Wilfred:

It's a very clever setup actually. For 30 years the Steadicam systems have involved a plate that screws into the bottom of the camera, which is then mounted onto the stabilizer via a clamp on the top of the rig. With the Merlin, the plate that mounts onto the rig contains the clamping mechanism, so that a simple block is mounted onto the tripod and the camera is then dropped onto the block and locked down via a lever on the plate. The block has a 1/4"-20 thread just like the base of the camera, so you simply screw it to your head's quick release plate or the head itself just like you are mounting a camera. It's very easy and quick to work with.

The Merlin is not designed to work upside down, but in normal mode you can achieve shots of less than a foot off the ground assuming you can actually find a way to operate that low.

I got my Merlin yesterday. Fantastic instruction DVD.

Probably a dumb question - but am I right in thinking the stage won't turn if I rotate the grip - I have to use the guide to do this?

Also - although I think I've got my Z1 pretty much in balance, when I pick the rig up it initally pans slightly to the left - doesn't tilt - spirit level remains central. Is this normal-ish?

I found the online spreadhseet much more accurate than the cookbook settings for the Z1. I can actually use one weight less using that calculation.

Great product.

Ian

Yup, that's the idea! The camera's angular roatation is isolated from the grip by the gimble.


There are many little "quirks" to Steadicam, what you describe is probably not a problem.

- Mikko

Hmmm...so far my Merlin footage is OK under certain conditions. For example, if I am doing a very short movement, with objects passing by the foreground, the footage is good. But when I actually walk with my merlin, and there are no objects moving past the foreground, there is a subtle bounciness to the footage. The drop time on my camera is fine, but I still can't master long smooth moving shots with it. Does this mean that I am not walking right with it? Am I not holding the gimbal properly? Thanks.

Walk as if your balancing books on your head.....

The rain in spain stays on the plane... da plane, da plane...

also like wlaking with a martini in your hand.

I digress..... must walk level and slowly or a least keep the cam at one constant height from the ground.

Is there such a thing as "too slow of a drop time?" Or is the slowest drop time always the best drop time? Thanks.

The best drop time depends on the needs of the shot.

Slower drop time simply means that the rig gives you less "feedback" as it tries to hang level less.

A faster droptime that makes the rig hang level harder is good for slower more delicate moves.
A slower droptime is better for shots with lots of acceleration (including deceleration and turning), so fast changes in speed, hard starts or stops, and vehical shots (where you can be accelerating for many tens of secconds).

Other that that, it's simply preferance.

- Mikko

Hello,

Had my first run with the Merlin/Z1 today and I'm really excited, seeing alot of potential. Felt pretty good about my operating results, too: running, stairclimbing, walking up ot a window on the third floor, sticking my camera out and panning, tilting!
But... especially when walking/running I'm seeing some artifacts that remind me of the HDV problems people talked about when the Z1 came out (long GOP-compression problems, never noticed it. Uptill now?). The movement is smooth but the playback is awkward, slightly jittery. Could this be due to bad balancing on the Merlin? The camera, stripped except for the NP970, balances very well on the Merlin. Maybe the Gesornenplatz-issue as was discussed here? I just tightened it a little more against the camera and will test tomorrow.

Love to shoot with this beauty, if only watch my camera 'fly' so gracefully!

thanks,

Wolf

Update: woke up this morning, set my Z1 on the Merlin and it was totally offbalance??!! Hangs forward. Which leads to my next question: according to the Cookbook, I have to set the Dovetail on the stage at position '5'. There is no 5 on the Stage but I assume I should fit the Dovetail as much forward on the Stage as possible.
To get my Z1 balanced, I tried trimming forward and backward as much as possible, but the camera kept hanging forward whatever I tried. (Trimming forward was better than trimming backward, which I didn't expect...)Then I adjusted the lower spar, making the Arc size smaller and that helped. I was able to get the camera level. Don't understand because I read that for the Z1 the Arc has to be as wide as possible for it to work...
I also noticed that the camera has become more wobbly sideways than yesterday, most likely because it's now less bottomheavy, is this right? On the plus side: the Gesornenplatz seems to have taken care of 'jitters' when moving.

Wolf,
Gald to hear you are enjoying your Merlin.

As to the change in balance; it sounds like something on the camera has changed. Perhaps you took a tape out, or used a lighter battery this morning.
It's amazing how precise the Merlin is.

Though this experimenting with settings and learning to balance is agood thing. It's an important skill to understand how to balance it - not just to know how to balance it.

Keep experimenting, and have fun flying!

- Mikko

Thanks for your response, Mikko. As far as the balancing problem was concerned: no changes to the camera whatsoever. I must have attached the dovetail differently to the stage, but I couldn't figure out what I did...
Finally I attached the plate all the way to the front of the stage, even a little over the edge, which didn't seem right, but it worked, even though I had to tighten the arc to make it work...
Really curious to hear (see?!) how other Z1 owners manage. Therefore the question about the stagenumber (5). Can someone who is very satisfied about the balance of his Merlin/Z1 provide some CU pics of the Dovetail/Stage connection? Would be greatly appreciated!

