Merlin and HV20 - how light?

[Cinetastic]

I am finding it very difficult to hold the HV20 steady, and do not yet have a Steadicam Merlin - has anyone tried the the two combined yet please?

Also, when　I add the Canon　Wide Angle lens, it becomes very front heavy (that is a big lens!). Can anyone vouch if this HV20 and Wide lens combo would be mountable on the Merlin easily? I have some shooting where no tripod is allowed and also wanted the movement, but could I use the Wide lens and Merlin...

[Noel Evans]

Hi Andrew, havent physically tired it myself, so only going on Merlin experience here. But the merlin with the HV20 + wide angle would work extremely well and due to the light weight compared to HVX, A1, DVX you could fly it for a fair amount of time.

[mikkowilson]

I'll echo ncje's comments; I haven't yet had a chance to test the HV20 on the Merlin - I hope to at NAB - however I'm certain that it will fly very well on the Merlin.
I have heard some inital positive comments from people on DVinfo.net who have successfully tried the combination.

- Mikko

[Cinetastic]

I definitely need to buy a Merlin for my upcoming shoot in London, and am using my time in Tokyo to practice with the camera. As the Merlin is a somewhat significant expenditure, I am happy to have any reassurance of positive use on the HV20, so thanks for those good vibes!

[Noel Evans]

Cinetastic still looking to grab a merlin? In case you dont know the local price is rather expensive.

http://www.pv-station.com/product_info.php?cPath=18&products_id=2145

I ordered one from BH Photo because of cheap price and then got hit with a chunky tax when it came through. So worked out about same price or similar. At that time I just wanted it and wasnt yet available in Tokyo so I didnt care so much.

The fact is I am selling mine. With box, english DVD etc. Why am I selling? Well its just not getting much use at the moment with what I am doing. I love it though.

PM if interested. That way I could do a personal handover.

[Cinetastic]

Cinetastic still looking to grab a merlin? In case you dont know the local price is rather expensive.

I will have to wait until hitting London (and my next pay cheque!) before purchasing the Merlin, so it is just camera practice for me whilst in Tokyo. Thanks very much for the offer - I wish I could take you up on that Merlin purchase now (already too much to carry onwards after two months away from home).
I looked at the Merlin plus HV20 photo at DVInfo and was amazed at how small the combo was, I really do want that for my shoot!

[Marshallarts]

I'm looking for a stabilizing solution myself. If anyone has any feedback regarding using the HV20 + Wide-angle adapter on the Glidecam 2000 it would be much appreciated. I don't have much money and am trying to get serious about my gear.

I tried the Merlin at B&H the other day and was blown away, it's so small and really flys great. IMO better then the Glidecam 2000 they were displaying (though it was in pretty rough shape). Still the Glidecam 2000 being well under half the price but not much bigger is still the one I'll probably go with. If I found an amazing price on a Merlin I'd jump on it in a second though!

I'm also looking for a nice tripod to do pans and tilts with (I have a good still camera tripod I could use for solid still shots). Since I do a lot of movement I'd just as soon get a stabilizer for any moving shots, the photography tripod for static shots, and upgrade to a good fluid tripod later.

Any advice against this? Any words of caution with the Glidecam 2000?

[Artscroll]

The Merlin and HV20 is a killer combination. I've only added a DV hood and a Canon DM-50 microphone but I had to add another weight and shift the merlin forward on the stage by 1 to get it to perfectly balance. I've never flown anything heavy on a Merlin so I happen to like the light combo (makes you have to work better at your Steadicam technique). Of course, wind is your enemy. It's useless in windy conditions, other than that, go for the Merlin. You can fly it for quite a long time with zero fatigue. I am very happy with the Merlin/HV20 combo.

[Zim]

there is some footage in this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=91223&page=2&highlight=merlin+HV20