The PRO arm is not technically iso-elastic, but it acts similarly to one in that it is, as you say, not particularly "bouncy". In other words, it's like an isoelastic arm that is tuned down a bit to give it a bit of feedback, the way most people like it. It requires little force to hold up or push down, especially when compared to any other non-isoelastic arm.

Hey guys here is a trailer that almost all of the footage I shot with was used while doning the new vest and arm that I field tested for Steadicam 2 weeks ago. Note that this trailer is part of my product which is a quick hit for my customers and is not designed to feature the much longer shots that show the incredibly smooth sustained shots. I also had no test time with the rig I got it in and brought it directly to a 13 hour shoot. Since it is a prototype there were no instructions prepared. I am also self taught and have never taken any steadicam classes nor any normal camera operation classes for that matter.

http://www.firstsightpictures.com/de...hptrailer.html

I am also relatively new only shooting around 60 weddings in the past 2 years, but I am a tool freak and have a ton of camera accessories. Currently my tool of choice is a Glidecam smooth shooter with a custom mount for the Steadicam Merlin. I also have the Glidecam 4000, which is used with the smooth shooter before the Merlin was released but I rarely took it out on wedding shoots because if I did I would have to make two gear runs to get my cameras and the rig.

When I got the Merlin I was blown away by the ease of use compared to the 4000 sled. You can make trim adjustments lighting fast and it is easy to switch to different shooting modes. When I got my 4000 I recall complaining to the awesome Dave Williams that when the camera went off the front axis that I balanced it the camera would start spinning on it's own. He informed me that this was a challenge with dynamic balance that took steadicam many years to master and is only handled well with very expensive rigs.

So when I got the Merlin the most impressive feature to me was the way it handled the dynamic balance problem. Besides the poor trimming system of thumbscrews and crappy industrial washers to counterweight that the 4000 sled has it was also too frustrating to achieve and keep dynamic balance. Moving off axis you have to assert too much control pressure to keep the camera trim. With the Merlin I could trim in an instant assert no control pressure while walking around it 360degrees and it would maintain perfect dynamic balance.

So the with the incredible dynamic balance, trimming and other features coupled with the extreme portability of the Merlin gave me the idea to get an attachment designed so I could mount it to the Smooth shooter and run the Merlin for a full shooting day.

So now with my rig I could also carry all my gear in 1 trip. I could put on the vest with a camera bag in 1 hand, tripod bag in the other and a small camera backpack on each shoulder for a 3 camera shoot. The spring arm and Merlin would collapse and stow in the back of just one of the backpacks. When I'm transporting gear I definitely look like SWAT, but it is the lightest fastest transport, setup and breakdown for run and gun style shoots where you need tools that help you attempt to make a run and gun look like a cinematic style production.

So to make a longer story short…. I got the opportunity to test this prototype and compare it to my current rig and needless to say I was blown away. I really love the smooth shooter but hate the 4K sled, but compared to the new arm the Smooth shooter now feels like it now belongs in the garage with the sled.

I used to think the smooth shooter was effortless to move through the boom range which is from the waist to the upper chest, but the new arm is truly effortless, actually incredible.... I could move the camera from my knees to just above eye level with truly no effort it was actually a bit freaky feeling. Almost like I was guiding the camera with my mind.....

To adjust the spring arms on the smooth shooter you have to have an allen wrench to adjust the springs. With this new arm in less than 1 minute with the rig flying I could switch out a WA on the camera trim it and then very easily adjust the arm with very simple turning of a thumbwheel located on the top of each arm.

The only thing I did not know is there are also fore and aft adjustments at the arm mounting point to further tweak the balance, but it didn't really matter because with the adjustments I was able to figure out and make I was pissing myself with how good it was compared to my current rig.

The vest is also much less bulky making it lighter, less noticeable and it was much easier to travel with. I can see putting this in my baggage taking up only a little more than half the space of my current vest.

So I was able to run the rig for almost the entire shoot. I did not use it for prep, but started at preceremony and wore it through the entire ceremony and post ceremony which was Catholic and the total time running the camera without dismounting was over 2 hours. Much of the ceremony I would also operate at full zoom and still have tripod like shots. Then I traveled to the reception site and did 1 hour of cocktail and photo session and then ran it for majority of the reception through all of the main dances and very long toasts. So I shot about 4 hours of footage on the rig.

Sadly since going full time my only physical activity is on the weekends that I shoot otherwise I sit and edit all week, so in the last 2 years I have gotten very out of shape and have gained over 20 lbs, but at the end of the night I had only a minor fatigue. With my normal rig I would get a very harsh burn in my lower back.

So with the portability, ability to fly and then immediately dismount lock the arm to my chest and shoot handheld style makes this my dream production rig that I would take to every shoot. Needless to say I was seriously considering not sending the rig back Monday morning and telling Steadicam they would have to come take it from my cold dead hands....

