STABILIZERS > Gravity & Body-Mount Stabilizers
merlin anyone?
Atwinator:
Has anyone here ever tried a merlin and if so could you share the experience with us? Thanks.
Ed
Shaun Stoddart:
Nope but I wish I sure had one. They will make a great addition to your video arsenal. The footage shot with them looks great.
Guy Bruner:
I've never used a Merlin but did have a Glidecam 2000 once. They are both gimballed stabilizers. These types of stabilizer are touchy to set the balance on. Just changing the position of your LCD can affect balance and cause you to readjust. Also, adding a mic to a balanced rig will cause you to have to rebalance.
Another issue is the weight, even with small cams. Holding these at arm's length for longer than 5 minutes at a time can be tough on the forearm and shoulder. I found arm fatigue was the biggest problem I had after balancing. Trying to do an entire wedding with one is a taxing experience. They are best used sparingly and for certain types of shots which means you need more than one camcorder or you'll spend a lot of time rebalancing when you should be shooting.
However, if you really need smooth movement around a subject, they can't be beat for the price. Also, they are relatively easy to build. Check out Home Built Stabilizers.com for some examples and guides.
RegularJoe:
From what I gathered the merlin and the GlideCam are not one in the same, even though they are fully gimbaled. The GldeCam requires more weight to balance than the Merlin due to the difference in design. With a "pole-like" design you would have to simply add to create equal weight from top to bottom. The Merlin unit is made where less weight would be required because of the adjustments. A more effective result altogether.
I think the Steadicam Jr lite was an excellent design considering it was purely authentic and inexpensive to get. It is truly a shame that is was discontinued and Tiffen claims the Merlin is much better and that the JR is now obsolete. I totally disagree completely. Here is a response to an email I sent Tiffen:
"Yes, the Merlin is more expensive, only $250.00 more, but it is a far superior unit to the JR."
All this tells me is that they stopped making the JR in order to make more money. They could have just kept the JR and forced us to by a $250 vest or seomthing. Same deal really. Yes, I have seen knockoffs like Varizoom out there but nothing seems to be as effective as the true steadicam. I have a friend who used the JR and it was so light that it is all he uses for nearly every shot. Try doing that with a GlideCam 2000! Just take steroids first! :D
Atwinator:
Thanks for the input Shaun, Guy and Regular Joe, I think I've made up my mind that I will get the sometime in the hopefully near future. Maybe I'll pick up the arm and vest down the line at some point. I think it work fantastic for some of the work I have coming up this year. I've seen quite a few videos on the web of it's performance and am very, very impressed with it. It adds a whole new dimension to certain shots as long as it isn't over used.
Check out this video and some of the guys wedding videos. I think they are fantastic!
Steadicam Merlin First Test
Here is another one from the same guy.
LoveStory Aleksandr & Karina
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