Not sure yet. Not looking paticularly likly, but you never know.

- Mikko

Yeah, sarcasm really isn't made for the written word. Without the ability to throw in a half-eye-roll-head-tilt-voice-lilt, all power is lost anyway. Looking forward to Cinegear. I plan to roll into town in a giant hamster ball this year - impossible to tip.

Am I wrong... but it appears that the curved bar of the Merlin will bump the arm when turned far more than a straight posted model. Does my statement/question make sense?

-Jonathan

I'm pretty sure I understand what you're asking, and yes, if you remain still and pan the Merlin, it will eventually bump into your arm. However, the idea would be to move your body as the Merlin pans. Even if it didn't bump your arm somehow, you would see yourself in the shot after a long enough pan if you didn't move. This is true of rigs of all sizes.

Charles, on this topic, do I remember correctly that you make a half second cameo in some of the behind the scenes clips from the first season of Scrubs on DVD? Do you know what I'm referring to? Right after a take is marked, I believe you spin the camera around on yourself exclaiming "Ready" or something like that.

...of course this pales in comparison to the MRI technician cameo. Classic.

uh...I did? Probably, I don't remember seeing that, but I haven't watched the DVD's in a while. Sounds like another day at the office.

Charles, I am curious, since you have used both, do you think using the Merlin vest & arm combination will make it easier (or harder) to eliminate footsteps than just using the Merlin alone?

That's a good question. A lot of this has to do with the operator. Nominally both the handheld and body-mounted versions can technically eliminate footsteps, but it requires the operator to not re-introduce this type of motion though their hands (if you think about it, one's shoulders rise and fall when you take a step). The more weight on the Merlin, the better the isolation from the operator due to inertia, and the more likely you are to prefer the bodymount from a comfort perspective.

Speaking of the soon to be available Merlin vest/arm.....I called Merlin customer service the other day to inquire about another matter and while I had him on the line, I asked about availability and cost of the vest/arm. He said they only had a couple units now that they take to shows, but the rig should be available by late summer. Cost for the full rig, including the Merlin, will be around $3K. I just bought a Merlin, but the vest/arm will be out of reach for me.

Can't wait, but I just love doing the high & low shots in one take, it just freaks people out, well mostly me :-)