Yes I agree that this is an issue.
Thankfully all tirpod have either a removable or retractable locating pin. But yes I agree that here should be a 2nd hole there.


I'm not exactly sure what you mean here. Why do you need to roll the camera to one side? Is your camera's base not flat and level?

- Mikko

Exactly, the base is not flat neither level. Around the thread and the locating pin hole there is approx. 1 mm supporting area and beyond the surface is 0,5 mm lower. See attachment.

The Merlin manual is mentioning this - more or less- in Chapter 5 "Installing the Dovetail Plate, Prepare your camera": it is recommended to put some thick Gaffer's Tape running fore and aft (but I did'nt have it when I first set it up, maybe I should follow up the advice now..). With professional camera's this probably is not an issue.

Pieter

Ew yeah, that's not good.

Yeah, tape or a peice of thick cardboard under there woudl definatly be a good idea.

Ugh, why do camera makes release shotty things like this?


- Mikko

I had the same experience. I called my dealer - who knew nothing about it - and then sent an email to Tiffen who told me next day to send me a new gimbal (which they did immediately). The new gimbal 'felt' better but still does not feel perfect (you feel still some play). I guess this is just within the manufacturing limits. I would NOT recommend to grease it, this could spoil the gimbal, and I doubt if it would help.

Also the locating pin can be gone in a split second. I lost mine during holiday, fortunately I found it back in my rucksack.

Looks smooth and well balanced (vertical is vertical). Your Merlin seems to function very well. I am curious to see some of your real life footage.

Merlin Vest
 

When is the vest for the Merlin coming out?

It is in development, I don't know when it will be ready though.

- Mikko

merlin help
 

Hi.

I am still having Merlin problems and could do with some help.

I have both a z1 and an a1 and am getting the same problems with both.

Mainly it concerns walking/ every footstep there is a slight judder. The Merlin seems very tight, all the screws are tight. I am not even touching the gimbal, and when i do it is very light. What am i doing wrong? tried to walk more lightly, this helps slightly but not enough.

Also top/bottom heavy and the z axis. Can someone give me an idiots guide as to what situations top/bottom heavy can be advantageous in and how the z axis relates to changing the top/bottom heaviness (e.g. if it is bottom heavy does turning the z axis towards the bottom make it less so?) I change lenses and all sorts on my a1 constantly so need to understand how the balancing works so i can do this more easily. If the drop time is less than a second does it mean it is bottom heavy?

When the camera sways left and right whilst walking is the camera bottom or top heavy? sorry for all the dumb questions!

thanks very much

Does your G-platz screw have a firm connection with the camera? I find that if it doesn't, vibration is evident in the picture. Turning the ring clockwise will make the rig more bottom heavy. Turning it counter clockwise will make it less bottom heavy. The quicker the drop time means it is more bottom heavy. Less than 1 sec is too quick. The recommended drop time is 1 second. If the camera sways left and right whilst walking you are probably too bottom heavy, but you will always get some sway, especially with a change of speed/direction. That is the nature of Steadicam. You can learn to control the swaying by applying light pressure to the gimbal at the right time. This takes many hours of practice to get perfect.

thanks Nick

appreciate the help.

i havent been able to get the g platz to touch the camera. neither my a1 or z1 are anywhere near it. i have followed the cookook settings fo both. is there anyway to get it to connect?

phil

I'll expand a little on Nick's answers.

The G-platz is in deed needed to slightly tension the camera on the stage as most cameras don't have super ridged mounting structures.

Where on (or off) the camera does the G-platz hit on your cameras? The first thing to try is to try the G-platz screw in both holes.
The next solution is to slide the camera (by sliding the dovetail plate) so that the screw can press on the camera. On the A1 the back of lens hood is a good spot to press on lightly, on the Z1, anywhere on the lens barrel that isn't a zoom or focus ring. You will then need to use the trim roller to correct fore-aft balance.

