Steadicam - Pilot Shipping + Merlin gimble

[mikkowilson]

The Steadicam Pilot (announced at NAB) is just beginning to ship.
It takes a little time to get production up to full speed, but it should be avilable in stock in around a month or so.

I get a lot of people asking me if the Merlin metal gimble will be available to purchase seperatly. The word from the horses mouth is that YES the Metal Merlin gimble will be available for seperate purchase shortly. Right now Steadicam is still filling orders for the Arm & Vest kit (that includes the metal gimbal), once those orders have been filled, then the metal gimbal will be available seperatly for around $160.

All the versions of the Pilot & Merlin & arm & vest & gimble, etc.. should all be fully shipping and in-stock (all pre-orders filled) with vendors by the end of the year.

- Mikko

[LuckyStudio 13]

Mikko, really appreciate your input on this. I texted Mikko yesterday and requesting the steadicam Pilot info.

THANK YOU SO MUCH ! Enjoy the show !!

[myCharlie]

Mikko, I am starting to look into buying a steadicam of some sort to be used with the Sony XDCAM EX that I just placed an order for. For this size of camera, what kind of steadicam would you recommend? I'm completely new to this kind of equipment and I don't even know where to start. It seems that there are quite a lot of parts to put together to have a complete functional system. What are the parts that I need to have a fully functional system when shopping for one?

Any help is much appreciated.

[mikkowilson]

if you buy any of the Steadicam "systems", then you will have everythign you need to fly except for the camera and batteries.

How much does the EX1 weigh, and what aother accessories are you planning on loading onto it?
Also, why type of shootign will you be dooing?
And, what's your budget? (want to spend, and could spend)


- Mikko

[myCharlie]

My budget for the steadicam is propably around $2,000. Most of my projects will be events and perhaps a short feature film in the future.

[mikkowilson]

Hmm, if the EX1 is light enough for the Merlin (as I *think* it will be) then a Merlin with the Arm & Vest is probabaly the best bet for you.


- Mikko

[myCharlie]

How much does the Arm and Vest cost an addition to the cost of the Merlin itself?

[mikkowilson]

MSRP is just under $2k .. so you can probabaly get the whole kit for somewhere around $2500.

- Mikko

[sethcamm]

mikko
I was looking at the merlin arm and vest for my panasonic hvx200 , i was also looking at the glidecam smoothshooter ,
if you get a chance to answer
which one would you recommend...
thanks-

[mikkowilson]

Merlin w/ Arm & Vest by far. It's a fantastic two section tools-free Iso-elastic arm, whereas the Smooth Shooter has an ok single section, tools-required non-iso arm. The single section affects operability - you can't get the lens up to eye height with the SS, not a problem with the Merlin. And the iso elasticy of the Merlin arm is a huge difference in feel. And the need for tools & taking the sled off the SS arm makes it a lot of work to adjust.

Merlin vest is lighter, and it has a proper socket block adjustment for the arm connection, so you can always stand up stragith with it - the SS is missing this adjustment, which is a critical feature for proper opeterating, and operator comfort/safty. (Standing incorrectly due to a poorly fitting vest can cause serious back trouble with time.)

Merlin Sled also works much better handheld if you so choose, and is MUCH easier and faster to adjust (especially final trim) then the Glidecam 4000.

There's only a few hundred bucks in it, at that point, it's WELL worth the difference to get the fully featured system over the "low cost alternative" ... and if you want a Glidecam X-10, their dual arm-section version of the SS, it will actually cost you more than the Steadicam anyway. What the Steadicam costs extra in quality and furetures, they have managed to reduce with intelligent design over the kock-off units.

- Mikko