mikkowilson
Steadi-Guru
A while back there was a lot of discussion of how to mount accessories to the HVX200 when used on a Steadicam Merlin.
The HVX at 5.5lbs is right at the max limit of the Merlin, it flies very well, but you can't put a radio mic reciver on there.
With a DVX you can put a radio mic reciver on the camera, but then you need to add more counterweights making the whole rig heavier. Bummer.
There was talk of a guy who was developing a bracket that would allow you to mount accessories on the bottom of the rig, in place of those counterweights.
His name is Jim Farrell, and I had the pleasure of meeting him at NAB and testing his prototype. He's one of the operators on the instuctional DVD that comes with the Merlin. After some work he's got a finished product: The Merlin Accessory Plate! http://www.jimfarrell.com/merlin/
He has very kindly offerd to send me one for testing, so I'll report back more once I've taken it for a spin. The prototype I tried at NAB worked very well allbight a couple of small challenges that have now reportedly been overcome.
I will note right off the bat that this does allow you to put more weight on the bottom of the Merlin than with just the normal weights. I'd recomend very strongly against doing that, as the rest of the Merlin (including that precision gimble) can't take too much extra weight safly.
So don't use this plate to add any more weight than you'd normally use, just use it to replace the dead weight with usefull weight!
- Mikko
The HVX at 5.5lbs is right at the max limit of the Merlin, it flies very well, but you can't put a radio mic reciver on there.
With a DVX you can put a radio mic reciver on the camera, but then you need to add more counterweights making the whole rig heavier. Bummer.
There was talk of a guy who was developing a bracket that would allow you to mount accessories on the bottom of the rig, in place of those counterweights.
His name is Jim Farrell, and I had the pleasure of meeting him at NAB and testing his prototype. He's one of the operators on the instuctional DVD that comes with the Merlin. After some work he's got a finished product: The Merlin Accessory Plate! http://www.jimfarrell.com/merlin/
He has very kindly offerd to send me one for testing, so I'll report back more once I've taken it for a spin. The prototype I tried at NAB worked very well allbight a couple of small challenges that have now reportedly been overcome.
I will note right off the bat that this does allow you to put more weight on the bottom of the Merlin than with just the normal weights. I'd recomend very strongly against doing that, as the rest of the Merlin (including that precision gimble) can't take too much extra weight safly.
So don't use this plate to add any more weight than you'd normally use, just use it to replace the dead weight with usefull weight!
- Mikko