Answers.Body: <p>Try a camera/lens with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_stabilization#Optical_image_stabilization" rel="nofollow noreferrer">optical image stabilization</a>. Some newer phones have this.  Also I would suggest trying a lower cost DJI gimbal like the <a href="https://store.dji.com/uk/shop/dji-om" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Osmo Mobile</a> attached to the phone.  These two combined with some image stabilisation software such as mentioned in the other comment would go a long way.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-07-05T00:08:06.080Z
Answers.Text: +1 combine as many methods of stabilization as you can.  The trick is isolating the camera vibration from the car.  I’d imagine spring dampening+gimbal+ois+software stabilization would be the ultimate.  Also, more massive cameras have higher rotational inertia, so the bigger and heavier the whole setup, the more stable, but also more expensive.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jason Conrad
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-07-05T08:08:59.890Z
Answers.Text: I don't know what equipment they use, but if you watch this season of Top Gear & compare to earlier seasons you can see they now employ not just anti-shake, but self-levelling gimbals. You can see it most clearly in the heavy cornering. The only car-mounted gear I ever get close to is usually on 'multi-million-dollar' Hollywood stuff, so I never see how 'the rest of us' do this. [I am not on camera crew either, so this is all second hand knowledge.]
Answers.UserDisplayName: Tetsujin
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-07-04T15:01:16.633Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2022-07-04T15:01:16.633Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: tomh
Body: <p>I have recorded videos driving my car. I have setup a Nikon 3200 camera with the 18-55mm kit lens on a tripod in the rear hatch of my car. The tripod sits flat and level in the rear hatch. The tripod is a relatively cheap Optex TP160 with a basic pan head. I have uploaded a short example clip of one of my videos <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_qvXq26_yU" rel="nofollow noreferrer">as an unlisted video on youtube</a>.</p>
  <p><strong>My issue is that I have small shakes/tremors in the video. I drive a cheap economy car, you feel all the little bumps in the road as you drive.</strong> It seems like every time I go over the slightest crack in the road it is vibrating the tripod and causing the video to shake.</p>
  <p>I have placed my tripod like this, both with and withour rubber floot mats underneath:<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ULHtK.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ULHtK.jpg" alt="Tripod in rear hatch of car" /></a></p>
  <p>I have tried basic software methods to stabilize the video, like ffmpeg's &quot;vidstabdetect / vidstabtransform&quot; filter, as well as the &quot;deshake&quot; and &quot;deshake_cl&quot; algorithms. Vidstabtransform did the best job and lessened the biggest shakes in the video, but small shakes were unaffected, especially in the peripherals like the top and sides of my windshield.</p>
  <p><strong>Are there any relatively cheap methods to stabilize my videos?</strong> I would consider &quot;cheap&quot; to be a solution less than ~$250 Canadian (~190 USD / ~180 Euro).</p>
  <p>Here are some ideas I've seen on the internet:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>&quot;Better&quot; software solutions, like working in after effects, davinci resolve or similar. I don't know if any software packages would beat the performance of ffmpeg's filters.</li>
  <li>Anti-vibration tripod pads: <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Astromania-Anti-vibration-Suppression-Telescope-Mounts/dp/B0140UAD20/ref=sr_1_19?crid=6GK7EF3QPDGV&amp;keywords=tripod+vibration&amp;qid=1656874037&amp;sprefix=tripod+vibratio%2Caps%2C85&amp;sr=8-19" rel="nofollow noreferrer">amazon example</a>. Reviews are mixed, could these little pieces of rubber really dampen the vibrations inside a car?</li>
  <li>A tripod fluid/video head. It seems like these tripod heads are better for smooth pans and tilts, I don't know if this affects stability.</li>
  <li>A tripod gimbal head. I haven't seen someone using these the same way I want to, maybe its an option.</li>
  <li>A dash cam. This doesn't allow changeable lenses or the in-car positioning I would like.</li>
  <li>A motorized gimbal / steadycam / etc. These solutions are above my budget and would need another operator. I'm hoping for a solution I can setup in my car alone without another person.</li>
  </ul>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2022-07-04T07:07:51.733Z
Comments.Text: Can't really provide an answer as this isn't something I've ever done myself. I'd try DaVinci first - it's good & it's free, & has a stabilisation/anti-shake mode. Rubber feet are for long lens stabilisation on a non-moving surface, not in-car. Gimbals are the way to go, but I wouldn't know what to recommend at your price point, or car-specific. Ronin are what I see on set most often, but even the 'cheap' Ronin hand-helds are £400 or so. The guys I work with use the top-end Ronin 2, which is about £6,500 [& seems to be replacing the steadicam these days, as you can hold or crane-mount it.]
Comments.UserDisplayName: Tetsujin
Tags: <video-quality><software-recommendation><dslr><stabilisation>
Title: How to stabilize DSLR video shot with a tripod in a car
UserDisplayName: zippy
ThreadText: # How to stabilize DSLR video shot with a tripod in a car
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2022-07-03)
  
  I have recorded videos driving my car. I have setup a Nikon 3200 camera with the 18-55mm kit lens on a tripod in the rear hatch of my car. The tripod sits flat and level in the rear hatch. The tripod is a relatively cheap Optex TP160 with a basic pan head. I have uploaded a short example clip of one of my videos [as an unlisted video on youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_qvXq26_yU).
  
  **My issue is that I have small shakes/tremors in the video. I drive a cheap economy car, you feel all the little bumps in the road as you drive.** It seems like every time I go over the slightest crack in the road it is vibrating the tripod and causing the video to shake.
  
  I have placed my tripod like this, both with and withour rubber floot mats underneath:[![Tripod in rear hatch of car](https://i.sstatic.net/ULHtK.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/ULHtK.jpg)
  
  I have tried basic software methods to stabilize the video, like ffmpeg's "vidstabdetect / vidstabtransform" filter, as well as the "deshake" and "deshake\_cl" algorithms. Vidstabtransform did the best job and lessened the biggest shakes in the video, but small shakes were unaffected, especially in the peripherals like the top and sides of my windshield.
  
  **Are there any relatively cheap methods to stabilize my videos?** I would consider "cheap" to be a solution less than ~$250 Canadian (~190 USD / ~180 Euro).
  
  Here are some ideas I've seen on the internet:
  
  * "Better" software solutions, like working in after effects, davinci resolve or similar. I don't know if any software packages would beat the performance of ffmpeg's filters.
  * Anti-vibration tripod pads: [amazon example](https://www.amazon.ca/Astromania-Anti-vibration-Suppression-Telescope-Mounts/dp/B0140UAD20/ref=sr_1_19?crid=6GK7EF3QPDGV&keywords=tripod+vibration&qid=1656874037&sprefix=tripod+vibratio%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-19). Reviews are mixed, could these little pieces of rubber really dampen the vibrations inside a car?
  * A tripod fluid/video head. It seems like these tripod heads are better for smooth pans and tilts, I don't know if this affects stability.
  * A tripod gimbal head. I haven't seen someone using these the same way I want to, maybe its an option.
  * A dash cam. This doesn't allow changeable lenses or the in-car positioning I would like.
  * A motorized gimbal / steadycam / etc. These solutions are above my budget and would need another operator. I'm hoping for a solution I can setup in my car alone without another person.
  
  **Tags:** video-quality, software-recommendation, dslr, stabilisation
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Can't really provide an answer as this isn't something I've ever done myself. I'd try DaVinci first - it's good & it's free, & has a stabilisation/anti-shake mode. Rubber feet are for long lens stabilisation on a non-moving surface, not in-car. Gimbals are the way to go, but I wouldn't know what to recommend at your price point, or car-specific. Ronin are what I see on set most often, but even the 'cheap' Ronin hand-helds are £400 or so. The guys I work with use the top-end Ronin 2, which is about £6,500 [& seems to be replacing the steadicam these days, as you can hold or crane-mount it.]  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2022-07-04. Score: 1
  
  Try a camera/lens with [optical image stabilization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_stabilization#Optical_image_stabilization). Some newer phones have this. Also I would suggest trying a lower cost DJI gimbal like the [Osmo Mobile](https://store.dji.com/uk/shop/dji-om) attached to the phone. These two combined with some image stabilisation software such as mentioned in the other comment would go a long way.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_3**: +1 combine as many methods of stabilization as you can.  The trick is isolating the camera vibration from the car.  I’d imagine spring dampening+gimbal+ois+software stabilization would be the ultimate.  Also, more massive cameras have higher rotational inertia, so the bigger and heavier the whole setup, the more stable, but also more expensive.  
  > **username_1**: I don't know what equipment they use, but if you watch this season of Top Gear & compare to earlier seasons you can see they now employ not just anti-shake, but self-levelling gimbals. You can see it most clearly in the heavy cornering. The only car-mounted gear I ever get close to is usually on 'multi-million-dollar' Hollywood stuff, so I never see how 'the rest of us' do this. [I am not on camera crew either, so this is all second hand knowledge.]  
  
  ---
  
  