James DeRuvo's Mini Camera Stabilizer

I was thrilled when I saw your video and you gave me a shout out as inspiration for the mini stabilizer design using a Wii Steering Wheel. Great find, no? I was also glad that you simplified the design to make it sturdier and more practical. My first try at the MiniStab, I did a lot of cutting - with the goal of placing the camera in between the handles with the screw at the bottom. That meant I had to remove the top cross plate and that just made it too flimsy.

Moving the hole to the back cross bar with a frugal ball mount was genius! It does the job and it keeps the MiniStab stable.

I went a bit further by placing some Styrofoam inside where the WiiMote goes for more support, and then using hockey tape to add "gripability." Yes, I know I used a lot. But I also noticed with continued use, the stab's pieces began to work lose at the tiny screws. So using the hockey tape gives it further support and will keep them from working loose. It also does double duty by keeping the Styrofoam in and giving the whole rig additional support.

And as a bonus, not only does it work as a great pocket camera stabilizer, but with a smartphone adapter like the Hot Shoe Holder,you can use your iPhone to record video, and also to play games (my son uses it for a flight sim on the iPhone).

I wouldn't use it on my Canon 7D without worrying - I have your excellent Frugal Stabilizer for that. But for pocket video cameras, it's a excellent addition to the quiver.

Scott says: I've also used this contraption to play games on my cell phone, a Palm Pre Plus. In the near future I'll post some pictures that shows how I modified the cell phone mount (mentioned in the episode) to work better than its original form. Speaking of the iPhone, check out the following video from Facebook group member Paul Bitmatta. It's another take on getting your iPhone inside the Wii wheel.