Andy:

The old saying "you have to learn how to walk before you can run" is never more appropriate than with Steadicam.

While it's undoubtedly fun to run down the street chasing someone with a stabilizer, the basics of control are best learned with more methodical practice without a subject. The "line dance", where you run a length of tape or chalk along the ground and walk towards/away from an x at a slow and controlled speed, will allow you to develop the basics of control as you have much more opportunity to focus on the nuances. Yes, it's boring and repetitive, but it's critical for the beginning of your journey.

If you can master the slow and steady walk, you will find the other stuff will fall into place.

Thanks Charles for the excellent advice.

Be careful! Playing golf is supposed to be addictive because every so often even the biggest duffer is able to hit a brilliant shot by accident. So ever afterwards he thinks "If I could only get a bit more consistency & hit the ball like that every time then I could soon be giving Tiger Woods a run for his money" Likewise with the Steadicam because every so often when you manage to get it balanced just right & there is no wind & you are travelling in the direction that the Steadicam wants to point then you think "If I could only get a bit more consistency & fly the Steadicam like that every time then I could soon be giving Charles Papert a run for his money"

I actually got my Merlin out the other day & was surprised at how easy it was to balance & fly with my Canon 5DII & 24mm F1.4L lens. It was much easier than with my Canon XH-A1 & not only because it is lighter & easier on the arm & back but because the camera is more compact & the weight more evenly distributed so the rig balances much easier. Now if I could only get a bit more consistency...:-)

Well, at the point at which you do achieve consistency and produce great results every time, you have indeed arrived! (and thank you Nigel for comparing me to Tiger Woods, but in comparison I've still got plenty of duffer in me...plus I don't have quite as many stripper mistresses).

The Merlin is in some ways the hardest Steadicam to master--such a light touch is required. Those of us who are used to much heavier (=inert) rigs tend to have a hard time mentally dialing down to the featherlight control needed with that setup.

Just wanted to chime in regarding the 7D and Steadicam Merlin. I own both, and have been able to balance it fairly well! Flying it is another story but...

anyway, I use the 7D with a Canon 17-55mm. I noticed that it was easier for me to balance this lens, which is considerably heavy and long, rather than my 50mm 1.4. I dont know why, but the extra weight seems to keep me much more balanced.

Here's the requisite Steadicam Merlin test with the setup listed above... just remember, I never said I was any good!


Nik

PS - Help, I'm new to embedding. Not sure why the video isn't appearing!

7D + 17-55IS + Merlin
 

I have a nice balance going with the Merlin, 7D, 17-55IS, and the Canon lens hood. Parameters set for 17mm:

Spar opened to one line shy of max opening
(1) mid + 1 finish on the front
(1) start + (2) mid + 1 (finish) on the bottom
Camera mounted in Hole "M" on mounting plate
mounting plate registering at "-0.75" mark

The L-R adjuster is almost totally to the Right
The F-R adjuster is about 3/4 forward

Obviously the fine adjusters take some tweaking, but both have play and work well.

I tried 3 Mid weights on the bottom, but it was too bottom heavy and had a pendulum effect. Going back to 2 mid weights gave me the 1 sec drop and very smooth action.

Hopefully this can help anyone get in the ballpark with this combo.

Canon 7D and Canon 17-55mm IS plus Merlin Steadicam
 

Hi Nathanael,

You're right! Curiosity got the better of me so I just tried your setup with my 7D and Canon 17-55mm IS set at 17mm, focussed at about 1.5m (but in my case with a cheap Marumi 83-J hood on plus a filter on the front of the lens). Got the Merlin Steadicam balanced in a just a few seconds with no problems at all.

I will say it seems much, much heaver than flying with the Canon 10-22mm on (so I'll probably stick with that for my main flying stuff as it covers the same focal range). However, I imagine it might be less susceptible to light breezes when outside.

Seems an excellent start point (really stable!) so thanks for posting!

Andy,

Glad it worked for you - these things really ought to be fairly repeatable! Your reply did make me realize that I also have a UV filter on the front and I forgot to list that. The camera, lens and lens hood are around 3.5lbs. I don't have the 10-22, to compare weight, but it isn't for indefinite use for sure... That's why they make the vests, I'm sure.

Thanks
 

Was considering Merlin to replace my glidecam 2000 pro. Still undecided but lots of great material here.

Hi Patrick,

Yep, DVinfo is the place to look for anything Video related for sure!

The Merlin gets better and better with lots of practice (doesn't everything!). There are a few shots using the Merlin/Canon 7D in my new showreel (it's on my website if your interested) which shows I'm getting better at it - I hope! Many talk of the Blackbird being an easier stabiliser to master than the Merlin but I'm very happy I went with the Merlin - albeit it still frustrates me at times - less and less now. Which stabiliser is one of those really difficult choices that many seem to agonise over - good luck in choosing what's right for you but be aware it's very susceptible to breezes as mentioned a bit earlier.

But since you already have it, what is not working for you with the Glidecam 2000 Pro that you think a Merlin might fix?

On a side note, I spent many happy years doing a different kind of flying - into STL on business from the UK every few weeks. Used to hang out a lot in Riddles Penultimate and a few other bars and restaurants on "The Loop" in University City. Hope they are still as good/still going strong!