So I am thinking of a steadicam, so far I have added a few things to my FX1, which is a beachtek DXA-4, changed the battery to a NP-F970, added a shotgun mic, and have the optional sony NPF-570 light, my question is, with all these weight on my FX1, which exceeded the limit of steadicam merlin's weight, will steadicam merlin still work for the FX1? I see lots of people using it, so just wondering if I should drop the big bucks to those things until I confirm that it will work....

thanks in advance :)

The Merlin is rated for 5lbs out of the box, however with the new metal gimbal and added weight kit it can support up to 7 lbs. This would be an unpleasant handful however, so you will be much better off working with the Merlin vest and arm (which thoughtfully include said metal gimbal and added weights--these items will be sold a la carte also but are not yet available as such).

The Merlin is rated for 5lbs out of the box, however with the new metal gimbal and added weight kit it can support up to 7 lbs. This would be an unpleasant handful however, so you will be much better off working with the Merlin vest and arm (which thoughtfully include said metal gimbal and added weights--these items will be sold a la carte also but are not yet available as such).

well, I was looking for the cheapest way to get a steadicam and merlin seems to fit in fine.... probably can't afford the vest... but thanks for the info and suggestion :)

No problem. Just bear in mind that the Merlin is the lightest of all commercially available handheld stabilizers which means that your overall payload is going to be the least possible; even still, a payload over 5 lbs is really uncomfortable to operate for any extended length of time for most people.