Another thing to check for to prevent vibration is to make sure that the dovetail plate is ridged. Current Merlins come with the 2 halves of the dovetail plate riveted together at the back, older Merlins (including mine) however, don't.
The solution is to carefully undo the screw in the dovetail locking clamp to seperate the black and blue plates. Then a small peice of double sided tape is placed between the plates at the back (stick to the blue side first, it has larger holes so you can align te tape around them). Then press the plates together and then put the clamp back. The result is a stronger more ridged plate which will furthur reduce vibration.

As to balancing...

The Z axis moves the gimble up and down, in relation to the center of gravity of the system. The furthur up (closer to the stage) the gimble is, the lower the center of gravity and more more "bottom heavy" the rig is. This means that the bottom of the rig will pull down harder like a pendulum.

A rig has 3 states:
Bottom heavy - it hangs bottom down.
Neutral - it hangs at whatever angle you leave it at and does not return to vertical.
Top heavy - the camera is heavier than the counterweights and the rig wants to topple and hang upside down.

A shorter drop time means that the bottom of the rig falls faster and is more bottom heavy. This will also cause the rig to act more like a pendulum and "lean" when you corner or accellerate.


- Mikko

thanks mikko.

i managed for the first time in a month to get vibration free walking shots. very exciting!

That's great news Phil! :)

- Mikko

is the drifting up and down as i walk straight a balancing or operating issue?

After using the merlin with the a1 for the past few days, putting the z1 back on is a bit of shock. That's one heavy camera. i bought the accessory plate for it so I can use a radio mic with the camera. Nice idea that plate.

I have spent 12 years as a cameraman, doing news and docos, although i have directed steadicam operators have never done it myself. It's always been handheld and tripods so this is all new to me. I have realised as much use as the cookbook and instructions are, you have to understand how the balancing effects the movement and why. Until you understand the "why" you are just guessing if you make any changes to the camera, wide angles, filters, different batteries, and especially the accessory bracket with the z1. I find myself thinking back to my school Physics class! Makes my head hurt!

Can you explain what you mean in more detail? Is the camera tilting or the whole sled bobbing up and down? Does it show in the shot or is it something the camera is just dooing?


I agree that it is very important to understand all the adjustments of the Merlin. I don't use the cookbook anymore and I can balance a camera from scratch in about 3 minutes. The cookbook is a great place to start and get you going, but after that it's important to experiment to discover how each adjustment affects the system. The wost thing that can come from experimenting is an out of balance camera, so definatly worth a go!

- Mikko

When walking the whole camera looks like it is on a boat at sea. The camera tilit drifts up and down. It very much shows in the shot. Like i am tilting it up and down

Try trimming your Z to give a slower drop time, try almost 2 seconds.
- Mikko

will try! thanks. you are up up very late or you are in Finland!

the a1 is working beautifully, still not worked out how to go from walking up/down stairs to carrying on straight. I trim to make it point in the right direction but then of course when i reach a flat surface it still points that way.

now the z1. it STILL VIBRATES when moving! the g-platz is there and solidly touching the lens barrel, everything should work but it still vibrates. it looks like it is solid. i just don't get it!

Sorry I cant help you phil, i am trying to get to grips with the merlin too with a sony pd 170 on top. I have a few clips put together and would like the experts to tell me where i am going wrong and where am i going right.

This is the link and it is 29 mb in size. http://www.v-i-cstudio.com/Show.html

The rest of the site is still work in progress. Still a lot to learn about the camera and the web.

ps dont worry about the picture it was from other footage of a parade that i shoot also with the merlin. Again, windy lots of people about "not easy" If you want I can put this clip up as well. Looking forward to your comments and be honest as this is how i like to learn.

Hi Robert

I watched your clips, you are certainly getting there! It really takes so much practice, in a month I have improved so much, I even have managed to shoot some stuff which is going out on Sky this week...

It is so hard in the wind isn't it. Is your spirit level dead on, it does seem to have a tendancy to lop to one side. I found that you really need the spirit level to be absolutely dead on.

