Remote Handle for Tripods

first off received caddie in record time after placing the order. I just finished filming a golf tournment last weekend. I did several low angle shots of the crowd. I am using a canon camcorder. The caddie is very easy to use, well balanced and sure saves the back as I didnt have to be bending over or stooping down for shots. Gives your films a new prospective. I would recomend the caddie to anyone who likes making , say home movies of the kids, pets, ect.

Hi, I wanted a handle for the same reason as I find that holding the camera down is so much easier for filming skateboarding, based on your review I'm probably going to buy it. I do however recommend that you also get a fisheye lens as you can get great shots with that too.

The closeups of this video ([...]) were shot with an Opteka 0.43x HD² Full Fisheye Lens for 37mm Digital Camcorders, sold for $29.95 here on amazon.

Pretty straight forward...
This is a nice addition to a pro-sumer video camera... Not expensive, light weight, solid well made gadget! Expandable for even more usefulness! Will it make you a better shooter? no.... but it WILL make some shots easier... low angle shots of course, but also just makes it easy to hold your camera! I use mine with a Canon HV-40, and it works really great. Also makes a nice "table tripod" just set the whole thing down on a sold surface and shoot!
For the cost, its a no-brainer.... get yourself one and you won't regret it.

This is a great product, I read that some people are disappointed with the material, thinking that is cheap plastic. So, I put the plastic to a test, attaching a Manfrotto 200PL-14 Quick Release Plate under it.
The Cam Caddie had a very resistant and condensed plastic, I notice that as I was drilling 6 holes on it, the drill-bits where filled with the dense plastic on it, from which I had to clean it every half an inch or so. Also, I had to use 3 drill-bit sizes to get to the right size hole.
I screwed the Quick Release Plate with a couple 3/4 of inch screws, the plastic did not crack or broke on the process, and the result is a very strong and steady attachment for the tripod and hand-held The Cam Caddie.

Plastic have the advantage of absorb some of the hand-shake motion, make it much lighter than metal, and do not scratch your gear.
The Cam Caddie defenely has the great advantage to hand-held your camera from many places around its arc.

Well, I hope this help to decide to make your decision.

Cheers!

Note: this is not an stabilizer, The Cam Caddie helps with some of the hand-shake, but do not eliminate the hand-motion.

I must admit that I have a strong bias for goods made in this great country of ours, and the Cam Caddie Scorpion is! Also importantly this is well made and a very useful video recording tool. My son's Handycam is basically permentantly mounted to the CC. He does a lot of on the go recording while skateboarding and he wouldn't want to do it with out the CC. Buy Made in the USA products when you can, it could be your job that you save!

This is not made for DSLRs....the height between the base and handle is too short. Because of this, you cant add a battery grip or a follow focus to your DSLR. I use a Canon 7D and Im disappointed. This is made more for the smaller camcorders. My main gripe is I cant add a follow focus. Its not easy to keep the camera steady while turning the focus ring with your hand compared to a follow focus. There are better products out there.

I shoot a lot of bmx riding and need a steady cam. The scorpion is perfect for recording while you are on a skateboard or a bike and only have one hand available. Look at their website and see their videos. I do not need to repeat what they say but know that I am a satisfied customer.