What's the difference between all the camera rigs?

[Synia]

Hi there, my friend and i are looking to get a camera rig for my friend's DSLR

After some research, we became overwhelmed with all the different rigs out there. So i was wondering if anyone could tell me the differences, pros and cons of these following rigs?

Merlin style steadicam
figg rig (there's also one that's cubed, as oppose to circular. not sure if it's the same type of rig)
shoulder mount rig

Any comments and help would be appreciated

 

[Lowxposure]

I've been researching this also, and basically it looks like all the box rigs etc. are for mounting accessories like an external mic and a portable monitor. Also it seems to me that the rig would be easier to hold than the camera body thus making it slightly more stable.

Steadicam's are not necessarily rigs in the same sense as above. They're designed for holding the camera, but their primary purpose is to counterbalance the weight of the camera to steady your shots. It makes for a cool effect, and comes in handy if you're doing a mobile shot, but if you're not careful your whole movie will look like the camera is just floating around the room and can become a distraction.

For filmmaking I haven't seen very many people reccomend a shoulder mount. Some people reccomend it for running and gunning and documentary style filming.

It all depends on what exactly you're trying to do with your camera. If you're an amateur and working off of no budget (like myself), then you can build virtually everything you listed off for next to nothing. Just google or youtube the name of the rig and then type DIY next to it.