SteadiCam Merlin

Alright, I am not made of money... BUT. After christmas hopefully I will have a few extra dollar bills :-). I know Jake has a version of the steadicam (I don't think you have the merlin, I might be wrong). So what is everyones take on the the merlin, is it worth the ~$800? I do want to do more tracking shots, running shots.... I know each setup takes time to learn and master, and not any one is out of the box perfect, but do you get what you pay for when you invest the $800 :-P. INVEST is my new keyword, if you have noticed. Thanks peeps.

I don't know about $800. I'm sure it works great and certainly is compact but I would research others. There are so many of the hand held type like mine. They all work just as well I think.
Also, look on Ebay for a used Merlin if that's what you want. They seem to be going for a couple hundred less then new.
Of course the best would be to get a steadicam with a vest.

Jake

hi dapoopta, what about this?
flycam from india
http://stores.ebay.de/Digital-Video-Product

What about a monkey suite and a home made one???? :-P

How much was your Jake, and how well does it operate?

Mine was $350
http://steadytracker.com/steady10.html

It works well and once it's balanced for your camera it dosen't take any time to get to setup.
The only thing about mine that now I wish I would have gotten a different one is on mine, I hold on to the center tube. I like the way some others are build that has a seperate handle. I think it may even be steadier. Like this one.
This is the same company I bought my DOF adapter.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Flycam-5000-Stabilizer-Steadycam-for-VX2100-XL1-PD150_W0QQitemZ110327171505QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item110327171505&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

I looked at some of the steadicam merlin videos on vimeo and am not very impressed at all. Too much swaying... I am not sure if the people are not good or what the deal is! I might go with one of these types:http://cgi.ebay.com/Steadicam-Steadycam-Flycam-Camcorder-stabilizing-system_W0QQitemZ170288183238QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamcorder_Accessories?hash=item170288183238&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50, or is that total crap?

Price looks a lot better. What do you think of the full setup with vest and 5000 system. How tired do your wrists and arms get using your system? Always looking for a new gadget a=but just need to make sure I would use it.

Don

One thing to keep in mind is the weight of your camera and equipment. You won't get in trouble with your HV30, but if you're really planing to upgrade to a prosumer cam, remember those beasts are heavy. Handholding them on a steadycam rig of any kind is exhausting. Plus the cheaper steadycam type rigs won't be able to balance a heavier camera. Probably better invest a bit ore to get a strong rig with arm and rig. (And plan to invest at least a week of steady training to learn how to really fly those things.)

I bought one that worked like that one before I bought the steadytracker. That one is still in my closet. I could never get it to balance correctly. Of course that is me.
But remember that one is for a small camera, if you upgrade to a larger camera, I don't know if it would hold it.

I would love to go with a vest system. They are the steadiest.
My arms aren't that tired from using mine, It's not like I'm holding it for hours. Maybe a couple of minutes for a shot.
Jake

After reading varius post, I might want to invest in a gym membership.