So I’ve read more than my fair share of reviews about stabilizers, Glidecams and Steadicams. They rely on gimbals and counterweights to produce smooth, dream-like shots. But they’re often expensive, and some customers complain it takes forever to balance these contraptions.

About 15 years ago, Rene Kropf and his colleagues were experiencing the same frustration as they worked in his garage trying to design a tool that could help stabilize shaky film footage for light cameras.

“We went down the same route of counterweights and all that,” Kropf told me. “And we saw that as a nightmare. It’s like, the sun went down and we still haven’t balanced it, so forget that.”

Kropf, the owner of Cobra Crane, a camera gear company in California, abandoned the gimbal system altogether. Instead, he helped devised something called the SteadyTracker Ultralite, a crowbar-like device with two adjustable weighted ends and a balancing pad in the middle that rests on top of your hand.

I recently bought the SteadyTracker UltraLite on Amazon. The SteadyTracker is touted as a simpler, inexpensive option compared to other stabilizers. I’ve been using it for a few weeks and produced some sample shots in this video review. When I called Cobra Crane with a few questions about the SteadyTracker, I was surprised to get a call back from Kropf, the company’s owner. He offered insights and tips that aren’t in the instruction manual.

Related: Why my trusty Sigma 17-70mm lens is always on my camera

“It’s relatively inexpensive,” Kropf said. “It’s pretty easy to use. And the biggest thing, the number one thing that people comment on, is it’s a super-quick set up, so you don’t miss shots.”

With the SteadyTracker, you attach your camera to a base plate on top. The plate can be adjusted back and forth and side to side. This YouTube video walks you through the process. It takes about five to ten minutes. If you plan to always use the same camera, you never have to tinker with it again. You’re all set.

The SteadyTracker’s simplicity is both a benefit and a drawback. Without gimbals or counterweights to worry about, it’s quick to set up. But so far I haven’t been able to consistently achieve silky smooth shots. My videos were certainly smoother than what I’d be able to achieve going handheld. But side-to-side wobbling occasionally cropped up in my video clips.

So as a stabilizer, the SteadyTracker is OK. But as a versatile piece of equipment, it really shines.

I took it to the birthday party of a friend’s daughter and was pleasantly surprised when I discovered I could use the SteadyTracker for a variety of shots. Its base is stable, so you can use it as a mini-tripod. Or you can hold it against your hip to steady your camera, like a monopod. Or use it for relatively smooth panning shots. Or hoist it on your shoulders to get overhead shots.

This means you can bring your camera and your SteadyTracker to something like a party, a wedding or a news event and you pretty much have all your shots covered. The real benefit of the SteadyTracker is that it’s more than a stabilizer.

Another cool thing about the SteadyTracker is that you can buy a “low-mode” attachment that hangs from the bottom to give you low-angle shots. Not many stabilizers offer this feature. Your camera skims across the ground. It’s great for getting down to the level of kids or pets. This is one of the main selling points of the SteadyTracker in my book.

One question I had was whether to use my camera’s image stabilization system. I had assumed that turning it on would help create smoother shots. But some manufacturers of other Steadicam-like products recommend deactivating it. Kropf said that in most cases, leaving it on will improve the SteadyTracker’s performance.

“In general, when you’re walking with it, I would put the stabilizer on,” Kropf said. Try to use a wide-angle lens to get a panoramic effect and smoother shots.

Instructions for the SteadyTracker UltraLite say it can handle cameras weighing up to three pounds. Cobra Crane also sells a SteadyTracker Xtreme that can handle cameras weighing up to eight pounds. But the UltraLite is a solid piece of gear — like I said, it feels like a crowbar. I asked Kropf if the three-pound limit was a hard-and-fast rule. He said it’s more of a rough guideline. If you’re over the limit by a bit but can still balance the SteadyTracker, you’ll be OK.

That said, the lighter the camera, the better. I used this with a Canon T3i, a wide-angle Sigma lens and an H1 Zoom external microphone set up that weighed 3.5 pounds. It didn’t take long for my arm to feel the strain. Using it with the lighter Panasonic FZ-150 was much easier and more enjoyable.

