That's very true, although the lower spar does provide a practical limit on how low you can go. The real issue is probably the speed at which I can duck walk. Sounds like I just need more practice :-)

Merlin for a Day
 

I was the proud owner of a Merlin—for a day! I was making adjustments to the device to fly a (very old) Sony PCR-DC100. I was adjusting the lower spar height, when the caliper adjusting knob came off in my hand! I noticed there was a lot of stiffness while turning the knob, but not much movement in the spar. Then, pop! The knob was free-spinning and no longer attached to the Merlin.

I sent the unit back to Tiffen (on their dime, happily) and hopefully they'll turn it around in a week or so. I fond this forum because of the trouble I'm having with the Merlin, but now am thrilled to have found an online community that could further my DV skills!

I'll report back how my repair from Tiffen goes and if I can make good use of what seems to be an awesome tool. Nice footage, Armin!

Thanks Arthur. Good luck with your Merlin, I think you'll enjoy it!

Woot! New owner here!
 

Yes, yes I am. I love it and I suck at it so I can't wait to get better. You can see my first flight right here.

Yep, it takes some patience. I'm still practicing and trying to get better myself, but the rewards are great! Good luck with yours!

Armin, im glad you posted as i have a little swing to flying the merlin also. I just started about a week about practiceing about 30 mins per day.

Still looks great though compared to what a hand held could do

i went back to my merlin and i cant set it up again, lol... dvx, 9hr batter, .6 wide angle lens, tape inside, lcd open
got 1 mid, 1 finish on top
4mids, 1 finish on bottom

lol?

What is the rig doing Saturnin? How is it out of balance?


- Mikko

hahah i'm going to throw it out the window soon..i dont know what it does ..lol..everything..HAHAH Mikko come to my rescue...
its bottom heavy, its top heavy, it sways to the left and right...the works
i follwed the cookbook..that didnt help, i stripped the camera and left it like the cookbook says still being lame...

You're going to need to cool down your posts a little so I can make sence of them. (Me beeing a foreigner and all..)

If you just hold the rig in place by the handle, what happens?

- Mikko

lol, your english is fine!!!

ok if i hold the merlin wihout the camera it tilts down
merlin with camera tilts down


btw, i'm not sure if you use msn but i added you :p

Some Merlin footage
 

Finally I succeeded to put some QuickTime-movies on my "website".

It are some shots I took during a family holiday in France, using the Merlin. It are extracts from an iMovie, so sometimes the added music just starts somewhere in the middle ..

As others keep saying, you do need to practice a lot with the Merlin:
- how to mount your camera to the mounting plate (so that the horizon of your lcd screen is horizontal if the airbubble on the mounting plate is in the middle). Here I added two 1 eurocent coins on one side, not beautiful, but effective (this is important if you switch to a tripod)
- how to quickly balance ( if you want to change tilt for different shots), also during shooting. this also includes switching between a tripod and the Merlin (the tripod plate works fine, although I can't understand why there is no hole for the fixing pin of the tripod in the tripod plate)
- how to keep fast moving objects (in particularly children) within the viewfinder (I can't remember the word for this)
- how to plan your shots (in particular if you want to edit, you may want a still start and a still ending of the shot).

What I like about the footage, is that it adds a 3D-effect as near objects move faster that remote objects. It is much more dynamic than footage taken with a tripod. What I also like, is booming. With a handheld camera you actually can't do this (or is very hard), and with a tripod you always get the tilt. I have added one clip on my website (merlinboom).

On the website below, I have put some simple clips taken with the Merlin. the clip TwoHalfMinutes is an extract of the complete holiday movie (1 second per clip, each clip is or Merlin or tripod, no handfilming):

www.xs4all.nl/~mali99

You will need Quicktime to watch them.

Hope you can enjoy.


Pieter

ok i think i have it set again... although it takes a little longer than a second to comback to level....hmmm

Ok, sounds like you aren't quite bottom heavy enough.
Turn the "Z" adjustment (the guide ring aroudn the gimble) clockwise (up) to move the gimble up a little. This should make the drop time a little faster.

Then use teh blue trim rollers to correct for tilt.

- Mikko

the z has been adjusted to the very top no slack...

...just out of curiosity, thre is no way to avoid rocking left-right with quick whip pan/dolly movments, is there? I have to hold with two hands, one on gimbal one on the grip, ya?

thanks

Correct.

When ever you move quickly, it will want to wobble *just a little* like a pendulum, and that's one thing you learn to compensate for with time.