Took him out for a spin yesterday again but didn't count on the wind, which was quite strong. No way to keep that thing steady when the wind blows- I was back in within 10 minutes...

The Gesornenplatz definitely works like a charm!

Yeah, wind is the #1 enemy of all Steadicam - even the big $60,000 rigs have problems with it.


You shouldn't need to move the dovetail plate off the stage. Using the stage mark in the cookbook should work for you, unless you have some strange accessories on the camera.
If you run out of slide room on the stage (go past mark 5), unscrew the dovetail plate from the camera and re-mount it using a different hole (so essentially "slide" the camera on the dovetail plate!)

When positioning the Z1 on the stage, it helps to observe how the G-platz lines up. Position the camera so that the G-platz screw presses on the little flat area under the lens, then use the fore-aft trim roller to get you balanced as it won't actually move the camera to the stage but rather just moves the gimble to the center of gravity.

Unfortunaly I don't have a Z1 available to check the settings on my Merlin, but the ones listed in the cookbook should work - I helped write them.


- Mikko

Hi Mikko,

I have no idea what's going on: I changed nothing on the camera- it's just the Z1 with a tape in it and the same large battery I used the first time, when I was succesfull...

I'll start from scratch again. I feel like a real fool because it must be something simple, arghhh!!

Wish another Z1/Merlin user could send me some pictures...

Will report back. Thanks,

Wolf

Back again. I don't know why it took me so long to realize it was the arc size that made the difference. Well, actually I do know: because the arc size was fine the first time I used the Merlin. And I also remember opening up the arc as wide as possible for the Z1, so there was not much room to play with.
Changing the arc size was the last thing I tried after setting up from scratch, and it turned out there was more arc than I expected.

Now I can go back to practicing to become a steadicam operator again, a much more enjoyable experience than balancing the Merlin...

One more question, Mikko, and a rather silly one. I received a large black steadicam bag in addition to the neat small one. I guess it's for the (folded) Merlin with the camera attached to it. But the foam cutout shape does not fit the shape of the folded Merlin very well. Is that your (or anyone elses) experience as well?

BTW, is there any place I can see some of the stuff you shot with the Merlin, I'm curious.

happy shooting,

Wolf

I think that large bag was the one supplied with the JR, so the cutout was for that particular piece of gear. Tiffen needs to make one specifically for the Merlin, true enough. Once you have it built there's really no reason to have to break it back down to fit the original case.

They gave me a bag that belongs to another model??!! That is really cheap!

There is also a larger bag for the Merlin.

It's designed to hold the Merlin folder underneath the camera. - So you would need to lay maerlin flat [stage up] (instead of on it's side) in the cutout in the bottom of the bag.

- Mikko

Mikko, that is exactly the bag I'm referring to. It was shipped with the Merlin -in addition to the small bag- so I assumed it was built for the Merlin.(now why would I assume such a thing...) As it turns out, Tiffen apparently had a bunch of bags leftover from the JR and distributed them as Merlin bags... That would have worked, if they had taken the effort to change the interior foam cutout.

Wolf

Hey,

I'm very close to finally buying the Merlin, but have some questions:

Why is the price on the Tiffen site 850$ and on the other sites 800$ ?
Is the Merlin Arm&Vest option ready and shipping?

Traditionally manufacturers post list prices and dealers post their own price, which is their cost plus markup. Manufacturers don't want to be in competition with their dealers so they usually don't show any discounts.

The arm and vest are scheduled to ship in August.

Merlin with wireless accessory plate
 

I am flying a DVC 80 on my Merlin. I am wondering if anyone has used the accessory plate that attaches to the bottom of the arm? One thing I sorely miss is my Sony UWP wireless receiver when shooting with the Merlin. I know that a plate is available but has anyone used it? Does it work?

I have the accessory plate, and it works very well. Perfect for stuff like wireless mic receivers that can't go on the camera.

- Mikko

Thought I'd share some experiences with the Merlin/Z1 combination...

Having previously used a PD150/steadicam JR, I can confirm that operating is similar although the merlin immediately feels more precise and controlable. I always felt the JR was going to fall apart (although it never did!).

I used the merlin on a couple of live music gigs, getting general footage for a 3 day trade show at which bands were playing in the evening... One evening I was using it for 2.5 hours, although had to take regular breaks by jamming the lower spar into my belt and staying still to rest my arm. I'm going to see if I can try out the vest/arm when generally available in the UK, although am a little apprehensive as when I tried a full size rig with a DSR-450 I could move!! (Respect to all of you that do that for a living - you earn every penny!!)

