Stabilizer Recommendation

C

Credinus

New member
Hey all, been a reader on these forums for about a month now, but this is my first time posting here. I'd like to get some insight regarding a choice of stabilizer. I've read through quite a few threads on here regarding pros and cons between the Fig Rig, the Merlin, the Pilot, and the Glidecam 4000. The pilot is out of my price range at this point in time (down the road, it's definitely looking like a good choice though), and I'm skeptical about the Fig Rig's quality for my specific needs. So I've pretty much narrowed the choices down to the Merlin and the Glidecam 4K. Before I go in further, I'll go into more specifics for my situation:

The primary usage is going to be for a few indie films. There will be a lot of moving shots, so minimal up-and-down movement is a must and endurance is also a must. I plan to buy a vest and arm setup for whichever stabilizer I go with, so the actual stabilizer fatigue issue won't be as severe.

I plan on using external mics, so there will be some wires involved. I also plan on using a 35mm adapter, which I am leaning towards the Letus Extreme right now. If I don't go with the Letus, it'll be the Red Rock, but it's most likely going to be the Letus in the end.

From what I've read, the HMC150 with minimal attachments is cutting close to the effective weight limit on the Merlin, which is really my biggest concern with it since I plan on having the 35mm adapater rig in place. I know that the Glidecam is more time-consuming to change in and out of, but as long as I can unattach/re-attach in less than 15 minutes, that's fine.

So, with the fact that I will be doing fairly long shooting times combined with the extra weight of the 35mm adapter and external mic wires, should I go for Merlin or the Glidecam?

Thanks in advance for any tips on this.
 
I have both a vest/arm/sled and a figrig type stabilizer.... I must say the halo rig gets a lot more use than my flycam system. Its compact and lightweight and a good match for what I shoot (shorts, live events/music, corporate). When I do need long tracking/walking shots the flycam system is of course the way to go, but a lot more $$.

I wouldn't recommend the sleds without a vest/arm if you are planning on shooting for more than 2 minutes a time.
 
I agree. I first bought the sled without the vest and arm and it was very tough to use after about 2 minutes.

But now with the vest and arm, it is awesome!

I love it!

Simon
 
I went with the Glidecam X-10....it was the right choice for me. You will need a strong arm and back if you go with any handheld unit by the time you add the weight needed to make smooth shots.
 
Thanks for the tips. The X-10 is still a bit out of the price range I'm going for; I was planning to go with the smooth shooter system if I decided to go with the Glidecam 4000.

I hadn't heard of the Indicam before. I'm going to do some more research on it, it's starting to look like a very viable option. I'm worrying more and more that the Merlin just isn't going to handle long moving shots with all the extra weight on the camera, so it's more or less between Glidecam and possibly the Indicam at this point.

Does anyone have any example footage uploaded somewhere with the HMC150 on an Indicam rig by chance?
 
Credinus said:
I know that the Glidecam is more time-consuming to change in and out of, but as long as I can unattach/re-attach in less than 15 minutes, that's fine.
Click to expand...

I have only used the Glidecam, but I can recommend it. Takes some practice to get good results, but I imagine it's the same with any stabilizer. I bought a quick release plate for my Glidecam which makes it really simple to change from fly mode to a tripod or other stabilizer in 30 secs or less.
 
Credinus said:
I know that the Glidecam is more time-consuming to change in and out of, but as long as I can unattach/re-attach in less than 15 minutes, that's fine.
Click to expand...

I have the Glidecam 2000. Nice little stabilizer, but a killer for the arms when trying to do longer shoots. Especially since the center of gravity is in front of your hand, not above it like in the Merlin. I am seriously thinking of getting an arm for it. That Indicam looks pretty sweet for the price.

Attaching and unattaching is a pain as well, as it needs to be rebalanced every time. I am planning to attach a dedicated quick-release base to the Glidecam plate for fast and easy switching in the future. I think that should solve the problem of attaching and balancing time.
 