And yes, using 2 hands to hold and control the Merlin is recomended.

- Mikko

wicked deal, now i have to keep this paper wif the info safe so i dont loos eit agian, lol...

don't "Merlin" things with bad back...
 

Bought a Merlin a month ago. Discovered as soon as I began to train with it, that bad backs and Merlin's don't mix! Oh, the pain of it all...

Will soon be training a younger, stronger body to carry it. I think it really does work, but the learning curve seems pretty steep to me. If they can get it right, it looks like a serious tool for serious film makers, but definitely not for wedding-type or casual videographers. Too little cost-benefit unless you're seeking to impress someone.

Maybe I'll have more to say after I teach someone to use it...

Stephen Armour - Brazil

Stephen,
Unless you have serious back troubles, operating the Merlin should not hurt your back. You might want to check yoru posture when operating.
For example you should be walking normally with the rig, not with your legs or back bent. (There is a common misconception that a Steadicam operator has to "glide" with their body for the system to work. This it not true, the system is there to take out the bumps so you don't have to.)
Now there are some manuvers that you can do with a Merlin, such as a really low shot, that may be limeted by back pain.

Try using the rig again, but walk the way you normally do, so that it (hopefully!) doesn't hurt. Of course if it does hurt, then stop. But I'm of the oppinion that practically anyone can operate a Merlin basically, even if they arn't flexible enough to get absoloutly everything out of the rig.

- Mikko

I would say that with heavier cams like my fx1, any back problems could be exacerbated if you try to fly for too long as a beginner, because as the arm fatigues the back arches and the neck and shoulder tenses, trying to compensate for an arm that isnt up to it.....not exactly Merlins fault.

I got a merlin 1 week ago , partially thanks to Mikko's advice (by the way Mikko, my shoot was postponed so thankfully i have more than my anticipated week to perfect it!!). I had it set up and balanced quite well inside an hour and went out to play.

Within a very short time my forearm was feeling fatigued.. I didnt give up soon enough though because some time later strain in my arm and wrist became apparent and i had to take the next day off from the Merlin!

I notice subsequently that I have to be quite aware of not tilting and flexing at the wrist, i think maybe subconciously trying to steer it as i move around.

I am finding it easier than expected to use in every way except for how limited a time i can practice in one go due to fatigue.

I have been frustrated at not being able to improve on my initial trimming in order to eradicate very slight pendulum effect when moving side-to-side or front-to-back but reading Mikko's earlier post maybe that will always be present when operator movement is anything other than slow. I figure i must be bottom heavy, my drop is only barely a second, but i notice if i move sideways the penduluming starts by the cam lagging slightly behind the weights...maybe thats aerodynamics (!!) but my logic would expect the opposite?

Overall though i'm very impressed with the 'steadying' effect the merlin has...makes a joke of my home made steady devices and im glad i spent the money rather than going for a fig-rig.

Canon XH A1
 

I've had my Merlin for a couple of months, but haven't used it much with my older Sony cam - I've put my name on the list for the new Canon XH A1. Any thoughts or input about how this might fly with the weight, etc? Should I consider a larger rig?

Another question considering the previous post - is there a system with an arm and a vest that will connect with the Merlin? I read that there was one in the works...

I will also work on getting together some footage and learning how to post it to the site...

Don

Based on the weight and shape of the camera, I'm confident that the Canon A1 and G1 will fly perfectly on the Merlin. I think they will handle similarly to the FX1.

I understand that there is a lightweight vest & arm in the works for the Merlin. But I don't know any more than that.

- Mikko

i dont know anything about this vest except what i noticed here

http://www.varizoom.com/products/sta...vzdvsport.html

While not listing the Merlin, it may be worth asking them !

Given most of these systems seem to support the stabiliser by a 'pole' up the handle, i'm interested to know if the Merlin handle is up to the job anyway...

i've been tempted to rig a lighting stand with a manfrotto arm so i could rest the fx1 on merlin onto it via a pole into the tube that runs up the handle.....the shop where i got the merlin said i could do this, but i've been nervous of the strength of construction on the merlin handle.

Does anyone know if this is safe with an fx1?

The Merlin should be fully exchangebale with the JR on 3rd party support systems.

The hole in the handle is in deed created for docking. There is a docking bracket available from Tiffen. You can also dock the Merlin on a Flyer or Archer (as I do with mine) balancing stand.

You can actually fly the Merlin on a Flyer arm!

