I've used the Dv Steadicam with my XL-1 and found it wanting: The rpevious response regarding the necessity of practice is probably true, but the tool is nevertheless FAR too temperamental to be useful with such a heavy camera. I can only get the balance dead on if I remove the right-side mic attachment (not really a problem for me since I'm usinf it for effects shots, but still a limitation).(posted 8942 days ago)I also bought a Stadicam JR years ago (which I also attempted to use with a camera that was far too heavy). When will I learn?! Cinema Products, in my opinion, has been somewhat irresponsible in their claims, for years now, when it comes to their Steadi products. The DV Steadicam, with the XL-1 at least, is unwieldy, unreliable and inadequately documented. If the product was designed specifically for the XL-1, then why was the balance info included on a photo-copied, unattached sheet of paper when it arrived?
Note: I'm not saying it WON'T work with the XL-1; I'm saying it's a royal pain in the A** with the XL-1... and forces the user to baby the thing to the point that your shot, becomes all about fitting the tool's requirements--when the tool should be fitting YOUR requirements.
I think I'll look into