I'm a student working on a production involving GoKart footage (inside and out or kart.) I'm trying to figure out if i will get less shaky handheld footage (without knowledge of steadycam) with the Sony FX1 HD or should I use my Panasonic DV SD. Please offer any tips that you can. Thanks!

Unless that HD camcorder has some kind of magical stabilisation system, then your handheld shots bouncing around in a go kart will still be there.

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Better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick any day...

a bullet cam attached to a helmet, or mounted to the frame of the go-kart (with some for of damping if needed) would be best.

yea, that's what i figured. I don't have the ability to purchase a bullet cam right now. I guess i'll just do close up shots from outside the kart and of the track. Do you think the DVcam will produce a less shaky image if i were to do it inside the kart vs. the HD sonyfx1?

The dampening system can be a set of springs located on a box-like shell. Springs on the top and the bottom pulling against each other's force will create a completely stable shock absorption system without spending thousands of dollars on a computational system which adjusts to the variances of a vehicles movement.

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Imagination and discipline are like yin and yang; both are completely different and yet without each other they are nothing.

it sounds like what i'm looking for. do you know of anywhere that has plans for that kinda thing...i'm nowhere near engineer status. I haven't built anything since I was a kid making ramps.