Anybody have Merlin settings?

A

ANTshooter

Active member
Just got my HMC150. I'll put in my first impressions soon but does anybody have Merlin settings for this cam since I'm pretty excited to try the pair out. Shortcut. :beer:
 
Merlin settings for HMC150

Merlin settings for HMC150

Did you ever find those Merlin Settings? How is that working out for you? Is it too heavy?
 
I brought mine into to work to weigh it out today but it was over the max of my scale, looking for a bigger scale tomorrow.
 
i have some initial settings that work fairly well but isnt perfect yet.

mounting hole: H
front weights: 1 mid, 1 finish
lower: 1 start, 4 mid, 1 finish
arc distance: exactly 3/4 down (the notch immediately below fully lowered [+])
stage mark: -2
Z: there's exactly 5 visible threads (not sure if that connotes -5, i cant remember off the top of my head)
G-Platz: Yes

A little bit of trimming should have it about right. This is for a BARE HMC-150, NO ACCESSORIES, NO SHOULDER STRAP, NO MIC (but the mic mount is mounted of course), with the smaller 90 minute battery.

Like I said it's not perfect, but pretty darn close in my own opinion. Let me know if you guys figure out additional settings.
 
I was about to get a Merlin myself, but I was concerned about whether the weight would be too much - I will probably have the larger battery, as well as a wireless receiver mounted on the hotshoe.

I have seen Canon XH-A1s on Merlins, and I think they are a good bit heavier than the 150, due to their tape drive mechanics.

I hope the Merlin can be configured to work with the 150 in my configuration (battery + wireless receiver).

Let me know if you all have any issues with weight, etc.

Thanks,
Randy
 
Randy,

Go for it. You wont regret it. Even with the larger battery and a shotgun mic mounted, the merlin should still be completely sufficient. I havent tried it yet but Im assuming that with a larger battery and shotgun mic, instead of 4 lower mid weights there should be 5. And of course everything has to be adjusted as well but it will balance without a doubt.

I've even mounted my XHA1 on the merlin using the cookbook recipes and it balances well.

There is a bit of rocking every now and then, the Merlin doesn't perform well even in slightly windy conditions (without swaying). Also even when I'm able to find a pretty good balance on the merlin, if you do a move where you move quickly and come to an abrupt stop, it tends to sway in that direction. I'm not sure if this is an issue of momentum that causes the swaying or if it isnt perfectly balanced...

Supporting the weight will obviously take some time to get used to, but we just shot an event over the weekend where i was carrying the Merlin for the bulk of 3 hours. Though I havent tried it, I assume that the arm and vest will solve this problem if your budget can afford it and it makes sense for the kind of things that you shoot. Still, I'd love to get a Flyer for adapter use...
 
ANTshooter,

The swaying is usually the result of a miss placed center of gravity or being too bottom / top heavy.
 
HMC-150 merlin settings

HMC-150 merlin settings

Anyone perfected the settings for the Merlin used with HMC-150. Just bought mine and waiting for it to arrive.
 
I also have the HMC-150 and the Merlin. I am going to give your settings a try and see how close I get. Once I find the right balance, I will post my results.
 
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Merlin works great with HMC150. I find that it works a lot better and is easier to balance than the DVX. This is with larger battery and no mic added.

Off the top of my head my setting are:

Front: 1 mid, 1 finish

Bottom - 5 mid, 1 start, 1 finish

stage mark: -2

mount hole: H

G-Platz: Yes (put it right in between zoom and focus rings so they can both turn freely)

Ark: Fully open as wide as it can go

*Once this is setup just a few slight adjusts with left/right and back/forth and you're good to go.


Takes me no more than five minutes to get balance perfect. Great thing about steadicam merlin is that once you've got it balanced once it takes almost no time to get it balanced again after that. When I had a glidecam it would take me almost 30 minutes every time and still not be all the way balanced.
 
keentave,

when mounting the camera at stage mark -2, the g-platz gets in the way of the zoom ring. two ticks behind -2 seems to be the perfect spot, then trim your way to balance. whats your Z setting?

tried your setting. it seems to have more of a a pendulum effect than what I had posted, especially on abrupt stops.
 
yeah i've noticed a little of a pendulum effect, nothing too major. Let me try your settings and maybe that'll work out better. thanks.
 
ANTshooter,

Tried out your settings with a larger battery and tweaked a little. I think it works better than the other settings I was using, less pendulum. Although it does not rotate side to side as easily.

Here are the current settings I have with large battery, no accessories:

Front: 1 mid, 1 finish

Bottom: 4 mid, 1 start, 1 finish

stage mark: a notch or two below -2 (where you can fit the G-platz in between zoom/ focus rings)

mount hole: H

G-Platz: Yes (put it right in between zoom and focus rings so they can both turn freely)

Ark: Fully open as wide as it can go

Z: 5 or 6 threads


A little adjusting left/right and up/down and it should be good to go. Thanks! Less pendulum and one mid weight lighter.
 
Ther'es also some nice other knock-offs being produced in India. You can get something comperable to a flyer for like 2k. The flyer is a better unit, but much more expensive...
 
AnHung said:
Would you mind sharing why you decided to go with the merlin vs. the glidecam (or others)? Thanks!
Click to expand...


I used a Glidecam for over a year before switching to the Merlin. The Glidecam takes 2 to 3 times longer to get balanced. With the merlin it takes a little bit of time to get it balanced the first time but once you've got it balanced once it takes almost no time to do it again. Whereas the glidecam you pretty much have to start from scratch every time.

Once balanced you have far more controll with the merlin and looks way better. stayes balanced and is lighter. i kept having to constantly re-adjust balance when shooting with the glidecam. Everything with the merlin just "works" way easier and better than the others.

They're the ones who invented stabilization and all the others are just knock off versions. However, the glidecam does work fairly well and it a good bit cheaper so if you don't want to spend on a merlin the glidecam is still far better than handheld.
 
I feel like hole G is more closer to the center of gravity than H.

Does anyone have the Merlin stand or the stand adapter? was curious to if this would make balancing etc. easier?
 
matt s. said:
I feel like hole G is more closer to the center of gravity than H.

Does anyone have the Merlin stand or the stand adapter? was curious to if this would make balancing etc. easier?
Click to expand...

I have the C-Stand adapter it makes it somewhat easier but you can definitely do without it.
 
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