CAMBRIDGE: Amateur filmmakers and home video makers can now achieve professional results with the Picosteady, a new compact, lightweight camera stabiliser. Following 10 months of product development, Massachusetts-based Supraflux has launched an innovative camera stabiliser that allows smooth, stable footage without the bulk and at a fraction of the cost of other stabilisers currently in the market.

The Picosteady can be used with DSLR cameras, point-and-shoot cameras, GoPro cameras, iPhones or any smartphone. The Picosteady launched on Kickstarter on July 3. At seven ounce base weight, the Picosteady is the lightest and most compact camera

stabiliser. It will retail at USD 179, but is now available for pre-order on Kickstarter at USD 139 for the first production run.

The seeds for this new company were planted when brothers Karim and Nadim Elgarhy started to shoot amateur films. They came across the same problem other amateur filmmakers all eventually face — hand-held cameras result in shaky footage that gives viewers a headache. They wanted smooth videography, the kind seen in professional films. However, the professional videography equipment used in filmmaking costs thousands of dollars and can weigh dozens of pounds. Even those stab-ilisers considered lightweight for amateur filmmakers typically weigh about three to five pounds. The brothers, both engineers, set out to design a stabiliser that suits amateur filmmakers’ needs and budget and can be taken anywhere easily.

The result is a stabiliser that is convenient, easy to use and works with a wide variety of cameras. Its light weight belies its robust construction as it is made of high-grade aluminium and solid brass to ensure long-term durability. The balancer arm is laser cut and powder-coated (a process that coats the surface to make it more resistant). Designed to be taken everywhere, its solid construction is made to handle years of use.