“The number’s there as a guide,” Kropf said of the three-pound limit. “It’s not a super-hard number. But at the same time, if you’re at six pounds, maybe you’re not going to be as balanced as you could be.”

What about the grip? Should you hold it loosely, tightly, or what?

“It varies,” Kropf said. “Most of the time, you wrap your hand around the fuselage. You wrap your fingers around it, but you don’t hold a tight grip. It’s sort of floating on the top of your hand. It’s a gentle touch, because this is all about that. It’s about gentle moves and smooth starts and stops. Gradual stuff.” The exception is when you’re tilting the SteadyTracker for shots such as Dutch angles.

The trick is reducing vibration produced by your hand, arm and body as you walk. Take small steps. The instructions suggest walking like Groucho Marx.

The SteadyTracker does not come with a quick-release plate, which is a bummer. You have to screw the camera directly into the base plate. For about $45 I bought a Manfrotto monopod head with its own quick-release plate and screwed it to the SteadyTracker’s base plate so I could quickly attach and remove my camera. The nice thing about this particular model is I can adjust its angle and tilt the camera up and down. It would have been nice if the SteadyTracker came with this option.

Overall, I liked the SteadyTracker’s versatility and I see its potential to help people like multimedia journalists who show up at a scene without knowing what to expect. Maybe a situation will call for following somebody through a crowd. Or filming the subject of a video from an overhead angle. Or a low-angle view. The SteadyTracker can handle all those situations. “It’s versatile,” Kropf said.

So the SteadyTracker is a useful tool for on-the-go videographers who film events — and chase their rambunctious kids around with a camera when they get home.

Update: This post was revised to reflect the fact that there are two versions of the SteadyTracker. The larger version was invented before Kropf helped develop the SteadyTracker Ultralite.

Sometimes I blog about stuff that helps journalists. I pay for all the products I review on my blog. To help defray those costs, I use Google ads and Amazon’s affiliate advertising program, which provides a way for sites to earn commissions by linking to Amazon.com. There’s no extra cost to you, and I’ll never link to stuff I don’t like or try to make you buy something that sucks. These reviews are my honest opinions. Thanks for reading.

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Bob Costas’ grilling of accused Penn State child molester Jerry Sandusky should be mandatory viewing for all journalism students who want to learn how to handle a confrontational interview.

Costas wielded a strong command of the facts. Listened intently to each answer. Asked focused questions and follow-up questions. And he wasn’t satisfied with vague proclamations of innocence.

Related: Using bookmarks and links to organize better notes

Years of cable news have brainwashed viewers into thinking a confrontational interview involves talking heads bullying and yelling at people.

Not true. Costas shows you can be polite — and tough — at the same time.

The post How to do a confrontational interview: Bob Costas grills Jerry Sandusky appeared first on John Tedesco.

I’m a sucker for timelapse videos so I’m 100 percent biased, but I thought this video by the Texas Tribune was a creative way to give readers a sense of what it’s like in Austin during the first day of the 2011 Texas Legislative session.

Cool idea and nice execution by Caleb Bryant Miller and Todd Wiseman.

The post Telling the story of the Texas Legislative session with a creative timelapse video appeared first on John Tedesco.

Cow poo pens from Angela Grant on Vimeo.

Angela saved my butt when I was in Portland doing a story about light rail. I had a point-and-shoot Panasonic Lumix with me that takes QuickTime video. My boss, David Sheppard, suggested I shoot some footage of the rail system to show San Antonians what it’s like.

Great idea. Just one problem:

I had no idea how to take good video.

In a mild panic, I called Angela and she gave me a quick primer on some of the fundamentals:

Don’t walk around filming things with your camera like a clueless tourist

Stand still and hold the camera steady. If possible, use a tripod.

In most cases, avoid panning and zooming in mid-shot

Set up your shot first, then start filming. Don’t move the camera around — unless you’re shooting video of a compelling scene like a bank robbery where you should be following the action at all costs.

Be aware of where the sun and strong lighting is in relation to your shot

Usually you want the sun behind you or to the side of you — not behind the subject you’re filming. There are exceptions to this rule, but if you’re not careful your subject will be backlit and the result will be a dark silhouette in your video. Not good.

