Got my Steadicam Merlin! at DVinfo.net

Armin DeFiesta · June 5th, 2006, 07:02 PM

Got my Merlin today, set it up, and balanced it. I'm flying a Sony TRV-900 with WA lens.

First impressions - simply a work of art! Came with a nice DVD tutorial and a very nice foam case. The Steadicam Merlin is lightweight, compact (the foldable feature is awesome), well built, unobtrusive, and simple to use. On the flipside, it takes patience to set up, and trimming is a constant necessity. You so much as breath on it, and the settings need to be trimmed... okay not literally, but you get the idea. Another nice thing is that I don't experience the fatigue I do with my Glidecam 2000. I think both units are great performers and comes down to preference. For me, the Merlin is a Formula 1 race car requiring deliberate movements, precise measurements, and situational awareness. For me, the G2K is like a high-performance muscle car, like a "heavier" Dodge SRT-8 - you simply get in and drive, but hold on when you push it, and you better know "how" to drive :).

For the minimal practice I had today, I put together a quick video. The footage of my son driving his Jeep is all Glidecam 2000. Footage of him on foot is all Steadicam Merlin. No doubt I need more practice, can't wait to get more seat time behind the Merlin!

http://rapidshare.de/files/22318040/...ractice_27.mov

June 5th, 2006, 07:02 PM	#1
Armin DeFiesta Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bowie, MD Posts: 74	Got my Steadicam Merlin! Got my Merlin today, set it up, and balanced it. I'm flying a Sony TRV-900 with WA lens. First impressions - simply a work of art! Came with a nice DVD tutorial and a very nice foam case. The Steadicam Merlin is lightweight, compact (the foldable feature is awesome), well built, unobtrusive, and simple to use. On the flipside, it takes patience to set up, and trimming is a constant necessity. You so much as breath on it, and the settings need to be trimmed... okay not literally, but you get the idea. Another nice thing is that I don't experience the fatigue I do with my Glidecam 2000. I think both units are great performers and comes down to preference. For me, the Merlin is a Formula 1 race car requiring deliberate movements, precise measurements, and situational awareness. For me, the G2K is like a high-performance muscle car, like a "heavier" Dodge SRT-8 - you simply get in and drive, but hold on when you push it, and you better know "how" to drive :). For the minimal practice I had today, I put together a quick video. The footage of my son driving his Jeep is all Glidecam 2000. Footage of him on foot is all Steadicam Merlin. No doubt I need more practice, can't wait to get more seat time behind the Merlin! http://rapidshare.de/files/22318040/...ractice_27.mov