Wait, a single-axis gimbal?

Turns out, despite the near ubiquity of three-axis gimbal stabilisers, Steadicams are still the gold-standard of smooth camera motion. One of the many challenges of operating a Steadicam setup is keeping the horizon level while walking. Letus aim to make that easier with their new 1-Axis Pro gimbal, which sits on top of the standard Steadicam sled and keeps your camera level no matter what else is happening on your shoot.

Letus describe the 1-Axis Pro as ‘the roll axis of the Standard Helix that has been modified to have the front support of the Double Helix.’ It has built-in support for 19mm rods, weighs 5lbs and can accommodate cameras of up to 20lbs, which means as well as the RED in these pictures it can also accommodate an Alexa or Amira-sized shooting package.

The additional front support helps avoid vibrations from walking showing up in your shots, making it a practical option to use in motion rather than for simpler stationary setups.

Using the gimbal also makes transitioning from high to low angles on the Steadicam seamless: a camera mounted to the Helix should only move in the axes you want it to.

The Helix 1-Axis Pro is available to order from the Letus website now for $4999 US – current Helix 1-Axis owners can also upgrade their gimbal to the new spec for $3000 US.