1 Cameraman: Okay, I'm here. What do you want me to film?
1 Adam: The explosion of this dynamite!
1 Cameraman: Not a problem.
1 {in the foreground, a rat runs across the room}
2 Jamie: And potentially the destruction of the entire universe.
2 Cameraman: Oh. Er... just a minute... {leaves}
2 {a white cat chases the rat}
3 Adam: Wait! Don't run away! It's not that dangerous!
4 Cameraman: I'll be right back. I just want to get my Steadicam gear.
4 Adam: Oh. Good thinking.
4 {the rat disappears off screen, followed by the cat}

Steadicam is a commercial system used to stabilise video and motion picture cameras during shooting. It's usually used when the camera is being hand-held, although it can also be used to stabilise cameras mounted on erratically moving platforms, such as cars on bumpy roads, or helicopters.

And yes, it was around in the 1980s.

Of course in this case a tripod might also be useful, but that's not nearly as funny.

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2021-01-03 Rerun commentary: One supposes the cameraman wants the Steadicam gear because the whole universe might get a little bumpy. It's only useful if the camera is on an unstable platform, not if what you're filming is jostling around.

So it'd be useless on the starship Enterprise, for example.