Bruce:

What you are describing as dynamic balance is actually a non-linear gimbal, i.e. the center of rotation of the gimbal does not line up with the center of the rig, which causes it to fall in one direction or another when clocked. Dynamic balance has to do with the distribution of masses at the top and bottom of the sled. A rig that is out of dynamic balance can be statically balanced (no matter where in the pan rotation you place it, it will stay level, unlike the situation you describe) but if you were to spin it continuously, you would see it predictably and repeatedly lose level on each rotation.

It's complicated stuff. Fortunately you don't have to worry about that with the Merlin. With a Glidecam, assuming that the gimbal was linear (which apparently yours wasn't), the dynamic balance could be tweaked by shifting washers at the bottom, either along the slots or by actually redistributing how many are front and back, and then sliding the camera fore and aft to compensate.

Great review Bruce!

Your footage looks really good. I can see that the Merlin Arm will be huge for wedding & event videography.

- Mikko

Cool thanks for that explanation! I come from an electrical engineering background, so i don't necessarily understand the physics and terminology, but when I am balancing the rigs I seem to be able to get them tweaked pretty fast and good. I do know I can tweak the 4K sled until my thumbs are raw and never really get a balance to where I can remove my control hand and walk around the sled without it losing balance. Whereas with the merlin it takes two slight and easy adjustments and in seconds I can walk around the camera with one arm and the camera doesn't even move at all.

Bruce!

So that's what the 'o' stands for ;)

Regarding Charles' comment about the non-linear gimbal, this issue with the Glidecam can be fixed. Pingpongcams addresses this issue: http://www.pingpongcams.com/glidecam...bal/index.html

Thanks for the in-depth review!
Peter

yeah, me neither, but I fake it pretty well, huh!

Doesn't take much to go raw from twiddling those thumbscrews on the GC, does it? I wouldn't want to say for sure, but it does sound like the gimbal on your GC is not linear.

Very interesting; thanks. What I understand from this procedure is that the yoke around the gimbal bearing may not be centered in the side-to-side direction. Since there is no fine adjustment (e.g. thumbscrew), the yoke bearing has to be shimmed by trial and error.

Yep, My last name.

Thanks for the link! I will try correcting it for use on my 2nd crew, but it seems like a pita to have to do that.

I was thinking that was a colorful expression, then I realized you probably meant to write "pity". Ahhh! I "falafel" having to point that out, but...

anyway, the reality is--you get what you pay for, of course. The Glidecams are much cheaper than the Merlin, but one has to expect that things like tolerances and design are going to suffer as well.

If it makes you feel any better--I just bought a new gimbal for my big rig this week, for a bit over $5000...!

I'm debating getting a Merlin myself, and this vest certainly seems like a great way to get a budget steadicam system for myself without having to sell my car! What I'm wondering is if I should invest in a Merlin soon (can't really drop $800 at the moment on one) or wait till the vest/arm comes out.

Is there a possibility there will be a bundle for it, at perhaps a reduced price? I don't have a real need for the Merlin yet, so if there's a realistic chance it may drop in price or come cheaper bundled it'd be worth the wait. Any thoughts on that?

Well then, this is the perfect time to buy a Merlin. Buying one when you need it is too late. There's a bit of a learning curve to get proficient to a professional level -- weeks or even months -- so buying a Merlin just before the event is not a good plan.

A price drop is always possible, but so is a price increase. Bundled deal? Who knows. I'd like to think current registered Merlin owners would get a discount on the vest & arm as a reward for being loyal customers and walking advertisements.

Look at it this way: Just plucking numbers from the sky, would it be easier to spend $1,300 a year from now, or, $800 now and be able to use the Merlin for 12 months, and $500* next year for a vest & arm? (*Just a WAG).

just guessing
 

Tom,
I know that $1300 price you mentioned was a total guess, but it just seems too low to me.
Surely the arm and vest can't come in for anything under $2000. Possibly $2500 including the Merlin as a bundle? I'm just guessing too though.

More like wishful thinking on my part.

Another question..
 

Yep, another quesiton about the vest/arm combo. From what I have seen and read about the Merlin, it's not designed to support a video monitor (unlike the Steadicam Jr). Now, with my XH-A1 I'm sure I can just use the pop-out viewer, but I'm curious about the vest/arm. I know many lower end steady rigs have the ability to place a monitor on them, allowing the cameraman to focus on this rather than following the camera with his eyes. Is this going to be possible with Merlin's?

This may end up becoming an important factor in whether I invest in one or not, because from what small experience I have had watching people use stabilizers, they rely on those monitors a good deal. I'd prefer the option of a monitor, even if it's a bigger price jump, because as nice as the viewfinder is on the AI, I can't imagine it'd be convenient to use it in combination with the kinds of movements I'd want to use with the Merlin/vest/arm.

Any information on this guys?

I believe it will indeed be possible. I will enquire about this with the appropriate folks.

