merlin steadicam - put me out of my misery - please!!!!

K

kevin baggott

Well-known member
Can someone come over to apt 6h with a 44 and put four slugs behind my right ear!
I've had this thing for under a week now. Watched the enclosed dvd so many times i feel i produced the damn thing - read the manual back and forth and still can't get this thing steady - i get it steady according to the level - but the drop time is like BANG!!! It drops in a flash. I know I should stick with it. But brother.... when I fly it the pendulum effect is no joke. Anyway - thinking of either getting the black bird or the wondlan ares at this point - 3rd choice being the glidecam 200o hd.

I know some peeps have given me feedback on this issue. But if anyone wants to chime in on either sticking with merlin or picking one of the above - or something new i'd most appreciate it. In case someone does have a 44 ive left the door open.
 
If the drop time is too fast, you're too bottom-heavy. Leveled is only part of it. You have to have the center of gravity in the right spot, so there's a balance between camera and counterweight that comes into play.
 
yeah - that's my problem - i have the gh2 and the voighlander 25 - there was a recipe on here for that combo - tried that - well im still working with that trimming like crazy - but its still too bottom heavy - thanks though alex - me will get there. How long did it take you to get a handle with this thing - as far as balancing and getting to fly it in the ball park?
 
Don't expect to have it mastered in under a week. In fact, don't expect to be fluent in stabilizer work for a few weeks... assuming that you're putting in hours and hours of practice in that time. It can take a few days just to figure out how to balance it. After that, it can take days or even weeks to train yourself to fly it. It's all trial and error, though.
 
I'd consider adding at least a manfrotto plate under the camera attached to the merlin. Having too light a camera is not good either. I have a blackbird that I used a 7D on for a long time and I did 2 things.

(1) Added weight under the camera to give the top more weight.

(2) Used the blackbird extender to push the gymbal further away from the camera

Both of these had a HUGE difference in how well the blackbird worked. With the merlin, given some of the usage concept is the same, I'd imagine it would help as well.
 
I hear ya Alex - thanks for those words. Yeah - I assumed that was the case - as with most things. What was driving me mad was following peeps recipes in the cookbook - getting the level centered - and it still being too bottom or too top heavy and - so I feel like ive never had the damn thing balanced yet. But I'll get there.......

So you've obvioulsy kept yers - the merlin - have you used the others, black bird, glide cam, wondlan ares, and you prefer the merlin?
 
Thanks Rick - yeah ive read about making the camera a little more top heavy - the voighlander 25 is a little tank as you know - that and the gh2 feels like it should be heavy enuf. But I hear ya. Thanks for yer input.
 
Stick with the merlin. It's my fav of the small ones. It take a lot of time to first figure it out , but like riding a bike, you will have you're "a ha!" moment and then be able to balance anything. I can set one up in minutes now, but I've played with them for a few years.
 
Kevin,
I saw your post about selling your Merlin out of frustration. I feel you, but listen to the other folks (myself included) who have used stabilizers for years. It's NOT something you're going to master in less than a week. You need to practice balancing it, then you need to practice using it. Pretty much no other part of videography can try your patience more than trying to fly a small handheld stabilizer, but keep practicing and you'll get it. Adding weight to the camera helps (a GH2 + Voigtlander is borderline too light). I'm afraid that if you're already giving up after less than a week, you may not have much luck with any of the others. To me, the Merlin was much easier to balance than the Glidecam I had, but both required a lot of patience and trial and error. Best of luck to you...

Drew
 
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