returning my merlin steadicam :(

K

kevin baggott

Well-known member
Feeling a bit low - like I've been beaten - but after over a week of trying to get this thing balanced and the footage when attempting to fly not looking like it's being flown on the end of a kite - I've given in. I read that manual so many times, the video - i watched at least 20 times over and over - every youtube/vimeo video - every thread i could fine. Oh well. Walking up and down my hallway like a mad mad out of a Celine novel.

I know folks said it can takes weeks and weeks to get a feel for it. It just showed me no love at all this thing.

I'm using a gh2 - voightlander 25 - I guess I'm gonna pull the trigger on a wodlan ares most likely? Blackbird? Glidecam hd 2000?

Sure would love to hear any feedback on folks who might have those other 3 steadicams and what they think.

Thanks for the peeps who gave me feedback on the Merlin this week.
 
What does the footage look like when you are flying? Swaying back and forth kind of stuff?

I haven't used the merlin but used the flycam and glidecam... it does take patience when it comes to balancing and a while to master. I always found really slow start and stops helps, and trying to fly in one direction. The better the balancing the better movement you can get out of a gimbal system like the ones you mentioned. Your main issue may be that your camera is to light... When I was flying the HMC150 it was even too light and I found but adding weight to the camera, and a little more counterbalance to the bottom, was a big improvement. It had more inertia and was much more stable. This also made a 30lb sled and a bear to shoot longer than a minute or so.

If you are looking for something easy to setup, lightweight and no practice required -- the HaloRig line up might be a good solution for you. The Mini is designed with the GH2 in mind.
 
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I use and love the blackbird. I didn't like the torque on my wrist from the glidecam design, and I didn't want to use an arm brace or a vest. I think the Blackbird is the perfect balance of the models when not using a vest.

Now, I have used a blackbird with a vest as well, I just think that if you are using a vest, you can use a glidecam style stabilizer that can flip over easier and undersling the camera which is a good thing to be able to do.

The hard time I had with the merlin is switching out lenses and the center of gravity changing. I find this is a lot easier to deal with on the blackbird. Also, I like the weight arm at the bottom. Because the weight is distributed further away from the center, when you spin the stabilizer, I think it resists swaying MUCH better than the merlin myself.

What I loved about the merlin was the size. It's definitely the winner in that category.
 
Hey Mad,
Yes - horizontally it sways. i know this is a result of it being too bottom heavy. I just got burnt out with it - i really did. Yeah - I looked at the halo rig - but I think i'm gong with the wodlan ares. Thanks for yer suggestions. :)
K
 
Hey Rick,
Yeah the size of the merlin was great - clearly well made, etc. i guess I'm going with the wodlan ares at this point. I've heard a lot of good things - as I have with the blackbird. Thanks for yer input - much appreciated.
Kev
 
Hey RIck
Yeah I had come upon that thread - folks were talking on vimeo about a modified version of the Wondlan Ares by a place/person called LUMI STUDIO in poland.
Apparently he's a seller of them in europe. He replaced the gimbal's bearings, etc - easier to use now. I contacted him to see if I can purchase one from him directly. I'll post info if I hear anything. Folks saying it's really improved things.
Kevin
 
Rick, I'm blaming you for my misfortune! At YOUR recommendation, (LOL) I went and got a blackbird and the crow flies...well, not bad on my first try. It's actually not bad at all. I'm happy with the purchase. I had more success on my first try than on my second try though. Say, are you actually able to get both bubbles centered when you balance your AF100? I've found it nigh impossible to get both level bubbles in the middle. I balance on a leveled tripod. On my first try, I put the release bracket on 8, the Foward adjustment on 6, the Right-Left on 6.7 or so, four weights, telescoping pole at 4. I put it away thinking - bingo, easier than threatened. Tried to repeat it and I'm having issues. Bubbles almost dead center, but then listing badly to starboard whenever I lift it off the post. It took me about an hour to get going last time, and that's with watching the DVD. Now, it should be easier but it's not. Any tips, mate? Do you use the 15" post or the 11" post? I'm about to strip this down and balance my GH2. And what arm and vest are you using with this? I was considering the Merlin arm and vest for about $1400.
 
Haha! Well, let's see if I can help. I just used my Blackbird two weekends ago for a huge shoot and was reminded of why I love it so much, it was absolutely awesome to use.

For the AF100, I would remove the handle and the side grip to get the weight down a bit more. I found with both of those on, it was a bit too heavy but maybe you are stronger than I am! :)

First, make sure you do not have friction set on the gymbal. With the weight of the AF100 and FS100, I find using friction causes it to be harder to set the balance. Given the inertia you will be flying with due to the camera weight, I found the friction not even needed. For lighter cameras, I use it.

Once you have no friction set on the handle, it's MUCH easier to balance.