Thanks very much Charles! Part of the reason I'm leaning towards the Merlin combo is the price (I assume it will be collectively cheaper than the bigger rigs) and the ability to have a hand held stabilizer if the situation calls for that instead of a full rig. If a monitor is included or at least supported, that'd be perfect! Too abd we don't have a price estimate/release date yet ;)

There is a Monitor development for the Merlin.

It will mount in place of the front weight - in a similar place to the JR's monitor.

It will work in both handheld and "arm/vest" mode.


That's about all I know.

- Mikko

It seems like $2500-3500 would be the ideal price range for a Merlin with Vest/Arm. Much more, then I might as well get a Flyer and possibly use it with a future, heavier camera (Red maybe, or XDCAM HD).

I have grown frustrated with my Glidecam V-8. I have a very non-linear gimbal, thanks for the terminology Charles! And desiring something that will set up and tear down quicker, I'm seriously considering the Merlin. Until the arm and vest comes out I might try rig up a way to use my Glidecam arm and vest with the Merlin. Even with the Merlin Arm I'd probably try to use my Glidecam vest, it seems more substantial and has buckles. It would take a trip to the machine shop since the Glidecam mounts on the opposite side the Merlin does.

The Smooth Shooter socket assembly on the vest can be mounted on either the right or the left...not sure if the Merlin will also have this flexibility (think so) but in any event they could likely be interchanged via the mounting points on the center spar of the vest. This would likely require drilling some new holes, so you would be doing so at your own risk!

I thought the Merlin vest was possibly underbuilt in the same way you describe (substance & lack of buckle fasteners) but Garrett assures me that he considers these to be positive attributes, and having spent only a short time in the rig I will take his word on this.

Backtracking a bit...
 

A colleague and I tried the Merlin with an A1 and a Z1. It shone in it's precision alignment tools; we concentrated on the A1 but I wish we'd spent more time getting to know how the Z1 works on the Merlin.

The Merlin's got a max weight - so what can I put on a Z1 before it tops out?

- Polarizer behind the standard Sony lens shade
- NP-970 battery
- Sennheiser G2 reciever on the shoe mount
- As above somewhere else?
- Anyone tried a Century Optics 0.7 adaptor? :)

Yes, I'm pushing it. Ideally, I'd want a rig that will fly a Z1 with Sanken CS-1 with Dead Cat, a Sennheiser G2 reciever on the shoe, a Century Optics 0.7 and of course an NP-970 off the back. Horribly front heavy. But I guess this Flyer territory?

Anyone used a LANC remote zoom on a flown Z1?

Or maybe let's back track it - what's the max Z1 config a Merlin can fly?

The Z1 is getting towards the top of Merlin's weight range.

The battery should work.
The Filter should be fine.
Not sure about both filter and battery together.
The 0.7x WA lens would most likly be too heavy.

The G2 would be too heavy up top, but you could mount it down at the bottom of Merlin in place of some of the counterweights. The best way to do with would be using the Merlin accessory plate. www.jimfarrell.com/merlin
It's available from B&H here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search


- Mikko

Now, that is *great* info - thanks, Mikko. :)

It brings into mind an interview I saw on macvideo.tv with Garret Brown - it concludes that the Meriln is a platform he created to do things he wanted to do with the bigger rigs, but with smaller cameras. There was the implied message that the Merlin platform wasn't finished yet.

Maybe the Merlin/V1 is a match made in heaven, but good to know that a Z1 can still do sound whilst being flown.

Yeah, Garrett is far from done developing the extended Merlin system. The arm and vest annouced in this thread attest to that, and there's more to come I'm sure.

- Mikko

That was a great interview with Mr. Brown! Seeing the master use the Merlin in motion (as well as the old clips of Steadicams) was pretty awe inspiring. It certainly makes me excited to invest in one for me XH-A1. I just hope they don't come out with a Merlin 2 any time soon after that! ;)

Byron:

I've just done some flying with the A1 on an instructional video and can report that it is a lovely combo, although be careful if you intend to load up the camera with accessories (I flew the stock camera by itself).

Great interview indeed. It's been a whopping 22 years for me since I first heard the man speak about Steadicam but it's always worth sitting down and hearing more!

May I ask what interview you are talking about? Is there a link?

Thanks!
Peter

As listed on Matt's post above, it is viewable at macvideo.tv.

Thanks for making it clear to me, Charles ;)

Yes the merlin socket can be left or right. I flipped mine from the left to the right. I was somewhat concerned with the buckless configuration, but the smaller size (for travel) and the comfort of the vest could make up for lak of buckles.

I guess we'll have to wait for NAB... but has anyone heard the cost of the vest, etc...

The Merlin is less than $800 bucks at a dvi dealer... no vest...

But with a vest and arm coming out, what more could they make?

I could think of a few things... :)


- Mikko

Like a monitor (as I believe was mentioned) or perhaps a car mount! Heheh.

I have heard about some of things being dreamed and schemed for this platform and they are very exciting and innovative.