GH13 Not going cheap again, what's the best stabilizer for these cams?

S

seven.b

Well-known member
Hey guys, I'm not looking to skimp out on a stabilizer like I did with my HV30 several years back. I want something that is going to last and work well most of the time. I'm leaning toward a merlin, but I also don't want to get caught paying too much for something that isn't worth it.

In your opinion, whats the best I can do for my GH13/GH2 with just a smallish lens on the front (no rig, gear, etc).


Thanks.
 
Seems most people who have used a merlin prefer the blackbird.
I don't own a merlin but have just purchased a blackbird and spent many hours working with it.

Here's the deal, in overly simple terms, weight equals stabliity. Okay, maybe not equals but enhances.
Within a few hours I could fly my pan 150, my gh2 with 14-140mm with pretty good effect.
It takes time to get the walk right, and to learn how to balance the rig. I can now balance anything
in 5 minutes.

I had trouble with my gh2 with 20mm lens. It kept getting side to side sway. What Rich(blackbird) recommends with an extermely
light rig is to put more weight, like a h4n zoom recorder, on top then balance with the greater weight. He also sent
me a short bar free of charge to help with the stability. This helped get the lighter lens under control.
Great customer service.

The Blackbird is well built, well thought out. It require a few hours to understand what you're doing. They send a full dvd video
full of tips. There's a lot that's unique about a Blackbird. It's not any kind of knockoff.

I find it, as I'm sure I would with a merlin as well, physically demanding to walk with these things. It's a lot of stress on your arm and back.
That's one reason why I wanted the lightest rig I could. Blackbird will fit on a Merlin vest I'm told.

As far as handheld stabilizers go, I have a hard time thinking anything is much better that blackbird, both for ease of use
and performance. I would recommend their full kit. It has a lot of useful accessories.
 
I really like the Glidecam HD. Takes a bit of setting up but great results and you can expand it, and augment without the expense of getting a full blone steadicam.
 
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The handheld merlin is fine for some stuff and I'd like to get something like this for quick stuff, but try shooting don juan style with this, or outside when it's windy. You need weight and mass on any rig to really make it fly well, and not to mention having an external monitor on the bottom which helps tremendously with pitch and just in being in a good position to use the stabilizer to it's best potential.
 
Glidecam HD-1000 at $350
Merlin at $800

Glidecam is the no brainer. Own it and vouch for it. It also seems easier to balance from what I've read of the Merlin. Also ball bearings aren't good - they don't isolate up and down motion and the HD-1000 has gymbals for all axis'. $450 saved to get you a new lens or whatever you want - save up for the Oly 12mm 2.0 to put on the glidecam.
 
I have the Glidecam HD-2000 for the GH1 which is a bit overkill and I had a nightmare getting it balanced (Had to add 4 or 5 weight plates actually at the top under the camera using an extra screw) but now I have it balanced it works very nicely. I dont think its worth paying the extra for the merlin. This was a decision I had to make and I'm happy with my choice. (although if I knew i'd stop using my HMC150 for DSLR I would have probably gone HD-1000)
 
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