Af101 & steadicam merlin

derbrocks09 said:
What I mean by "one hand" is that the Merlin may operate with the same principles but in practice it doesn't work like any of the other Steadicams. Right?

You operate a Pilot with two hands. One to boom and position the sled and the other to rotate / pan the unit. It takes two hands! The Merlin operates entirely differently, with the same principles, but differently. Right?

The OP referred to The Shining. The rig used for those shots, and every other Steadicam shot in movies is operated almost exactly like the Pilot. The Merlin was designed for very lightweight cameras. There is a reason why the big rig Steadicams all look similar and operate in the same fashion. There is also a reason why Steadicam doesn't design larger versions of the Merlin. It doesn't work as well with heavy cameras because you have less control not having a large post to help control the camera.

My only two points were:

A The Pilot would be a much better tool for the AF100. I think we agree on that.

B The Merlin, while using the same principles, is a completely different tool then the Pilot, Flyer, Archer, Clipper, Glidecam, etc Yeah it's a real steadicam. It works off the same principles. But all the other Steadicams are very similar and are operated in the same way. The Merlin is the exception. And it's severly limited when using heavier cameras due to its design which is why every other Steadicam from the Pilot on up are designed the way they are. That was my only point. The Merlin is different from "real" Steadicams in it's design and in the way it's operated.

Just sayin.
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You *can* operate a Merlin one handed ... then again, you *can* operate any Steadicam one handed. There are some shots that the Merlin can do that other rigs can't that require one hand, like reaching really super high above your head.
But, under most circumstances the Merlin is operated using 2 hands. One hand holds the weight of the system and positions it in space (just like a big rig's "position" hand on the gimbal yoke/handle at the end of the arm). The other hand then wraps loosely around the first hand (to keep a physical connection to stay in sync with movements) and then uses fingertips to lightly control the angle of the camera via the gimbal (just like the "angle" control hand on a big rig).

There are in deed a couple of differences between a Merlin and a larger Steadicam (other than scale). The arced shape of the rig provides better clearance for your hand that's holding the weight as the rig overall is smaller so is operated more precisely with lesser clearances. The "control point" of the "angle" hand is above the Center of Gravity on the Merlin, below on larger rigs; so that requires a little mental flip. That's about it. Other than that, the Merlin is 100% a real Steadicam, and is operated in exactly the same way as a larger Steadicam.

Many of the finer details of the Merlin, and it's comparison to other rigs are discussed here: http://www.tiffen.com/steadicam_faqs.html


That said; a larger Steadicam always has more options in the capacity of camera package it can carry. And the AF100 can certainly be kitted out to outgrow the Merlin very quickly. A large lens alone could do it. And I could imagine all sorts of setups that would quickly be right in the weight class of my Steadicam Archer (cameras up to 25lbs). I wouldn't recommend the Merlin as the perfect rig for the AF100, - I'd recommend something larger with room to grow; but will I be taking my Merlin along to AF100 shoots? Of course. It's so small and light that why not? For some setups it can be perfect.

- Mikko
 
mikkowilson said:
You *can* operate a Merlin one handed ... then again, you *can* operate any Steadicam one handed. There are some shots that the Merlin can do that other rigs can't that require one hand, like reaching really super high above your head.
But, under most circumstances the Merlin is operated using 2 hands. One hand holds the weight of the system and positions it in space (just like a big rig's "position" hand on the gimbal yoke/handle at the end of the arm). The other hand then wraps loosely around the first hand (to keep a physical connection to stay in sync with movements) and then uses fingertips to lightly control the angle of the camera via the gimbal (just like the "angle" control hand on a big rig).

There are in deed a couple of differences between a Merlin and a larger Steadicam (other than scale). The arced shape of the rig provides better clearance for your hand that's holding the weight as the rig overall is smaller so is operated more precisely with lesser clearances. The "control point" of the "angle" hand is above the Center of Gravity on the Merlin, below on larger rigs; so that requires a little mental flip. That's about it. Other than that, the Merlin is 100% a real Steadicam, and is operated in exactly the same way as a larger Steadicam.

Many of the finer details of the Merlin, and it's comparison to other rigs are discussed here: http://www.tiffen.com/steadicam_faqs.html


That said; a larger Steadicam always has more options in the capacity of camera package it can carry. And the AF100 can certainly be kitted out to outgrow the Merlin very quickly. A large lens alone could do it. And I could imagine all sorts of setups that would quickly be right in the weight class of my Steadicam Archer (cameras up to 25lbs). I wouldn't recommend the Merlin as the perfect rig for the AF100, - I'd recommend something larger with room to grow; but will I be taking my Merlin along to AF100 shoots? Of course. It's so small and light that why not? For some setups it can be perfect.

- Mikko
Click to expand...

wow, it'd be really cool if you could do a short clip with a merlin down in Texas
 
Which thread Ransom was referring to? I mean the one with Mikko running with Merlin and AF101?

Thanks in advance for pointing it to me..
 
it was the main "A VERSE BEFORE DYING" thread. someone posted photos from the set and one showed the 100 on the merlin.
 
I'm seriously considering selling my Merlin/vest setup. I've never been happy with it with my HVX and won't even consider it with the AF100
 
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