Insert Coin: Stabil-i case reduces iPhone camera shake, fits in your pocket (video)
Insert Coin: Stabil-i case reduces iPhone camera shake, fits in your pocket (video)
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.
Ah, stability, a commodity valued by videographers who want to produce footage that won't make their viewers throw up. Reducing camera shake can be especially tricky when using a smartphone such as the iPhone, whose form factor and light weight make it easier to have the shakes while shooting. Currently, options for reducing camera vibration in iPhone videos include apps like the Dolly Cam and more hardware-oriented solutions such as the Steadicam Smoothee. Our latest Insert Coin candidate, the Stabil-i, happens to use the latter route, serving up a "video stabilization iPhone case" that's still reasonably affordable. According to its creators, the Stabil-i's design is based on concepts found in larger, more expensive camera stabilization systems used in the film industry -- minus 90 percent of the hardware and the expensive bearing system. The result, they say, is a device that does a good job in reducing camera shake while still being compact enough to fit in one's pockets.
When attached, the Stabil-i increases the iPhone's length by 5 percent, width by 15 percent and thickness by about 55 percent. The Stabil-i's high-density lead alloy counterweight is about a third of the weight of an iPhone. Pledges for getting the actual device and a T-shirt at Kickstarter begin at $ 44. Bump it up to $ 55 and you get a tripod adapter as well. The project' s overall goal is $ 80,000 by Sept. 1st with delivery pegged for November if the project is successful. In the meantime, you can see the device reduce those video heebie jeebies by checking out the video below.
Previous project update: The Botiful telepresence robot for Android has passed the halfway mark for its $ 90,000 goal with a little over three weeks to go.
Engadget