Don't let it's simplicity fool you; this is a remarkable product. Lightweight yet secure, it provides all the stability the average and above average cam user could need. I've used it with both my iPhone and my Canon EOS Rebel and it worked terrific. One tip, definitely get the disc weight for it or create your own drop weight; it really helps on long slow pans and when using a phone instead of a camera. Though plastic, it has held up very well on my outdoor adventures through the desert and mountain terrain, yet it is still light enough to strap to my pack when I'm not using it. I've had a lot of fun using it.

Hardware stays tight and easy to adjust. The phone holder bracket is not very good but I think most people would not use that anyway. the other brackets are great. Light and comfortable to hold.

I purchased a Cam Caddie Scorpion Original Video Camera Stabilizing Handle with Included Smartphone and GoPro Compatible Mounts - Black (0CC-0100-00) for both myself and my wife immediately before our trip to Quebec City to take photos for our upcoming book. We were excited and found the Cam Caddie to be very easy to use. We were asked a lot of questions by fellow tourists as we walked around Old Quebec City with our cameras in hand.
One of the best features of the Cam Caddie is the ability to carry your camera with one hand. It made shooting video a breeze, because we could turn on the camera and then walk naturally while filming. Taking shots with a telephoto lens was so much easier because I could use two hands spread further apart to minimize the shaking that usually occurs.
We both took a lot of photos while we were in Quebec and now we are ready to plan our next book photo shoot, because we know how much more we can do with the Cam Caddie in our photographer's toolbox!

Was trying to find an alternative to carrying a tripod while hiking. This is exactly what I needed, it stabilizes the camera more than if I were to carry it but I use it more for the long artistic shots. It sets up on the ground nicely and any kind of flat spot you can find. I have gotten some really beautiful shots using this because its steadied my hand especially doing panorama shots. Definitely a good product.

It is very light weight but is sturdy and it fits very nicely on my backpack which is a plus. I will be using this on a thruhike for the AT so I'm excited to have found something that will help me document it without carrying an extra 40lbs of equipment.

Cam Caddie is many things, but we should start by understanding what it is not. It is not a traditional stabilizer. Yes, it gives you a different way to hold the camera that is more stable, and yes, if you're riding a skateboard or are otherwise rolling/sliding, it is a great way get video. It is not, though, a stabilizer in the sense that all of your shots with it will be stable. They won't. And, really, if you want that, there are about a thousand ways to make that happen that are not this. But, you should still get this.

I think the big question when you're building a budget HDSLR rig is how you want to structure everything. There are multitudes of cages and accessory mounts that let you add mics, lights, capture devices, monitors, audio recorders, and whatever else you might need to your HDSLR. I had personally been "auditioning" setups for for my own shooting setup for years without really feeling terribly confident about any single piece of tech. I was haunting various shooter sites, cheesycam, etc., trying to find the right setup for documentary and flexible shooting I do. Many of the inexpensive cages I saw colleagues buy seemed really poorly constructed, and may of the pricier ones, although they added great options with regard to focus wheels and rails, and accessory mounts were too complex for the kind of shooting I do, which requires mobility and a sort of "run and gun" where the camera is on the cage and off of it quickly.

This is where the Cam Caddie Scorpion EX excels beyond expectations. For the price of a low end cage, you get a solid, multi-use mount with a proven track record of build quality, a wide range of well-planned accessories (the cheese plate? c'mon! that's fantastic!), and a simple method for setup/teardown at its heart. It fits in most bags and backpacks, or can be tied to the back of them without concern. It can support your rig as a simple handle, can be shoulder mounted (with the optional shoulder mount accessory), or can be used on your tripod with the cheseplate (also optional). It comes with a shoe mount that can be moved around along the handle, and multiple can be added (I personally bought two extras). There are a ton of examples of how to use it with shoe extenders, mics, lights, monitors, audio and video recorders over on their site, another valuable resource that only applies to this unit. This thing, basically, is a solid core to your budget rig that gives you access to high quality, proven accessories from an established company that cares about the quality of their product and has field tested it thoroughly in order to prove its usefulness and durability.

This thing was born in the skate video world, sure, but so many HDSLR shooters have to run and gun these days that the form factor makes a ton of sense for daily use. And anyway, look at the directors who got their start in skate vids, like Spike Jonze and Adam Powell. Innovation happens in the low tech, lo-fi, and migrates up into the practical world of daily shooting. We've seen that pattern over and over again. Heck, it's what the HDSLR thing is all about, right? That's what the Cam Caddie is all about, too. Get in there and get dirty. That's why this thing is so great.

The Cam Caddie Scorpion EX, even if you plan on one day abandoning it for some other fancier rig, is a solid piece for your kit. I'll bet, though, even after rigging up with gyro-balanced, focus-pulling, automated video drones or whatever you've got your eyes on, the solid simplicity of this thing will keep you coming back to it when you head out into the world to get shots.

One piece of advice: Get the EX. You may be tempted to save a few bucks and not get the drilled feet that allow you to mount the cheeseplate, but trust me, you'll love the flexibility that adds.