- Mikko

Merlin on a Flyer... hmm
 

That's exciting - & gets the old mind a'workin.
The Steadicam site shows the vest priced separately, but not the arm... can you get it without the sled too?

Also, since I'm a big guy with a long torso - are there big differences in how the vests fit as far as the adjustments & comfort? I'm wanting to take the next step with a stabilizer system & therefore looking at all options - the only system I've seen locally is the Navigator.

Thanks,
Don

Nope, Unluckily the Flyer arm can't be sold without the sled and vest. Trust me, I've tried.

well shucks! I thought I could get my foot in the door by purchasing a piece at a time...

thanks.

You sure can do that, but you just won't get yourself a Flyer. It's real easy to find some old sled parts, arm parts, and vest parts, and begin putting together a rig for yourself. Heck, it only took me 2 days to source a topstage and a dovetail plate for my rig when mine stopped working.

I have been flying a Sony HDR-HC1 on the Merlin. Of course, I did some rough shots around the house to get the feel and setup of Merlin. My first real practice run was, literally, running around chasing my friend's dogs. It's one thing to follow people; you kinda know what they are going to do. Following dogs is a whole different experience.

You can check out one of my chase shots here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...82911777&hl=en

The shot starts out by walking behind or next to the dog. He tries to lose me by walking faster, then by running, but I'm able to keep up with him and (more or less) keep him in frame.

I'm going to upload some more Merlin videos soon.

That's some nice footage. I'd be very concerned that the dog would stop suddenly and run at me. Bad things happen when the dog does that if you're not ready. :) Good stuff.

Cheers!

nice dogs...nice flying :)

Good looking footage there David.
Still some tameing to do on the operating. Though the faster shots looked good. - Faster is easier than slow, though.

Just be carefull when running around like that, you mind is busy shooting and you can easily trip and fall.

It's always a good idea to scout out and rehearse running shots if possible - or at least know the area. Can't rehearse with dogs, but it's your own back yard which you know well I presume. :)


Thanks for the footage and keep on shooting!

- Mikko

Great flying David! I'm loving my Merlin. I recently filmed a wedding with it and got all kinds of curious looks. Even the photographer was simply amazed (he also does videography) and is thinking of getting one too after seeing me fly mine the event. Post up some more footage David!

I signed up for DVChallenge #5 for the express purpose of practicing with my Merlin before I needed to do anything real for work.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...&q=heron+media

I was happy enough with it for my first effort that I pulled it out for a real work project later. It just got posted to be the first episode of a podcast, so to be honest I'm not sure if the direct link will work, but here it is. The merlin work comes near the end. I shot with it more than ended up getting used. But the one follow shot we did use I liked.
http://podcast.rbn.com/kennedy/artse..._hall_tour.m4v

Hi Kris,

Nice video of the Kennedy Center! What cameras do you use? Lighting is very good!

Thanks to everyone for their feedback! Yes, I still need some practice controlling the movement and framing. And I know what you mean about scouting the location. Fortunately, like you said, Mikko, I do know this yard and the way these dogs run. I was not too worried about the dog stopping and turning on me. In the video when he did stop and turn, I was far enough behind him to control my moves and not run over him. (Kinda hard keeping up with a husky, even without a camera!)

I will definitely share some more videos. I just need to put some footage together.

Kris: That was a fun video! And it's true: we do pamper our dogs more than ourselves! ;-)

Hey Paul, glad you liked it. We used 2 Panosonic DVX100a cameras and mostly available light. I made one of the guys cart around a Rifa softbox, but only ended up using it in the Hall of Nations, sitting in the audience seats in the concert hall, and when he's on the phone with his boss. I'm surprised I got away with that, but I'm glad I could because it kept things moving. Apart from bringing in a real sound guy, my crew were all people from the web team.

Smile,
Kris

Some Merlin footage
 

On my website, I have put a 2.45 min QuickTime movie with a compilation of Merlin shots. they were taken during holiday, mainly of my kids walking & running around.

I own the Merlin since two months, I practiced mainly during the two weeks holiday. The lens was not very clean, I found out (too late).

Enjoy: http://www.xs4all.nl/~mali99/Merlin%...erlinMovie.mov

Pieter

i tried running with the merline a day ago...what an nightmare....it was all over the place. Lol... slowly loosing interest......... :(

Merlin footage
 

Some Merlin footage (already posted, but in the wrong place, I am afraid, as there were no reactions):

http://www.xs4all.nl/~mali99/Merlin%...erlinMovie.mov