Take a range of wide shots, medium shots, and close ups

This will help when you’re editing your clips later. You don’t want to string a bunch shots together that all look the same. You need give the viewer variety. Count to at least 10 seconds for each shot, even though you’ll be editing these shots later and cutting them down. Close ups are especially good for online video.

Using video-editing software, edit the shots and audio together, preferably in sequences of about three to four seconds apiece

Shorter sequences grab the viewer’s attention and make a long video go by seemingly fast.

If possible, use an external microphone to capture better sound, which can help you make an awesome video package

Clear, compelling audio is often more important than the actual video.

The cool thing about these video techniques is that anyone can use them. Imagine how much better your family videos could be. They don’t have to be boring to everyone but you!

Related: A review of the Sigma 17-70mm lens for videographers

To illustrate the huge difference these techniques make for just about any topic, I took two videos of some stray kittens my girlfriend and I found in our backyard. Here’s the first video loaded directly from my camcorder with no editing and no real thought of composing shots — a style you see all the time on YouTube:

See how annoying it is when the camera is shaky, panning around, and zooming?

Here’s a video that followed Angela’s advice:

Same kittens, different video techniques, better results.

Yes, it took a little longer to shoot and edit. But if you want people to watch your videos, isn’t it worth a little extra time to make something interesting? As a newspaper reporter, I think it’s challenging and fun to figure out new ways to tell a story with video, which can reveal some things better than the written word. The two methods compliment each other.

Related: A handy tool for journalists: Stabilize your shaky smartphone videos with Google’s photo app

In the second kitten video, I used a tripod to keep the camera steady. For both videos, I used an external microphone, which vastly improves the sound quality, and an Aiptek high def camcorder. I edited the clips in Sony Vegas Movie Maker 9.0. You can also use free video-editing software available on Macs and PCs.

There will be times when setting up a shot isn’t feasible. If you’re covering a sporting event or getting compelling video like a police chase, by all means get the shot and follow the action.

But in most cases, these are some useful methods that will drastically improve the quality of any video.

The post Six useful tips for shooting better video of anything appeared first on John Tedesco.

Meet Stumpy. This pale zombie was the subject of a video I shot during a daylong class at the San Antonio Express-News offered by Angela Grant, our online media producer.

Angela gave us tips about how to shoot video. Then she sent us out to film whatever we wanted for a few hours. After that, we returned to the office and she showed us how to edit our clips using Final Cut Pro on a Macintosh.

I love the power of the written word. But some of the best stories being told at my newspaper have never appeared in print.

Thanks to Angela, the Express-News has produced interesting online videos that are essentially mini-documentaries. Most are about two minutes long. Unlike many annoying TV news broadcasts, the reporters don’t inject themselves in the middle of the story.

Related: Tips for shooting better video of anything

Angela announced that she’s moving to Houston, which is great for her but bad for the newspaper. Angela helped us produce professional videos that anyone — not just journalists — can learn to make. Angela blogs about the finer points of videos at newsvideographer.com.

There’s a debate in newsrooms about whether online videos are worth it. Angela blogged about her frustrations with building a loyal audience — most of the paper’s videos don’t muster more than 1,000 web hits. I’ve wondered if this is because people are only interested in YouTube videos of laughing babies, or if it’s because we make it difficult for readers to find and share our videos. (Notice how my video in this blog isn’t actually embedded? That’s because our web site won’t let me.)

I hope we figure it out. When they’re done right, online videos compliment news articles by showing readers information in a way that written words can’t.

In August, the Express-News sent me to Portland, Ore., for a story about that city’s light-rail system. I shot some video while I was up there.

The finished product won’t win any awards at Sundance. But the goal of the trip was to see what light rail is like in Portland, and share that information with readers in San Antonio, many of whom have never traveled on light rail.

By that standard, I think the video worked. It showed people how a light-rail train looks and sounds, and it might help them decide if it makes sense for San Antonio.

If it helped people make an informed decision, then the video served its purpose.

Thanks, Angela.

The post Stumpy’s story: How I learned to shoot news video and edit footage appeared first on John Tedesco.