I need a budget steadicam for 5D. I have narrowed it down to: CMR Blackbird ($485) and Sturdycam ($220). Blackbird is well reviewed, and Sturdycam seems to be an unknown from Europe, can't find any reviews or comparisons. But the demos he has are _very_ impressive (steady shot while jumping on a trampoline!!) doesn't hurt that Sturdycam is 1/2 the price than Blackbird... :)

Some samples I saw of Sturdycam:
Bumpy Road: YouTube - The SturdyCam - Bump Test (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeUXHU1_5-8#t=0m15s)
Running: YouTube - The SturdyCam - Running Test (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4swn9HofjQ#t=0m29s)
More Videos: Sturdy Shots: Videos (http://www.sturdyshots.com/?page_id=16)

anyone used it? Merlin is elegant, but out of my price range....

I'm a Blackbird user, I'm very happy with my result, it's a great product, you won't go wrong with it.
However, if you are only mounting on 5D on the steadicam, I probably would go for Sturdycam, the footage on the webstie do look impressive.
But if you consider having a light or monitor or even a wireless FF system on it later, go for BB.