Galleddrim said:
I have the Glidecam 2000. Nice little stabilizer, but a killer for the arms when trying to do longer shoots. Especially since the center of gravity is in front of your hand, not above it like in the Merlin.
Attaching and unattaching is a pain as well, as it needs to be rebalanced every time.
Click to expand...

This is why when you use 2 arms with a fig-rig type stabilizer you can shoot a lot longer... No heavy equipment no big investment either.

I shot over an hour a few times all ready. Its even hard to do that in the vest with the flycam straight through. But a LCD on the sled is a big bonus.... Dont know if I can carry around this much weight for very long on the halo rig... I just got the 7" and haven't used it yet...

halorighdtripodmount-7lcd2.jpg
 
How did you mount it to the tripod? Thanks!

MadHMC150 said:
This is why when you use 2 arms with a fig-rig type stabilizer you can shoot a lot longer... No heavy equipment no big investment either.

I shot over an hour a few times all ready. Its even hard to do that in the vest with the flycam straight through. But a LCD on the sled is a big bonus.... Dont know if I can carry around this much weight for very long on the halo rig... I just got the 7" and haven't used it yet...

halorighdtripodmount-7lcd2.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Neither of the stabilizers you specified will be a great option if you're using a 35mm adapter as you stated. Remember -- you're talking about the weight of the camera, the rails, the adapter, the lens, and anything else you add (mic, follow focus, bigger battery?).

My HMC with Letus, rails, and lens comes in near ten pounds -- the limit for the Glidecam 4000.

Even if you got it to work -- next is the focus issue -- meaning you're going to have a hell of a time trying to focus your lens while trying to operate a camera on a stabilizer.

Merlin is more convenient than the Glidecam -- but it has issues. Even slightly off balance creates a horizontal sway thing. And, when you do get it right, you can't aim up or down with the Merlin -- forward is it.

The Glidecams work well -- but the learning curve is significant. Weeks, months. There are reasons why there are training programs and guys who make their livings operating these things. When some character on this forum tells you "I learned it in a few days" -- go look at his videos.

The difference between the Smooth Shooter and X-10 is more significant than I've seen discussed -- particularly in terms of isolating your walking movements -- the most important thing. The X-10 really can compete with Steadicams -- the Smooth Shooter really can't.

If you must have movement with an adapter -- there's a circus out there awaiting you in the track and dolly arena. After months and thousands of dollars I can tell you -- avoid "CineCity" -- build your own (pain) -- or spend the money (3k) on the MicroDolly. Dolly and tracks are easier to learn -- but they also require learning and practice.
 
I have a dvtech multirig, http://www.dvtec.tv/index.html , it was inexpensive, comparatively speaking, but works just great for what I needed. But I would agree, it's not a replacement for a steadicam and I assume the fig rig and some of the other multirig lookalikes are going to not steady a great deal when walking. I still have to watch myself and make sure I slide and not stride, if you know what I mean. My goal was to have a shoulder mount capability without the weight. I added a varizoom for being able to zoom and start stop. I don't like all the other fussing around when I'm trying to get a shot. I like the notion of the halo rig, which allows you to mount all sorts of stuff on the ring. But the multirig folds up into my camera case (!). I can literally backpack with it, and then pull it out when needed. Really cool if you fly on assignment.

If you want to watch the first time I tried it out, here's the short video of friends playing in a cafe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P6i9P9gk4M
You'll notice that my opening shot of walking in the door is a bit up and down. I wasn't being paid for this little labor of love so it was an experiment. The whole little video is shot using the multirig. But I didn't use the belt adjuster mechanism, which supposedly helps level this kind of up and down movement out.

The second one, where I spent a great deal of time actually 'getting it right' is this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7cJZyw3cfM
This one is entirely shot with the multirig and HMC150 over an entire day 8:30 to 5:00 pm. I was tired! But it seems much more 'steady'.

Hope this helps not break your bank, or makes you decide to save up for a 'real' steadicam like device. I can't afford one of those and the DVTech multirig suits me fine.
 
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