The SteadyTracker Extreme is one of what seems like dozens of non-vest/arm steadicam units aimed at prosumer camcorders and videographers at a reasonable price. Put your camera on it, balance it, and get smooth tracking shots. But there is one key aspect to the Steadytracker that gives it an advantage, and a disadvantage at the same time: It does not have a traditional gimbal like other devices.Because there is no gimbal, and the user's hand rests under a proprietary grip base, the camera is much easier and much faster to set-up to balance than others, it's easier to handle than others, and easier to get used to than others. The biggest key being it's faster. Much faster. Traditional steadicam units take a lot of tweaking to get right, even the high quality ones. The Steadytracker can be set-up and running quickly, with only minor adjustments after that.
The disadvantage is that because there is no gimbal, you won't get super smooth pans you will with other units that freely float on ball bearings, instead relying on your body and arm's rotation to give you as smooth of pan as you can. This makes the SteadyTracker prone to rotational jerkiness that takes a lot of practice to cut down, and is almost impossible to completely eliminate. That being, pans that make what appear to be abrupt stops or starts in the smoothness of the panning. I should however note that getting a traditional steadicam unit to not do this takes a light touch that comes with a lot of practice, but it can ultimately be accomplished, in superior way to the SteadyTracker.
None the less, that criticism aside, if you are just getting into steadicam work, and have little or no practice with one, starting with another unit can result in hours of frustration balancing it, and practicing it. And that's the real appeal of the SteadyTracker. There is a great feeling of satisfaction of only spending a few minutes balancing your camera before you can get pretty good shots with the thing.
There is one more negative, but this applies to ALL units in this range, holding the unit, plus the camera, can become a pretty good strain on your arms. If you're build like a body builder, or are very strong and work out a lot, you'll do a lot better than the normal person. To alleviate this all together, you need to move up to a full vest/arm unit, which will increase the cost greatly.
In conclusion, if you are just starting out and looking to buy a unit, this is a very good place to start. You'll likely be happy with the results. If you need something bigger and better, you're going to have to move up to something like a Steadicam Merlin, or Glidecam-4000. If you have less of a budget, you can always look into many of the do-it-yourself units that can be found on the web that don't have gimbals either. But they don't have the SteadyTracker's balanced grip pad, nor build quality, obviously.
The unit is sturdy, but heavy. Prolonged use may be a problem.
Buy Promax Xtreme Video Stabilizing System, for Camcorders up to 8 Lbs. Now
this is a useless product, as I hate to return the purchased goods, I did not return this. The height is less. in the image the height looks good. the base stand is uncomfortable. not easy to carry when the base stand is attached. The fittings are not good. Online purchasing is a big risk by looking at the picture. We do not know what kind of product it is, until we recieve it. My $254 has gone just waste, instead I should have bought the mono pod. The same way I bought Lexar compact flash card reader, it is not working and just bcoz I hate returning goods, it is lying with me unused from the day I bought it in the year 2010.SteadyTracker Xtreme Video Stabilizing System, for Camcorders up to 8 Lbs.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JBFNMO/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title
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