Well here's a short demo of the EX3 on a CMR Blackbird. Personally, I don't think I'd want to risk my relatively heavy EX3 on a Blackbird (but what do I know). Watch the video and make your own mind up.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/stabiliz...ab-2010-a.html

I recently decided I'd rather fly a much lighter camera with a compact stabiliser to allow maximum flexibility so got a Steadicam Merlin for my 7D. It's early days but I'm absolutely delighted I went the route I did. Seeing this video convinced me I'd made the right choice (for my needs).

Merlin eats blackbird
 

The merlin is a fast little falcon. The blackbird will sometimes get away and be safe in a bush or a tree - but the blackbird never eats a merlin.

Just playing with trademarks-words ... :-)

Box of surprises just hit my door!
 

Well, how's this for customer service: I just unpacked an unexpected surprise from Blackbird. It is a complete upgrade kit, with the new resting stand, universal tripod/tabletop mounting bracket, tabletop clamp, a new platform and a bag of mysterious parts that I haven't quite figured out yet.

(Thanks Rich!)

I think that is exceptional customer service and it makes me glad that I traded in my old Steadicam JR for the Blackbird.

Rich told me the mysterious upgrade parts would be ready before the instructions to use them were, and he promised to get them out right away, even if I didn't know yet how to use them. (The instructions for the new resting stand and tabletop/tripod bracket are in the latest manual on the Blackbird website.)

I don't know if I should just wait for the instructions to be posted or if I should just play around with the parts until I figure out what they do!



Just kidding Rich ... I will wait until the instructions are ready!

Thanks again.

Hi Dave, I have the new kit as well. The resting stand, clamp, and bracket seem pretty intuitive to me (and I'm a complete beginner, see my thread post here someplace).

Some tips:
1) The rubber on the resting stand appears to move, not sure if it affects balance.
2) When you deploy the resting stand, make sure the weights are secured tightly, one side of mine came loose when I didn't notice. I was scratching my head for 1 minute trying to figure out why it lost balance again.
3) The table top clamp I've been using with the hole that was marked C-stand in the new manual. Seems to work either way to me.

Good luck. Please pass along any discoveries you find.

I am not the swiftest guy in the world. I was flying my Sony A1U on my Blackbird today to check how much the stand affected the balance. (Answer: not much, by the way.)

As always, the Sony has a lot of weight on the nose and on the right side so I use the left hole in the mounting plate, and as always, when the mounting plate is on the Blackbird properly, it tends to overlap the rear front/rear adjuster knob.

No big deal; I am used to it.


Hey ... wait a minute! Didn't that NEW mounting plate seem to have more holes in it?


YES! I can now mount the camera farther to the rear on the plate and the adjuster knob is no longer blocked by the plate protruding out the back! Woohoo!

So now I know what the new mounting plate is for. It may not be necessary for a lot of folks but it sure was a nice upgrade for my camera.

I can't wait to try to figure out what the rest of the gadgets are for!

Anyone else got their early Christmas present from CMR?

Re: Merlin vs Blackbird, who wins?
 

Mr. Greb,
Would this set up work for a Sony AX2000 camera?

Re: Merlin vs Blackbird, who wins?
 

Johnnie, yes you can balance the AX2000 on a Blackbird with or without using a Merlin arm/vest if that is what you are asking.

You might want to have a look at the video on our home page Handheld Camera Stabilizer - Blackbird, GS2 - Camera Motion Research that shows some examples of cameras balanced on the Blackbird.

Please note that the thread you have repeated is quite dated, and prices have changed.

Rich Greb

Re: Merlin vs Blackbird, who wins?
 

Thanks.
I'm going to check out your site now.

Never used a stabilizer so this would be my very first purchase.

Re: Merlin vs Blackbird, who wins?
 

Johnny, if you are interested you can send me a PM and I can give you a link of some blackbird footage I shot this year, I don't have the blackbird that long but if you see what results you can achieve in a short practicing time you"ll be surprised. I did use a light dslr to shoot but my experience is that a heavier camera is even easier to operate on a blackbird.