When I upgraded, I was a little concerned that the Z1 monitor wouldn't be in the right position as I was used to the JR monitor, but if anything the larger, 16:9 Z1 monitor was better - although it throws the balance way out if you forget to flip it out!!

The footage was much better than I was expecting and despite leaping around following a Freddie Mercury lookalike in a Queen tribute band, is quite watchable unedited! I'll try to digitise a bit and upload it... It also cuts together better with my DSR-450.

Regarding cases, I got a pelicase for the Z1 and a customer foam cutout from my camera supplier. A bit of work with the stanley knife adjusted a cutout for a rain cover to fit the Merlin so the whole lot fits really neatly and safely.

So in summary, a worthwhile upgrade (the Z1 is much better for me than the PD150) and the Merlin is much better than the JR.

Just my thoughts...

Well, I'm happy to say I got my Merlin working and balanced today! The thing flows like a dream now, and all I have left to do is practice till my arm falls off, or the arm/vest ships, whichever comes first! (Honestly not sure at this point)

Finally, my Merlin arrived today! Went thru the DVD and manual step by step. The thing is tricky to balance, but got it quite good.
My first shots are even better than I expected. I'll try to post some samples when I get time.

I have one problem. When I try to fold it, the lower arc hits into the locking lever. I should be able to fold it using some force, but is that the way it's suppose to be?

Do you mean that the lower spar hit's the lever on the side of the stage? And then doesn't fit under the stage?

- Mikko

Yes, it hits the lever and when I open the lever, then it hits the side of the stage.
Here are the pics:

Pictures! Cool!


Loosen the locking knobs on the spar (by the Arc-adjustment knob), then you should be able to move the lower spar down a little to give it clearance to fold under the stage.

- Mikko

When I loosen them I still need to use the same amount (not talking about finger pressing) force to put it in. Is that the way it's suppose to be?

There should be a *little* bit of force needed to "click" the spar into place under the stage (you can see the indentation where it's supposed to lock into). But you shouldn't have to force it.

There is a bit of play in the system, especially when those knobs are open, to allow you to lock it into place.

- Mikko

Well with knobs taken off, here is how much it's off.

wow. Yeah, it appears that there's something wrong there.

Start by putting the nobs back on so you don't loose them ;)

Did you buy the unit locally?

- Mikko

Oooh no, now comes the bad part...
Bought it from BH on the 9th of August, shipped to my relative in LA and he brought it today to Croatia (Europe).

hmm..

Give Tiffen a call directly (http://www.steadicam.com/steadiCusService.html) and they will either be able to find a fix for you over the phone, or will most likly ship you out a replacement unit quickly (they are normally very fast!).

- Mikko

There is NOTHING WRONG with your Steadicam...
 

There is NOTHING WRONG with your Steadicam. I have two and they do the same thing. You simply need to push the lower spar below the stage-plate and it will detent in any of the 3 small recessed cut-out sections in the plastic underneath.

Trust me, I toured the factory, I seen enough of them and they all work the same way, just like the one you have. Hope this helps so you can now spend time practicing flying the cam! lol

PS: Just got my Tiffen arm/vest last week and OMG! What an amazing and well designed system! Worth every penny I spent. I'm taking their 2-Day Training class possibly this weekend.

Well, looks like it's not supposed to be that way.
I emailed the Tiffen support (phone is too expensive from Croatia) with the pictures and they told me to send the unit back.
The problem is that I need the unit from the 15th for weddings that I already said the Merlin will be at, and sending the unit back to US for repairs is going to be too long.

The unit like this is constantly in need for re-trimming if I push it enough to fold. That's really bad for weddings.

I'll see if they can offer me any alternative.

Can you wait 10 days and then send it right after your shoot?

- Mikko

I need it every 7 days till December. But from the 15th I specificly told the Steadicam would be on their wedding. :( (thought a month of training would be enough- I was supposed to get it 14.08.)

Perhaps Tiffen could send you a replacement unit first and then you send yours back? Maybe using a credit card as a security desposit during the exchange?

- Mikko

You mean it's supposed to click into place and stay there by itself?

Not on my unit! The arm just flops down so I've been using a piece of velcro tape to hold it in the folded position.

Now that I look carefully at the bottom of the stage I can see that the tool that was supposed to cut the latching indentation apparentlly made 3 passes and that whole area is chewed up so there is no longer a detent!

Glad I read this - I'll call Tiffen Friday (Client meetings all day tomorrow!)

And all this time I've been muttering to myself about why there wasn't some kind of detent to hold the arm in the folded position!

Marko -

Don't bother trying to get it "fixed" - mine is like that too. I have the recent SE model, serial # 100601xx, and I suspect there have been changes since it first came out. The manual states the the arc size varies from a max of almost 13" to a min of 7", but mine is 13 3/4" to 8 1/16". I don't use the latch when folded because it puts way too much stress on the hinge.