With regards to vibration on the z1...cured it. I stripped the camera down by taking the lens hood off (although i did put a red eye wide angle adaptor on which weighs just a little more than a standard 72mm filter) and put a small battery on. Put some more gaffer tape on the camera before putting the dovetail plate on the balanced the camera. Dovetail was at the cookbook setting place but I balanced at 0 with some trimming so I could get the gplatz to hit the lens barrel for that extra stability. It seemed to work.

It is such a shame that I can't use my fish eye or a proper wide angle adaptor with the z1 because of the weight issue. I wonder as the gimble is removable and replacable Tiffen might bring out a new one that can take an extra pound or two!!! In the meantime for anything fancy, like the century .3x fish eye, and for a lot less grief...and pain, I will mostly be using my a1e. The picture quality is so close to the z1's with good light that once graded you won't know any different. It is astonishing that such a tiny camera can create such lovely pictures, even in DVCAM mode. It's a shame that inside the cmos chip struggles.

Phil,
Sometimes the best way to find a vibration is to indeed strip down a camera and rebuild. All opeartors face that sometimes at all levels of Steadicam. Good to hear you got the problem solved.


Robert,
You show notable improvement even over the duration of your clip. Maybe the party went late and 'fun' enoguh to help you steady the shot!

Actually, my main advice would be for you to try and lighten up your gimble, controlling (aiming) hand some more. You only really need to actually touch/press on the gimble when you need to make a steering correction like a pan or a tilt. Once you are just moving without needing to change the angle of the camera, you should almost let go, just resting your fingertips lightly on the guide ring so that you can feel any stray movements before they happen.

And the other piece of advice I have is to relax as much as possible when shooting. It's hard to concentrate and relax at the same time, but at the end of the clip, (seriously) as teh evening went on, I could tell you where more relaxed and that showed in your shots.

- Mikko

Phil, you have found the most practical solution - fly with the lighter cam and leave the heavier one for the tripod.

Thanks phil for your comments and yes it was hard to get the spirit level just right. My biggest problem is having to correct it every time you rest it in between shots, what a pain.

Thanks mikko that is great advice. I thought i held the gimble to hard an as for stray movements, that advice I will work on and of course relax. Didn't finish till twelve. Thats not to bad, but late for a camera man.

Hi

i need help!

the screw/clamp on the dovetail plate that you use to take the camera on and off the steadicam has come loose and come off. No matter what I do i cant get it back on. Could anyone help me please? If need be how could i get a new screw/clamp? i would rather not of course!!

thanks

Phil,
The dovetail clamp has prety short threads due to the thickness of the dovetail itself.
There should be a small nut embeded in the dovetail for the bolt to mate with.
Align all the parts of the clamp so that the flat side points inwards so that it will clamp onto the stage. Then carefully align the screw and give it another try. it Shoudl go in prety simply.

I don't have my Merlin on hand, but I will check when I get home tonight.
For now, here's a couple of pictures to show alignment...


- Mikko

thanks mikko.

i think somehow the thread on the screw itself has gone, that's why it isn't gripping

Phil,
You'd probabaly best contact Steadicam customer support (www.steadicam.com). It could be a waranty issue.

- Mikko

Is it too risky to use 5.5 to 6 pounds on a Merlin?

I am very close to buying a Merlin and I am trying to plan ahead with my setup for next year's weddings.

Does anyone use this much weight without worry?

Yeah, unfortuanly once you go over the limit, you go over the limit.

What camera are you planning on using, and with what accessories?

- Mikko

I am using the PD170 with a wireless mic, and a shotgun mic, with NP F970 battery. I have a lot of options but haven't figured anything out.

I use a heavy mic clamp so I can rotate the shotgun mic. I could change this. I never use the viewfinder, so this can be removed.

I also use a vx2100 as a balcony cam. The pd170 could become the balcony cam if necessary and the 2100 could go on the Merlin.

That may be an easy solution.

Is there a certain weight to aim for besides the lowest?

I am impressed with the Merlin.

