The Tiffen Company www. They're almost 5 pounds but it's the physical size 'm wondering about…. I have one of the Merlins and I have to say that in my opinion it's horrible to try to get it set up exactly right and even then it's a pain. If you take the camera off the Merlin and then want to put it back on it's almost like starting over again even having marked the location on the plate where it is suppose to be placed. It simply can't be used outside when there is any wind at all, even the slightest breeze.
Any question about purchasing this unit was put to rest, by you and Brian Peterson. I frequently have different priorities — and don't have the time to spend fighting with equipment and wind…. Download our free eBook with 8 tips to get on the right track and create a video that you can be proud of. Log into your account.
Forgot your password? Password recovery. Recover your password. Get help. Home How To Shooting. Free eBook. Get My Free eBook. Thank you! Your free eBook will be sent to you via email. What does a cinematographer do? Why the pan shot is so valuable.
How to use false color in your next project. What is focus peaking and how to use it? Using a timelapse calculator to create a masterful sequence. I wish it were easier to use. Need help making a stellar first video? Steadicams have given filmmakers and moviegoers alike a new freedom of movement. With a Steadicam, a director can float the camera and, by extension, the audience into a forest, through a crowd of people, or down into a cave.
In TV shows like "ER," Steadicam shots put the audience in the middle of the action, as if they were another character in the show. Not only have these devices changed how movies are filmed, but Steadicams are now a mainstay in sports. One stabilized camera system, which goes by the name Skycam among others, is now a regular part of U. First used with regularity during telecasts of the short-lived XFL, the computer-controlled stabilized camera is suspended by cables above the field and allows viewers to see a game as if they were flying high over the field.
The Skycam's inventor was none other than Garrett Brown. You don't have to be a Hollywood director to enjoy footage produced by a Steadicam. Camera stabilizers have become mainstream and well within the budget of many amateur photographers. In fact, camera stabilizers have shrunk to keep up with increasingly small cameras in the hands of amateurs.
Some, like the Steadicam Curve, created for the GoPro Hero camera, are small enough to carry in a back pocket. Snowboarders, skateboarders and outdoor enthusiasts in general love the Curve because it allows them to create short clips of their friends as they do their stunts on the half pipe or in the bowl. Apple got into the video-stabilization game by incorporating the technology on its iPhone 4S and iPhone5. While the footage shot with the 4S is vastly superior to the iPhone 3GS or the iPhone 4, it's the Steadicam Smoothee that may thrill mobile cinematographers.
The Smoothee is a plastic stabilizer that hooks up to the iPhone. The phone snaps onto a gyroscopic base attached to a pair of curved metallic tubes that extends downward for balance. As one reviewer said, "the Smoothee is a dream come true for home moviemakers Speaking of iPhone 4s, iPad2 and iPad Touch for that matter, we've also seen apps like Luma that would take the wobble out of what would normally be a herky-jerky video shoot. Instagram, however, snapped up the Luma app and incorporated the technology into its Cinema feature.
The Steadicam Pro software irons out the bumps in hand-held video, correcting in real time as you shoot [source: Sorrel ]. If you're really into cinematography and don't mind shelling out a few bucks, the Steadicam Zephyr may be what you're looking for. Its arm can hold a pound kilogram camera that allows an operator to swivel the camera smoothly.
The arm also can be broken down into two pieces, which makes transporting the device much easier. For more information on Steadicams, including video footage of Steadicam operators at work, check out the links on the next page. Steadicams, of course, aren't the only camera stabilization systems out there. Glidecam Industries, for example, offers models for use with motion picture cameras, video cameras and video camcorders.
VariZoom and other companies operate in this space, too. For the DIY crew, people also have been known to hack their own stabilization systems together, too. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots.
Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. How Steadicams Work. See more movie making pictures. Out of Balance " ". An articulated, iso-elastic arm A specialized sled that holds the camera equipment A supportive vest. The Steadicam Arm and Vest The Steadicam's articulated arm is a lot like a spring-loaded, swing-arm lamp.
Each arm segment in a Steadicam consists of two metal bars, joined together by an adjustable spring system. The Steadicam Sled " ". The Steadicam sled spreads out the camera equipment to achieve greater balance. The Steadicam Shot " ". In addition to standard film models, the Tiffen Company makes Steadicams for video cameras. Steadicam Shots on the Silver Screen " ".
This awards ceremony wasn't the first time that Sly and Garrett Brown had hung. In "Rocky" , one of the first feature films to use Steadicams, operator Garrett Brown let the audience follow Sylvester Stallone as he ran up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. This iconic shot would have been nearly impossible before the Steadicam.
