Advice on shooting w the BMPCC nowadays despite shakiness

I'm not sure how people are successfully using the BMPCC and would like to know some thoughts/advice from the forum.

I have found it nearly impossible to keep the BMPCC steady and prevent shakiness when handheld or shoulder mounted. I have it in the movcamcage with a the follow focus, rails and a shoulder pad, and from what I've read online that's about as secure as you can get it handheld. Even so, I still get a lot of jittery movement when I watch my footage. I am not doing any swinging quick pans or anything like that. I am shooting with a 16mm lens on the speedbooster so it is a very wide angle of view.

I've tried using a steadicam stabilizer or a gimbal and just couldn't get over the fact that you can't adjust the focus on the fly, not to mention that you can't have a big juicebox battery or Vmount battery connected, or an external monitor - and this screen is not visible whatsoever in daylight.

My post subject says 'nowadays' because there are so many DSLRs or mirrorless cameras out there have some decent OIS options. Yes you can buy some of the Panasonic stabilizer lenses for the BMPCC and they work OK, but those lenses are also not the best choice when shooting with this camera and trying to shoot to its strengths.

So I'm hoping to better understand how people are filming outdoors with this camera in daylight without a tripod?

Me too Really struggling to get usable footage, at least without stabilisation in post. I have a 12mm s16 lens that is moderately wide. Also use a kamera? loupe (which has helped immensely, giving a third point of contact - but still often not enough). It's a struggle to get anything usable.
Works moderately well with a lens with IS (the panny 14-45 is the only one I've tried - image quality is ok).
Stability has been the major factor in my not using this camera for any serious jobs so far. In the advertising pics, it's almost always in someone's hand ...

This is not a camera you do run and gun hand held if shaky footage is a concern.
These days you can use an inexpensive gimbal if you're not on tripod or monopod.
The lens stabilization in still lenses is not quite the same as those found built into cameras. They can get rid of micro jitter.
If you build a kit with multiple points of contact that can help. View Finder and handle plus a hand support the lens gives you three points of contact and that can help.
Keep in mind this is a cinema camera.
For my ENG style work I use a Sony PXW-Z90. For interviews or "planed" shots I use the BMPCC. Those are either with tripod or gimbal. Slider or Crane/Jib would be another example of planed shot stabilization.

If the new BMPCC4K has much less rolling shutter it might be a better candidate for stabilization in post.

You'll need to rig it up and even then it won't be like a good camcorder built for run-n-gun.

What I did:

– got me a loupe
– made a shoulder support from parts lying around
– attached a larger battery to that to improve weight, balance and shooting time.
– attached a LANC start/stop button to the grip
– used the Panasonic 12-35mm lens with optical stabilizer

That's about as good as it gets. You'll not get control of focus or zoom without touching the lens.