Steadicam Merlin Setup And Operation Manual page 25

Keep one hand lightly on the camera to keep it secure and
swing the Locking Lever
the Dovetail Plate. Now slide the camera backward or
forward until it feels roughly in balance. Then lock it by
swinging the Locking Lever to the rear.
Now touch up fore-and-aft balance with the
Top-heaviness
If you have trimmed repeatedly and the Merlin never seems
balanced, it may be top-heavy (with the center of mass above the
gimbal). If so, it will never hang upright – it will always try to flip
upside down.
If you pre-set your Merlin according to the Online Cookbook
settings for your camcorder, this condition is likely to be mild, but
even if you balanced from scratch, you can diagnose it as follows:
Hold the Grip with one hand and move the
hand until the entire unit is horizontal. It will be easy to feel if it wants to keep going
and hang upside down! The stronger this tendency, the more top-heavy it is.
Cure slight top-heaviness by loosening both
Locking Knobs and expanding the
with the Caliper Hinge Adjusting Knob
you have not already opened it fully).
Cure moderate top-heaviness by adding
Lower
weights to the
Note: Both of the above 'cures' will alter trim, and you will need to re-balance with the
Fore-and-Aft Trim Roller.
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.
Excess bottom-heaviness
If the center of mass of the entire unit is too far below the
gimbal, trimming will seem to have little effect and moving
the Grip rapidly to one side will create an obvious pendulum
effect.
Lower Spar
Hold the
briefly to see if it falls rapidly – a sure sign it's too
bottom-heavy.
Note: Whenever you hold the Spar out sideways and let it fall, be sure to grab it just
as it passes through vertical, and also tilt your Grip hand as it falls, so you do not
forcefully exceed the range of the Gimbal bearings.
straight out to the side to loosen
Trim
Upper Spar
Arc Size
(if
Spar.
out to the side and let it go
Roller.
out to one side with the other
Basic Set-up