The Shining and the Steadicam®: an interview with inventor Garrett Brown 

There was a Steadicam for VHS-C camcorders, it was called the Steadicam JR and it came out in 1990. It was eventually replaced by the Steadicam Merlin in 2004-ish for mini DV cameras, both are now no longer made.

@@jameselias Given the early 90's the cost of those things were insane at the time. It's very interesting that the steadicam really was never made for the general public and we have moved on from mechanical camera stabilization these days but I can't help thinking of all those 1980's. 90's even 2000's videos that all could of been stabilized. Even if the person just held the steadicam the video would be stable no need to run with it. I believe that this machine would be a liability and insurance issue with the general public and that sealed the fate for the mass consumer to use it, not considering the training required for it as well.

@@danfuerthgillis4483 The Steadicam JR was intended for the general public, it was a gimballed, counterbalanced handheld unit with a small LCD screen. But Steadicam is not plug and play and thats why it never gained mass market acceptance. It required a lot of skill and patience. The price of the JR was also expensive like you say because it was never mass-produced. They were assembled by hand in California. The JR and Merlin were very successful in the prosumer markets... believe me, I helped balance hundreds of them!

Revolucionário !!!!

it utilizes an articulated arm with gimbal grips. Its basically a self leveling system. You can buy gimbals for your iphone. It is, in essence, the same concept.