Using this at first was so fiddly as I had to adjust so many times to get an even weight. It involved a mixture of changing the number of weights on either side of the Steadicam while also adjusting the position of the camera. What created more of a struggle was the strap attached to the camera as it would sway and make the camera appear unlevel. This could have been the reason as to why it took me a long time to make a good balance. The key to having good shots is to have the camera entirely straight. This means avoiding any crookedness otherwise the image will have a constant tilt. This happens because there is more weight on one side of the Steadicam, so it tips the camera one way slightly. It may be subtle, but it is noticeable, so I worked hard to fix that and make it as perfect as possible.
The speed of how quickly the Steadicam straightens up while using it should be at a natural pace. At first it was too quick, so it led to a more rushed and unnatural image. So that was also something to look out for while experimenting with the set up.
Although set up can take a while and many adjustments have to be made, this piece of equipment worked really well and had a great effect on making the image smoother. In the video below I made a few videos demonstrating the effect of the Steadicam and testing it out:
