Merlin Steadicam initial setup

EDV

EDV

Well-known member
First day with the Merlin, spent it mostly reading through the manual, watching the instructional DVD and trying to make the thing work.
Whoever said this takes time to learn wasn't kidding!
One thing that bugged me was attaching the dovetail plate to the stage. Is the locating pin supposed to be removed prior to this?!? I could only attach the dovetail plate to the stage AFTER removing the attaching screw (which was sticking out) for the locating pin. Not sure what its function would be after the initial "center of balance" setup.
 
We've had very limited success with the merlin and the HPX171, sometimes it seems to work well and then others its a disaster.

I've got a basic starting point that I promised to post a while ago. I will dig it out.

We're doing a course shortly so will be using the 171 and the GH1 as test subjects. Hopefully get to know it better then.
 
i had problems with my hvx200 (it was really too heavy for the merlin) but with my hpx170 it worked first try and has worked great every time since...

wonder if youre trying to put the dovetail on upside down?
 
hpx170recipe.jpg
 
Actually, I had the locating pin upside down. The pictures in the manual got me mixed up, and the DVD skims over this really important step. I've tried re-doing the setup today with the attachment and it works a bit better. It still isn't 100%, I'd say I have it close to 90% of where it should be, trimming took me forever.
I'm using the recommended settings for the HVX200 except that I have 1 start and 1 mid at the front. Garrett Brown mentions that you should do that once your camera exceeds a certain weight (the HVX200 is heavier than the HPX however, not sure why they only recommend 1 Finish weight at the front).

I'm still getting a slight pendulum effect, and the HPX172 feels quite heavy over that ridiculously sized gimbal.

Can anyone explain what -2 Z means? I know what the Z refers to, just not sure how we are supposed to measure the -2.
 
WGZN, thanks for that , they're somewhat different to our somewhat poor tests. So will give it a go.

I couldn't see that on tiffen's cookbook page , are they you're own numbers?
 
Tried them definitely better.

Not sure how to precisely measure the arc size though.
 
i find that the distance is from the flat of the stage to the center of the lower spar.
 
I've been struggling for months to try to get my merlin balanced with the HPX. I worry it's just at the threshold of being too heavy, but if the HVX qualifies, how can this be? Surely it must work if it's in the cook book, but often I get it "balanced" then as soon as I stand up and move the thing goes all over the place. It's really discouraging and my merlin is collecting dust...

As for the lack of HPX170 on the cook book site, I found that I could only find the HPX on the cook book if I GOOGLED the cookbook, and then accessed the HPX. weird glitch.
 
EDV said:
Actually, I had the locating pin upside down. The pictures in the manual got me mixed up, and the DVD skims over this really important step. I've tried re-doing the setup today with the attachment and it works a bit better. It still isn't 100%, I'd say I have it close to 90% of where it should be, trimming took me forever.
I'm using the recommended settings for the HVX200 except that I have 1 start and 1 mid at the front. Garrett Brown mentions that you should do that once your camera exceeds a certain weight (the HVX200 is heavier than the HPX however, not sure why they only recommend 1 Finish weight at the front).

I'm still getting a slight pendulum effect, and the HPX172 feels quite heavy over that ridiculously sized gimbal.

Can anyone explain what -2 Z means? I know what the Z refers to, just not sure how we are supposed to measure the -2.
Click to expand...

Hello everyone, the Z if I'm not mistaken is the round threaded thing above the gimbal. First you clockwise it all the way then -2 you counter clock it a couple of time unitil it clicks in place twice. I just got my Merlin Arm and Vest setup last week, and balancing was no big deal, got it balanced within 30 minutes, and now I can balance it within minutes after mounting on the arm, my drop time is a little bit more than a second. I had been practicing everyday, and my only issue is slight bobbing up and down, and I think that is the result of improper walk or is it the tension on the arms, being too stiff? I am flying an XH-A1. I have arc open all the way, 1 finish, 1 mid on the front and 5 mids and 1 finish on the bottom. I just need better results, and I can walk around with this thing all day. Can somebody give me some pointers?
 
As for the lack of HPX170 on the cook book site
Click to expand...

thats so weird! the screencap i posted earlier came right from the steadicam cookbook page... and i went and looked tonight and its no longer there... wonder if i found some similar page through some back door... ill look on my machine and see what i can find...
 
i did just notice that the page i took my successful setting from was the "user" section of the cookbook (hence blue instead of red header) on that page they have both metric settings for the 171 and standard US specs for the 170
 
Okay guys, I hope someone can help me here.
I've got all the distances nailed, except for "c.g. distance". Obviously this isn't the same as "Center Distance" , which according to the manual, should be almost 13 inches (not 3). Perhaps a better way to understand this is to look at the diagram:



Assuming "red" is "Arc Size", "c.g.distance" would then be "yellow" ?
 
Last edited:
EDV said:
Okay guys, I hope someone can help me here.
I've got all the distances nailed, except for "c.g. distance". Obviously this isn't the same as "Center Distance" , which according to the manual, should be almost 13 inches (not 3). Perhaps a better way to understand this is to look at the diagram:



Assuming "red" is "Arc Size", "c.g.distance" would then be "yellow" ?
Click to expand...

I got this from merlincookbook.com

The ‘vertical CG distance’ can be found by experimentally balancing a flat side of your camcorder (or the lens cover or the battery) on your finger and marking that balance point with a grease pencil or a sliver of masking tape; then measure the distance from that mark down to the base of your camcorder. What you have detected is the location, within your camcorder, of the plane of that famous CG point, and additionally how high up from the camera mounting surface that point is located. Note that you have three spreadsheet choices––for zero, one, or two ‘nose weights.’ (If your camera is relatively light, I’d suggest using the latter––the .41 oz (186 gm) version––to provide maximum inertial stability). Now, if you enter those two numbers––weight and vert. CG––in the marked boxes, the blue columns of the spreadsheet will show all possible solutions for balance
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but "c.g." distance is "fixed" given that "C" is the recommended mounting hole for the HPX170 (or HPX172):





As you can see, both of these measurements are almost exactly 3 inches.
(sorry about the pictures, I am a visual communicator)
 
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