I use the 15" post. Right now I am using the shorter weight bar, but I might go back. The beauty of the separated weights on the Blackbird is that when you rotate the camera, because the weight is away from the body, it does not sway. This is called dynamic balance. The further the weights are away, the better the dynamic balance. On the Merlin, it takes WAY too long to get the dynamic balance right which is why it sways a lot easier when moving around.

Now, once the friction is gone, you should really have no problem balancing it. What I found is that when you drop the weights to measure drop time, I try to be around 1.5 to 1.75 seconds. 2 seconds is too long with a heavy camera and leads to what you are seeing where it just starts moving around. With 1.5 to 1.75 seconds, it works MUCH better.

So, what I would suggest is drop the weight down a few more #s, reduce the drag, and rebalance. Once it is setup right, and you get the feel for it, even changing out different weight lenses it is so easy to rebalance.

Let me know how you make out.

As for arm and vest, I tried an arm and vest three weekends ago. The merlin arm/vest has VERY limited vertical range of motion when using it. Did NOT fit our shooting style. We had another vest/arm on set as well (proaim) and while it had a MUCH further range, I think we just shoot too dynamically all over the place. With the Blackbird, it just was able to do so much more without a lot of camera setup time, we are not thinking about vest/arm anymore.
 
Cheers Rick, I'll try your suggestions, especially on the friction. On removing the handle and side grip, how are you recording audio? I'm assuming you have a boom operator/spotter? I'm trying to imagine it: How do you prevent the XLR cables running from the boom into the camera from upsetting the balance? For one man band shoots, I was planning on having the Rode NTG-2 in the hot shoe so the handle removal might not work then. Otherwise, I'll try it. Stronger than you? I er make the Terminator look scrawny! LOL.
 
If you are fine with the weight, I'd keep it, but if you'd like it a little lighter, I'd remove it.

When you remove the handle, there are mounting locations. On my FS100, I don't use the handle that came with it, but modified the Rode NTG-2 mount to hook right on to the shoe that is there. If the shoe wasn't there, I'd just have used a screw to bind the two together (the kind with the locking ring so you can get the mic pointed in the right direction).

When shooting stabilized, most of the time we just record audio to another recorder to limit weight on the camera and not have a cable attached to it which breaks stabilization.

With the FS100 it has no built in mic, so I just bought a cheap Audio Technica lav mic that is wired to see if I can use that for reference audio. The AF100 has a built in mic so I never had to do that.
 
Got rid of the friction, tried the 15" pole and really felt the additional weight on my spine. But It's looking a whole lot better!! I think I have to practice a lot to get my starts and stops smoother. For my own projects, I'm quite happy with how the shots look. For hired gigs? - possibly, possibly. Thanks for nothing, Rick, you were no help at all! LOL!
Muchas Gracias!
 
Why did the 15" pole add weight? The pole itself weighs nothing and the further it pushes the weights from the center of gravity, the less weight you need. If anything, it should have gotten lighter.
 
I dunno, maybe it's mental, but with the additional 4" it felt slightly heavier, but maybe that was just arm fatigue. My drop time went from 2.3 to 1.75, but overall I think it feels steadier, improved equilibrium.
 
Haha :) Probably arm fatigue. Try it with the hand grip and handle off, at least see if you like that bit of weight less. It's amazing what a difference a pound can make since it makes you add weight on the other side to account for it.
 
+1 on the Blackbird. I also find using the docking bracket makes it easier to balance. Regarding audio, I always run the audio into the camera, on sticks and dolly except when using the Blackbird. Then I come out of the mixer into an outboard recorder. I have a Tascam that takes balanced line inputs. I got it for this purpose. It's not bad. I just have to sync sound in post.
 
I have tried the Blackbird but couldn't get it to balance. Merlin doesn't have the best documents.. but I was able to balance HV30 and T3i. I noticed, the more weight I added to the camera, the better the result I have. So now T3i with battery grip, I got more stable shots. One thing I like about merlin is it's portability. I goes inside the bag I already have. No need to carry an additional bag.
 
The problem I had with the Merlin was dynamic balance, and it is really due to design. On the Blackbird, I don't have to do anything to set dynamic balance, which is what I love about it. You can set the dynamic balance on the Merlin, it's just a bit complicated to me. I think there is a spreadsheet running around for helping to set it.

I really don't understand why people have a hard time balancing the Blackbird, I had this discussion with CMR and I think it comes down to the friction setting and the drop time. If the friction on the handle is too high, then you think you are balanced when you aren't. Back it off to balance it, then dial it in if you like it afterwards if you want it.

About the size of the Blackbird, I talked with CMR about this as well. I don't use the case that came with it. I loosen the weights, rotate them 90 degrees and line up the weight bar with the bottom of the handle and lock it in. Lays flat in any of my other cases and is not hard to bring around with me. Definitely not as small as the Merlin folds up, but for me, I was happier with the performance of the Blackbird when using it.
 
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