In "The Shining" , director Stanley Kubrick used a Steadicam shot to zip down the hallways of a haunted hotel and another to follow Jack Nicholson through a snowy hedge maze. Then there's the mesmerizing "gala" scene in "Pride and Prejudice" In the scene, the camera takes the viewer around a fashionable ball, where Mr.
Darcy and Elizabeth first meet. The Steadicam moves around the party focusing smoothly on various people. The gripping "Beach at Dunkirk" scene in the film "Atonement," was shot in one take with a Steadicam. Steadicams and You " ". The Steadicam Merlin 2, pictured here at the HowStuffWorks office, is one of the next-generation, smaller camera stabilizer systems available to pros and amateurs. Steadicam Competitors. Who invented the Steadicam?
In the early s, a commercial director and producer named Garrett Brown began working on alternative stabilizing systems.
In , he realized his goals with a revolutionary but remarkably simple machine. How do I become a Steadicam operator? What is a Steadicam shot? For a typical Steadicam shot, a camera operator must follow a predetermined path, while simultaneously adjusting the camera and avoiding any obstacles. What was the first movie to use a Steadicam?
If you've got extra money, the Merlin2 is capable of working with an arm and vest combination. This is how the professional rigs operate because it helps to distribute the weight much better, and gives far smoother results. Of course, the incredible Steadicam arm doesn't come cheap, and the vest is handmade. That's quite a bit of cash to spend. If you're planning on doing a lot of work with this equipment, the Pilot is by far the better buy. However you look at it, the Merlin2 is perhaps most sensibly considered as a handheld system, and forgetting there's even the option of the wearable system.
One thing we noticed with our camera, a lightweight Panasonic camera that shoots on SD card, is that, if anything, it was slightly too light.
Of course, when it comes to supporting a camera on your arm, you'll want light, but when it comes to stabilirty, a bit of weight is quite important. What lightweight cameras suffer from, is a slight "flightiness".
Because the camera is light, you put only a small amount of weight on the bottom of the Merlin to balance it. This means that it's a little more prone to wind and inertia. Tiffen does sell an adaptor that allows you to add weight to the camera, so if you're using a very light system, it might be worth thinking about. And for every pound of camera weight, you have to balance the Merlin2 at the bottom, with more weights. So this isn't just about carrying the weight of the camera, but about the counterbalance too.
We've used the Steadicam Smoothee and the higher-end Pilot, Flyer and Scout rigs in our time, and it has to be said, the Merlin2 is by far the hardest to set up. There are a lot of reasons for this, but you do need to be very patient to get your balance right. What's more, no matter how many times you look at the manual, watch the supplied instruction DVD or search the net, there is no one who can tell you how to set up the Merlin2 properly. It is the very definition of trial and error.
For a start, there are quite a lot of adjustments it's possible to make. For example, the two spars move away from each other, when you twist the adjustment control on the hinge. For light cameras, this needs to be set so the bottom and top of the Merlin are close together. For heavier weights, set the two as far apart as possible. Once you've got that sorted, then you need to work out roughly where you camera's centre of gravity is.
You then mount it on the plate so the middle of the plate is roughly over the camera's centre of gravity. To find the CoG of a camera, it's easiest to put a pencil on a desk and move the camera over it until you feel that it's roughly in blance. You need to mark here, on the camera - use a crayon - and then attach it to the plate.
Then, once all that is done, you need to add weights. There's some maths to this. But cameras of 2lbs or so need one large weight. We used just one, and that was the only way we were able to get the Merlin balanced.
At this point, you should be getting to the point where the camera is pointing in the right sort of direction. Unless you're lucky, it will be pointing either to the ground or to the sky. You can move the mounting plate around a bit here, and this will help you get the whole thing balanced. Or you can use the trim controls. We found that our camera needed to be pushed right back on the top stage to achieve any balance at all. The trim controls are very handy too, and you'll use them a lot when you forget to insert your SD card, or fold out your screen during setup.
It's amazing how much out of balance the camera will be if you don't have it set up exactly how you operate it when you balance the Steadicam. We found that the Merlin would list a bit too, this seemed to be because we never got the centre of gravity quit right. The trim controls, on the bottom of the stage, allow you to move the camera around slightly, and get it in balance. The last control is above the gimbal.
This is the part of the Steadicam that you hold - well, more specifically it's the bit that sits about the handle, which you actually hold. You don't touch the gimbal usually. This last control is a ring, and by loosening, or tightening it, you can get the camera into balance. To make sure you're set up right, you'll need to do what's known as a "drop time" test.
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