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Related Manuals for Steadicam Merlin
Summary of Contents for Steadicam Merlin
- Page 1 Setup and Operation Manual...
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
Basic Set-up Table of Contents Part One — Setup 1. Overview 3 – 5 2. A Tour of the Merlin 6 – 8 3. Getting Started 9 – 10 4. Pre-setting “Z” Axis 11 – 15 5. Installing Dovetail Plate 16 –... - Page 4 I hope that you will really enjoy owning and using the Steadicam Merlin, and I look forward to seeing some of the results – in sample reels, documentaries, commercials, home movies and feature films! Good luck and have fun.
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Page 5: Part One - Setup
Congratulations on your purchase of the Steadicam Merlin Basic Set-up is a camera stabilization system for lightweight camcorders based on the professional Steadicam technology used worldwide in professional film and television production. Features • Ultra-light: by itself weighs less than a can of soda! •... -
Page 6: Overview
Watching the video for each section will show you the basic principles and operations of the Merlin and give you a feel for how to perform them. Then the manual will take you step-by-step through the same operations with your Merlin and camcorder. We recommend that you proceed as follows: Read this introduction all the way through and prepare for setup as described. - Page 7 Merlin setup takes a little time, but if you do it right you’ll only have to do it once. Even if you remove the dovetail plate from your camera the locating pin will insure that it can be remounted in the correct, balanced position with just a single screw.
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Page 8: A Tour Of The Merlin
It permits the Merlin to fold and unfold between the travel (storage) and shooting positions; and it adjusts the size of the arc between the upper and lower spar, to tune the vertical balance of the Merlin. (Note the single Finish weight in place.) - Page 9 The combination of these elements works astonishingly well, and we hope you will enjoy the Merlin as much as we do. With practice, you can move easily through almost any shooting opportunity, walking, running or climbing stairs, and deliver wonderful shots.
- Page 10 , including 3 pre-installed weights and dovetail plate : “The Art of Steadicam Merlin” Nine threaded stainless-steel weights (with cushioning rubber O-rings installed): One Start and two Finish weights (shipped installed on Merlin) Six Mid weights Plastic Bag, containing: Mounting Screw...
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Page 11: Getting Started
Merlin is unfolded into Flying Mode. The Steadicam Merlin is now in Flying Mode. When a camera is properly mounted on the Stage, you will be able to hold the unit by the Grip (with the Velcro side always forward and in contact with your fingers) and the camera will “float”... -
Page 12: Getting Started
Getting Started natural range of movement. Grip . The Grip supports and positions the Merlin. The Grip should always be held with the Velcro side facing forward in contact with your fingers. If it’s held backward, movement of the Gimbal will be impeded and under some circumstances the Gimbal could be damaged. -
Page 13: Pre-Setting "Z" Axis
4. Pre-Setting Balance When your camera is mounted onto the Merlin, the entire unit must be set-up and balanced so that the combined center-of-gravity (camera plus Merlin), ends up just below the center of the fulcrum (the Gimbal), and precisely adjusted to be slightly bottom-heavy. Let’s take a moment to understand this. - Page 14 Mid weight in front to be moved down onto the lower spar. The idea is to add as little weight as possible to balance your camera and so preserve the essential lightness of the Merlin...
- Page 15 2. Adjusting the Caliper Hinge The second method of balance – for a finer adjustment of bottom-heaviness – involves expanding and contracting the angle of the Merlin’s lower spar. This adjustment raises or lowers the weights relative to the camera.
- Page 16 Lay the Merlin on its side on the table. Using a tape Caliper measure, open or close the as needed to set the suggested distance from the lower weight to the top of the Stage. Now hold the Merlin vertical and lock both Locking Knobs “Z”...