Hi Richard,

I use a Merlin with a VX2100. The two work excellently together, but the VX has to be stripped down to the bare camera and a small battery. (You could never continuously hold on to both for 7 or 8 hours, so no sense carrying the extra weight of a 970 battery. Every ounce counts.)

Altho they say the Merlin is about the weight of a soda can, there's not much emphasis on the fact a lot more weight has to be added to the Merlin to get it to balance properly, about 1.5 lbs for the VX, I think it is.

Get a 5-lb bag of sugar (which is at least a pound less than a VX2100 riding on a Merlin properly balanced), and walk around holding it in your hand for 10 minutes. No cheating – just one hand, not both, or switching hands (altho it is possible to switch and/or do 2 hands between scenes, but you don't want to do that when doing a take.) Anyway, that'll give you an idea of what you have to look forward to w/a Merlin & heavy camera.

Practicing for at least a half-hour every day builds muscle & skill – a lot of both is needed to be proficient.

Anyway, the device is really neat, works perfectly within the advertised limits, and I'm glad I got it. Of course, my right arm now look's like Popeye's, but that's another story. ;)

I've been practicing with two 3lbs weights in one hand and weighing my 170 with different accessories.

I feel comfortable with the weight.

My best idea is to have a balcony cam, a tripod cam in the front, and a merlin cam. I don't know if I can pull this off with just two cams and the accessories.

Is there any chance that a Merlin 2 will come out that supports 6 lbs?

Both the VX2100 and the PD170 will fly just great on the Merlin.
Do you need a shogun on the camera? With so many cameras, it might make sense to have your shotgun on a fixed, not moving, camera.

You can use your Radio Mic receiver as useful counterweight (and cut-down on counter-weight needed) by using the Merlin Accessory Plate (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=445745&is=REG)

Note that practicing with weights, though helpful for building arm strength, isn't an accurate representation of how it feels to hold a stabilizer.


Switching between Merlin & tripod is very fast thanks to the built in quick-release plate. (Though you taking accessories off the accessory plate might slow things down by a bit [not much] depending on how it's all attached.)


I haven't heard anything of a Merlin 2, and really, you don't want to be carrying more than 5.5lb cameras anyway, it starts to get too heavy.

- Mikko

Thank you everybody. You all are great help. Mikko thank you very much for taking the time and helping.

I am buying at the end of this week, so I can have practice for the next wedding season.

Is the accessory plate something really worth buying? It looks like something a monkey could build - or is it a little more sophisticated?

It's probably easier/cheaper to buy because you'd have to find a tap with the right threads.

I know it took Jim (the developer) quite some time to find a material both light and strong enough that would also grip the threads so as not to spin around when loaded. A too heavy plate would begin to reduce from the usable payload - the production plate weighs exactly the same as 1 regular Merlin weight.

- Mikko

Lots of good info here.

When I had finally gotten comfortable with the idea of essentially paying $800 for a stick (!) I found out it costs 50% more in Europe. Argh!

My plan is to use the Merlin with an XH-A1 and I am really psyched about learning this craft.

Anyone know a US dealer willing to ship it with "Value: $95" on the customs declaration? >_<

Edit: The only dealer in Denmark actually charged $1590 for a Merlin. These people have no shame. I could fly to New York and pick one up at B&H and it would still be cheaper.

Manfrotto 055DB/128RC and the Merlin
 

I was wondering how you switch between tripod and Merlin. I'm planning on buying the Manfrotto 055DB with the 128RC videohead. If I plan to buy the Merlin (later this year perhaps), will I be able to (quickly) switch between the to (without screwing / unscrewing)?

It has a quick release plate for the tripod.

This is a image of the head I'm getting: http://www.manfrotto.com/webdav/site...zoom/128RC.jpg. So the (supplied) quick release plate of the Merlin will fit onto this head? Does anyone have a picture of how the process works (I'm trying to visualize it).

Another question: can you film upside down (for low-to-the-ground shots), like the Glidecam 2000. I think it should be no problem, just asking.