A match made in heaven. 5DMK2+Blackbird Stabilizer. Easy set up, about 30 minutes, done. An included second, camera quick release plate allows rapid change from stabilizer to tripod.

Like any other professional level stabilizer, practice makes for a better result.

Gadgets for 5D Mark2 on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/channels/gadgets5d2#5370205)

Thanks for posting this. I never heard of the Blackbird stabilizer before. The footage appeared rather wobbly. While this may not be the best example footage for this device- I still feel the Glidecam 4000/4000HD is the best bang for the buck.

Thanks for posting this. I never heard of the Blackbird stabilizer before. The footage appeared rather wobbly. While this may not be the best example footage for this device- I still feel the Glidecam 4000/4000HD is the best bang for the buck.

At $650 less $50 discount to most, I know where to shop.

Included link, a music vid is more convincing than my first time out offering. Enjoy

HF S10 Behind the scenes on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/3746866)

Yeah- that looked great. Practice makes perfect. I presume all handheld stabilizers carry a hefty learning curve.

They do indeed. The Blackbird does have a feature that may "soften" the curve for some, essentially a friction control that makes the system a bit less touchy.

I'll reserve judgement on whether it beats out the Merlin, but I would say that I prefer the Blackbird to the Glidecams. Certainly it is MUCH easier to make fine adjustments in balance than those units.

Im new to the technology but I have found balancing my Canon 5D on my Glidecam 2000HD
(X-10 setup) quite controlled and exacting.

They do indeed. The Blackbird does have a feature that may "soften" the curve for some, essentially a friction control that makes the system a bit less touchy.

I'll reserve judgement on whether it beats out the Merlin, but I would say that I prefer the Blackbird to the Glidecams. Certainly it is MUCH easier to make fine adjustments in balance than those units.

Charles have you flown one of the newer Glidecam "HD" rigs. They made some improvements for the minor changes. They have two long threaded screws through the top plate you can turn in either direction to make subtle adjustments to the lateral balance.

I have indeed tried them; see my article here at DVinfo.net (http://www.dvinfo.net/article/production/camsupport/nab2009-stabilizer-wrap-up.html).

The threaded screw helps considerably over the previous generation, but you have to loosen and tighten a series of screws before you can make the adjustment. All four is probably overkill, most can do it with one on each side, but that's still 8 knobs to wrangle if you want to adjust fore-aft and side-side (four to loosen, four to tighten). Certainly if this is one's first stabilizer this isn't perhaps that big a deal as you have nothing to compare this to, but both the Merlin and Blackbird have smooth vernier adjustments that do not require ANY tiedowns. A few quick twiddles and you are ready to go.

Who's flying the blackbird? Is the LCD always visible? Thanks for the review, Charles.

Like the Merlin and the GC handheld series, there's no built-in LCD on the rig so you are only able to view the LCD on the camera when you are oriented relatively square to it. There is a slight advantage with the 5D in that it is at the rear rather than one side of the body (unlike most swing-out LCD's on camcorders), so panning the camera to the right does not automatically block the viewfinder. However the 5D has a rather small screen making critical viewing difficult at oblique angles and typical operating distance.

Not impossible--just not optimal.

Anyone tried a monitor with the 5DMII and Blackbird?