Merlin users, is this about normal?

Blade Borge

Blade Borge

Well-known member
Just bought a merlin, balanced and everything. (for hv30) One thing I notice is that when I do left to right moves, it does the pendulum effect just every so much that it makes thing look thrown off.

Is there such thing as perfection in this area and that I should eliminate even more bottm-heavyiness, or is it something I'm just going to have to control better?

Also, I bought it used without asking the seller if it had the metal gimbal. I'm not sure if it has the metal gimbal. It kinda looks plastic but looks pretty much exactly like the ones there seling on B&H.
 
You have three axis's to deal with, pitch, yaw and roll. I'm assuming your talking about roll? The closer you set the gimbal to your centre of gravity, the less roll you will have tracking left<>right. It makes the camera less self stabilising though. So in the end it's a trade off, no perfect position, and yes you just have to learn to control it. You can trim the bias to suit different shots though, and that's probably the best way to achieve good results.
There is a nice little guide on the steadicam website, for the Pilot specifically, but the theory is the same with the Merlin.

http://www.steadicam.com/images/content/pilotVideoCode.htm
 
Pendulum effect is definitely a sign of bottom heaviness. It can be tempting to add a little more weight to the bottom thinking it will be steadier. It wont be. Watch your video again and really work on the fine tuning. (I assume you got the DVD with the Merlin?)

Also, it shouldnt be hard to recognize if the gimbal is metal or plastic. I had the plastic - before the metal came out - and it was obviously plastic. I can only assume the metal is just as obviously NOT plastic. And you should be fine with that plastic gimbal assuming there as no damage from the previous owner. I flew a very heavy DVX with accessories on the plastic gimbal just fine. The HVx0 will be no problem for it.

BUT... proper balance is essential, and once you have that, lots of practice.
 
Correct. If the plastic is overloaded, it can break. The metal can carry more weight/stress without breaking.
 
In case you don't have the DVD, it says on there that the perfect time for a drop test is ~1 second.
 
I also picked up the merlin just a couple weeks ago for my HV30. I tried 1 sec drop times and tested it with longer and shorter drop times and I still find that it transfers unwanted momentum to the camera no matter what. The HV30 is just over 1 lb, which I think is part of the problem. I needs more weight. I just ordered a couple of the heaviest batteries, a step-up ring, 52mm filters, and a lens hood. If that doesn't help enough, then I might add more weight (top and bottom) just for the sake of making it heavier.

One thing that helps is using 2 hands, like they show in the video. The second hand can help stabilize the slight motion that the merlin transfers to the camera. Ideally I would think you wouldn't need that, but I'm new to stabilizers and not sure.
 
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