The Best Steadicam For Canon 70D Cameras!
The Canon 70d is an extremely popular camera that has managed to grow a massive user base over the years and just like any popular product, we often see a number of people reaching out for advice on how to get the best image stabilization for their 70d. After publishing our article on the best gimbal for the Canon 70d camera a few months back, we have noticed a number of people reaching out and asking for advice on the best Steadicam for Canon 70d cameras.
With most Steadicam style manual camera stabilizers being able to provide the best natural looking image stabilization that does not have that robotic feel to it that some motorized gimbals can have, the manual camera stabilizer market is as popular as ever. That said though, the old powerhouse and default goto brand, Glidecam have definatley dropped off over the last few years allowing their competition to come in and take large portions of market share from them.
A few years ago, the default answer to anyone looking to add a manual camera stabilizer to their collection of camera accessories would be the relevant Glidecam stabilizer. Due to the lack of innovation in their range, high price tag when better and cheaper alternatives are now available from their competition, and newer technology on competing gimbals being available, we are actually going to recommend the Flycam Redking for your Canon 70d.
If you are one of our regular readers, you will probably know that we are massive fans of the Redking and think that it is one of the best manual Steadicam stabilizers available on the market right now. Since its release, it has gone from strength to strength and shows no signs of slowing down and it has taken a large market share from Glidecam as well as earned itself an excellent reputation within the videography community.
Flycam has taken full advantage of the lack of innovation and stagnant product line from Glidecam and managed to use the latest materials and technology to create a stabilizer that is half the price of most of the Glidecam range while offering very similar levels of performance. It really is not surprising that the Redking is as popular as it is and that the once excellent reputation Glidecam used to enjoy is starting to fade at a rapid pace.
Performance And Functionality
The Redking is able to support the weight of the vast majority of camera setups around so if you do choose to upgrade your gear you won’t have to spend additional money upgrading your stabilizer to match the new weight. Flycam has done a great job of designing the Redking to ensure that they are able to get the most out of it and its massive load capacity is actually one of the best available on the market, especially at its price point.
The fully adjustable 3 axis gimbal joint on the Redking allows offers full and natural-looking three hundred and sixty-degree panning with fully adjustable convergence too. Depending on the videography niche you are working on, this can be a massive advantage over the restricted range of movement on some of the competing Steadicam style stabilizers on the market right now.
The central column on the Redking is also fully adjustable too with a minimum working height of 20.86 inches to a maximum working height of 31.88 inches. Although this is pretty standard for any modern manual camera stabilizer, it is nice to know that you are able to adjust the central column to have the stabilizer head or base plate set as you require it for your videography session.
If you are doing any paid videography work then the Redking can really help to improve the level of image quality that you are able to capture for your clients too. In turn, this can help keep your clients happy and potentially lead to additional work by helping to build your reputation as well as word of mount referrals.
Although the vast majority of vloggers who look to add a source of image stabilization to their setup choose a motorized gimbal like the Zhiyun Weebill Lab, we have seen a small number who do use manual stabilizers like the Redking. In all honesty though, when it comes to the vlogging side of things, we would say that a handheld gimbal will likely be a better option in most cases than a manual stabilizer anyway.
Anyway, Flycam has really managed to nail the performance of the Redking and the stabilizer leaves the competition at this price point for dust. On top of this, it can also offer very similar levels of image stabilization and in some cases outperform manual stabilizers more than twice its price. It’s easy to see why the Redking has had so many excellent reviews posted about it from independent videographers who use it as their go-to stabilizer.
User Interface And Control System
On top of this, the quick release plate system on the Redking allows you to quickly and easily mount and unmount your Canon 70d from the stabilizer and then mount it to any compatible camera accessories within seconds. As the Manfrotto quick release plate design is very popular, many tripods and motorized gimbals use the system so you can effectively hot-swap your Canon 70d between them as needed.
Balancing
One thing that we would like to mention is that each of the counterweight balancing plates come in at around 0.24 pounds of weight each with the Redking coming with sixteen plates in total. We would highly recommend that if you do need to travel with your Redking via air, you work out how many counterweight plates you need to balance your Canon 70d and only take many plus a few spares.
This simple trick can help you reduce the weight of your camera accessories and help you meet any airline luggage weight restrictions. We know that it is a simple thing to do but we see so many entry-level videographers take all of their counterweight plates with them adding needless weight to their camera bag that can easily be avoided.
Build Quality And Design
When it comes to the build quality of the Redking, its CNC highly machines aluminum body is made to the highest grade to ensure that it is as robust and strong as possible yet very lightweight. This technique is one of the main advantages that it has over the Glidecam range as it is so light making it very easy to hold for long periods of time without your arm or shoulder starting to ache.
Most videographers will end up doing long sessions on a regular basis and knowing that your stabilizer is nice and light can be a big help. Although your Canon 70d is a pretty lightweight camera anyway, some stabilizers are heavy and can be a pain to hold for long periods during use. Thankfully though, this is not an issue due to the majority of the Redking being made from lightweight aluminum.
As we mentioned, the stabilizer is also very tough too giving you the peace of mind of knowing that it is able to take any bumps or knocks coming its way during use or while in transit too. Although most modern stabilizers are robust, they are often pretty heavy at the same time so being robust and lightweight is a rarety in the market at the time of writing.
Another nice feature that Flycam has added to the Redking is the standard quater inch mounting thread to allow you to mount an optional LCD field monitor to the gimbal without having an effect on the image stabilization that it can provide for your Canon 70d. Depending on the niche you are working on, this could be a major feature or totally useless to you but being able to easily mount a field monitor without it causing issues to the performance of the stabilizer is a nice touch.
Moving onto the actual handle of the stabilizer and potentially the only real weakness of the Redking. Although the handle grip is comfortable and easy to grip when using the stabilizer, it can rotate slightly during use with heavier camera payloads. As your Canon 70d is so light, this may not actually be an issue for you but the handle can rotate sometimes and it is a little annoying. We have seen multiple reports from people saying that they have simply added a little super glue under the handle grip to fix it in place and that it works flawlessly.
Our Verdict
This concludes our article going over why we feel that the Flycam Redking is the best Steadicam for Canon 70d cameras on the market right now. We are confident that the Redking can make a great addition to your 70d’s camera accessories and provide you with some excellent, natural-looking, budget-friendly image stabilization. As we mentioned earlier in the article, for its price point, the Redking is the dominant stabilizer and it can also compete with products almost double its price too.
Due to the product being so popular within the community, there are a number of independent reviews of the Redking online that have been posted by third-party videographers. These reviews are well worth skimming as they offer an excellent insight into how the product is performing and we also have our own dedicated Flycam Redking review online too.