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Page 17: Installing Dovetail Plate
This adjustment fine-tunes the location of the center of mass to the optimum point just below the pivot point of the Gimbal. We call this the ‘Z’ axis, or vertical balance. Note that your Merlin was shipped from the factory with the Guide unscrewed (counterclockwise) three full turns. (You’ll need to push the Latch again and rotate the Ring around a full turn each time as the Latch button detents facing forward). - Page 18 Accessories have a big influence on the center of balance, so leave them off for now. Eventually you may want to balance the Merlin with your preferred combination of accessories in place, including a wide-angle adaptor, but to get started, the Cookbook settings are for a fairly stripped down camera.
- Page 19 Attaching the camera to the Dovetail Plate Because the center-of-gravity of each type of camera is different, their positioning on the Stage will vary. Gross positioning of the camera above the Gimbal is accomplished by the proper choice of mounting hole. (Fine positioning is accomplished with the fore-and-aft and side-to-side trim knobs.) Basic Set-up Consult your settings from the Online Cookbook to find Dovetail Plate...
- Page 20 Hold the Dovetail Plate so the Locating Pin engages the locating pin hole in your camera, and align so that you can insert and tighten the camera mounting screw. Your camera is now ready to mount on the Merlin. Balancing and Mounting the Camera.
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Page 21: Balancing & Mounting The Camera
(25mm) of threaded rod showing in front.) Note the two arrows forward of the Roller. They indicate that when you need the front of the Merlin to tilt up, push the roller up. It may take several energetic turns to make a difference, as this is a very fine adjustment. - Page 22 The ‘Gezornenplatz’ for large, heavy camcorders: Even on heavy camcorders, the mounting structures are often less than rigid, and we have tried not to make the Merlin too massive, so if you’re moving violently or running and your hand is shaking there may be some relative motion between the front of the camera and the Merlin stage.
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Page 23: Horizontal And Vertical Trim
If you have more than three or four weights attached to the Lower Spar, the ‘click-stop’ catch that keeps the Merlin in the Flying Mode, may not be strong enough to restrain the weight when held out sideways and the hinge may open. With heavier cameras, get in the habit of locking and unlocking the Caliper Hinge Release when you unfold and fold the Merlin. -
Page 24: Horizontal And Vertical Trim
7. Horizontal and Vertical Trim Horizontal trim Trim You have preset vertical balance and camera position on the Stage, but your Merlin is still unlikely to be in perfect balance. Let’s see how unbalanced it is, and in what direction. Grip... - Page 25 Severe top-heaviness is unlikely if you followed the formula for “weights added vs. weight of camera.” But the cure is the same: add more weight below. Remember that the Merlin is only designed to support cameras weighing five pounds (2.25kg)) or less, and you may need to remove wide-angle adapters, or heavy batteries.
- Page 26 Again either ‘cure’ will require re-trimming fore- and-aft. Drop test A Merlin that’s in correct top-to-bottom balance can be moved rapidly back and forth laterally and it will essentially stay upright! It is technically bottom-heavy, but only slightly! Hold out the lower spar sideways and let it go, If it falls slowly, if it takes a full second (say “Go…one-thousand-and-one”) until it passes through...
- Page 27 If the camera tilts toward the monitor (to the left), push up the several quick turns to return to level. If it tilts right, pull down on the Roller. In each case, hold the Merlin level and steady. Then, let it go to test your trim. Drop Test Perform the to check the degree of bottom-heaviness.
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Page 28: Part Two - Operating
If you have performed all set up adjustments in a single session, you may want to take a break and continue when you are fresh and rested! Hand Positions As soon as you are ready, watch Section 8 of the DVD: Trim Review Part II –... - Page 29 This is the fun part! The Merlin is not just a stabilizer, it’s a uniquely elegant way to hold a camera at the center of balance, with the full freedom of your extended arms, and none of the awkward jerks and lurches of handheld shooting.
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Page 30: Hand Positions
Two-handed operating position Hand Positions This is the smoothest, easiest and most precise way to operate the Steadicam Merlin. The force to support it is isolated from the camera and the force to aim it can be almost non-existent. The camera is free to rotate on excellent bearings. -
Page 31: Body Positions
& potatoes shot settles in beside your body. Either your “grip” or and it’s how you’ll operate Merlin 90% of the your “guide” hand will now cross in front of your time, body. - Page 32 But it’s the same finger down. It’s a very common Steadicam shooting position on the Guide. It is exactly like Forward mode, used in thousands of feature films and lets...
- Page 33 Boom up when you step off the curb because your subject will appear to be rising in frame. Steadicam is an inert object Combine booming and tilting: raise the camera and tilting rapidly is difficult. Booming is easy...
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Page 34: Extreme Trimming
It requires a number of unusual moves and techniques such as Note: Don’t try to tilt or pan the Merlin trimming, so the desired headroom can be by grabbing the spars. It ‘re-connects’... -
Page 35: Stairs
If you’re following someone up the stairs (in This is an advanced Forward Mode), trim the Merlin so the camera technique, so don’t try it tilts slightly up and then use the boom range of in earnest until you have your arms to maintain headroom –... - Page 36 Shoulder Modes Docking and Carrying The Merlin can also rest on your shoulder and Merlin can be quickly set-down between shots as still act as a brace for conventional hand-held follows: shooting: Stow the Gimbal underneath your Stage and set...
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Page 37: Vehicle Shots
Rehearse vehicle shots whenever possible: Have a trial run without the Merlin and make sure you can remain in contact with your driver, drover, pilot or mahout. Make sure these persons will not exceed the speeds you arranged beforehand, no matter what, and immediately slow or stop the vehicle if asked. -
Page 38: Merlin Technique
– even bad ideas. Since framing is, at times, the least volatile There is no substitute for element, due to the inertia of the Steadicam, planning and rehearsing, or one’s attention can cycle between headroom, at least trying to think a bit level (look at the bubble!) navigating (watch ahead. - Page 39 Pass the Merlin close to people’s faces and they probably won’t shy away as they might if • Scout the terrain without the Steadicam you came at them with a camera covering your if possible before you shoot, so you aren’t...
- Page 40 20mm. Begin circling at a make your camera hard to control. The only distance that looks promising. You have way to help the Merlin in wind is to shield the now automatically established a “pan rate” camera by using your body or someone else’s, which the Merlin will continue on its own or by staying in the lee of buildings etc.
- Page 41 Hold the camera out right into the middle of the their auto-color-balance, auto-iris, and auto-focus action. Party games look great with Merlin, and circuits that, if used intelligently, can deliver intimate wide-angle shots at your kid’s eye-level excellent results. The resolution is “broadcast can hold the birthday boy or girl and a number quality”...
- Page 42 Don’t just grab your balance, or try a manual color-balance in half Merlin and race through a house. If you want tungsten/half daylight. This will yield a “film” to sell your house, or help a friend sell a house,...
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Page 43: Accessories
15.Accessories The Tripod Adaptor Plate (included) performance of today’s camcorders. The Merlin screws onto your tripod and accepts the Merlin Obie Light contains a 3 watt halogen bulb and is dovetail plate; so you can switch your camera Accessories powered by two re-chargeable lithium-ion AAA instantaneously back and forth between tripod batteries (included), and an included AC charger. -
Page 44: Troubleshooting
2. Possible dirt in Gimbal bearings—unscrew TROUBLE OPERATING the Guide Ring fully to remove, and blow If things don’t feel right, if your Merlin doesn’t dry the Gimbal with “Dust-off” dry gas. Troubleshooting seem to behave like the ones in the video, check Reinstall. -
Page 45: Glossary
Drop Time: Stage: defines pendular ‘period” of platform for mounting the camera, Merlin spar. Held out horizontally and let go, includes micrometer trim adjustments. should ideally pass through vertical in about one Telephoto: full second. - Page 46 Basic Set-up Notes...
- Page 47 Basic Set-up Notes...
- Page 48 Industrial Design by Tony Sacksteder Manual Design by Laurie Hayball Steadicam® and Merlin™ are registered trademarks of The Tiffen Company Copyright 2005 Garrett Brown & The Tiffen Company. All rights reserved. v. 1.0 This manual will be updated periodically and available on Tiffen’s website.
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