Why is it more expensive than a JR with monitor?
Precision-machined metal parts cost more than molded plastic parts.

Can I fly my (HVX/DVX/FX1/etc..) camera on the Merlin? It’s just over 5lb -- will it still work?
The official weight limit is 5 lbs (2.27kg), but we have learned, for example, that the Sony ‘Z’ HDV series and the Panasonic HVX200 (both above the limit) can balance beautifully on Merlin with medium batteries and no wide-angle adaptors; so, depending on the shape of the ‘payload’ (accessories mounted high up, for example, make it harder to balance) you may slightly exceed that limit.

If my camera plus accessories are overweight, what options do I have? Can I add more counter weights?
We don’t approve of adding washers between the lower weights in order to ‘fly’ more weight. Lightness and rigidity are opposing requirements -- Merlin was engineered to optimize both at its official maximum payload. Adding additional counterweights may begin to strain the structure and cause detectable ‘whipping.’ Try custom-mounting accessories such as wireless microphone receivers and even fill-lights down below the gimbal to solve this problem. Watch for aftermarket accessory platforms that will replace one or more of the supplied stainless weights.

How long can I use the Merlin before I get tired? Do I need to start working out so I can carry it?
How heavy is your camcorder? Your full ‘payload’ will be 1.3 times that weight, including counterweights, plus 13 ounces (.37 kg) for the Merlin itself. So, for example, the lightest half-pound camcorders will total less than 1.5 lbs (.68 kg)! The heaviest cameras will require the entire set of weights and the total will approach 8 lbs (3.6 kg), and require much more work to lug around. For heavier cameras, we suggest, at least initially, that you design shorter shots! A two minute moving sequence is longer than most theatrical Steadicam shots. Simply using your Merlin will strengthen the relevant arm muscles over time and within weeks your endurance ‘in the rig’ will greatly increase. We doubt you’ll need to ‘work out.’ Check the instructional video for tips on sharing the load with both hands.

Why do I need the Merlin if my camera has EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization)?
EIS is meant to counteract the small angular vibrations that are occur when you hold an object somewhere other than at it’s exact center-of-gravity (which of course is buried inside your camcorder!). With EIS, as soon as you begin to walk or attempt to move your camcorder with your arms, the size of the unwanted angular moves becomes way too large for EIS to counteract and spoils the smoothness of your shots.
In two important ways, Merlin beats the drawers off of 'Steadishot' and other electronic image stabilizing features. The first way is that Steadicam in general, (and Merlin in particular) provides superior stability against both small and large angular influences by shifting that famous “C.G” from inside the camera body and placing it at the center of a ‘gimbal’ that isolates the entire structure against angular shakes.
In addition, Merlin turns your camcorder into a poised, balanced, angularly inert object that can be oriented – panned and tilted – with gentle finger pressure, and moved energetically through space without angular influence. In other words, Steadicam is inherently a more elegant, smooth and precise way to hold a camera than is handheld. Your camera can be poised as still as if on a tripod. Or your entire range-of movement -- your full arm reach, bending-to-the-floor and lifting-overhead, your the full freedom to walk and run -- will be accessible to your lens without the ‘handheld’ bumps and shakes.
Of course expert Merlin shooting takes practice, but you will take pride in your growing skills and eventually deliver work that can be indistinguishable from Hollywood dolly-and-jib shots!

So should you leave EIS active when using Merlin?
If the Gezornenplatz screw can extend to reach your camera body or lens housing, you will be able to turn off EIS and save on battery drain. Otherwise, at full telephoto, EIS may provide additional vibration damping, but be aware that some versions introduce hesitations at the beginning of panning and tilting moves if the circuitry decides it’s the beginning of a bump.

What is the difference between the Merlin and other hand-held stabilizers?
Of course I’m biased, but the Merlin is by far the lightest, and I think the most elegant and functional of the lot. It has the best (patented) gimbal, the most precise and accessible trim controls, and is by far the most stable. Rotational inertia increases by the square of the distance between the masses, and the Merlin has the greatest separation between its counterweights. It also is the only hand-held stabilizer that can be placed in perfect dynamic balance, and the only one with our (patented) caliper hinge, that always folds into the perfect storage position, regardless of the adjusted size of the ‘arc.’ Oh, and did I mention that the camera removes instantly and can be docked on the supplied tripod-adaptor-plate.


Any chance for " Merlin Pro" to deal with heavier cameres like the 24ps - the CanonXL2's and XLHD?
Merlin was carefully engineered to be as light as possible and still be stiff strong enough for 5+ lb cameras. Anything much heavier would put the present gimbal and several other components at risk. We are considering a slick,
ultralight arm/vest for Merlin and a all-metal ball bearing gimbal which might edge up the limit to permit 6 lb cameras but both of the Canons are heavier than that, even stripped down, so they wouldn't qualify.



Questions from owners:

Why does the camera want to pan by itself when I walk around and I'm only holding the handle?
The Merlin gimbal has ball bearings in the “pan” axis and since it is an inert object, it tries to keep pointing in the same direction, regardless of your moves. To control the camera’s angle (as opposed to its position in space), grasp the ‘guide ring’ with two fingers and thumb, but very lightly, unless you need to alter the angle of pan or tilt, and then use only the minimum force required. (Remember that any move you start will require equal force to stop, since the Merlin behaves like an object floating in zero-gravity.

When I start moving, the camera tilts down and when I stop it tilts up. How do I prevent this? (Is it related to my horizon going off when I go around a corner?)
Good question. First understand that if the Merlin is neutrally balanced at the gimbal what you describe would not happen. However we have found that neutral balance has other hazards -- it is way too touchy. If a mosquito landed on your lens, it would tilt straight down! In practice, we employ an invaluable compromise. We balance for slight bottom heaviness, which allows Merlin to be trimmed to hang level (or at any angle you choose). The downside is a slight tendency to be a pendulum when you start, stop or go around a corner. You will learn to counter this tendency with an equally slight, opposite pressure from your fingers. If this tendency seems extreme, your Merlin is too bottom-heavy. See the manual to check ‘drop-time’ and adjust it to be at least a full second.

I can’t get it to balance with my camera, where can I find good settings for my camera?
A settings table can be found at www.merlincookbook.com
If your camera isn’t listed, click on the link to the ‘Magic Formula’ This provides a spreadsheet that will calculate all your settings if you simply enter two numbers: your camera’s exact weight and the vertical c.g. distance.

What is the “vertical CG” referred to in the Setting table?
See the instructions that accompany the ‘Magic Formula’ spreadsheet link. Even if your camera does not yet appear among the published ‘Settings’ table, if you know its final shooting weight (with tape, etc.) and its ‘vertical CG distance’ you can easily obtain your complete settings. The ‘vertical CG distance’ can be found by experimentally balancing a flat side of your camcorder (or the lens cover or the battery) on your finger and marking that point with a grease pencil. Then measure the distance from that mark down to the base of your camcorder. What you have determined is the location, within your camcorder, of that famous CG point, and additionally how high up from the camera mounting surface that is. If you enter those two numbers – weight and vert. CG – in the marked boxes

How can I mount a wireless microphone receiver to my camera (or the Merlin)
See Jim Farrell's ingenious aftermarket accessory shelf at: www.jimfarrell.com/merlin

How do I zoom/focus/adjust camera settings while flying? How do I start and stop recording?
For now, various stand-alone zoom/focus/pause controls are available on the market. Panasonic made (and discontinued) a particularly small and light version which, if you can find one on e-bay, can be velcro’d to the Merlin handle. If you master one-handed operation, you can also control these functions with the other hand by means of the infrared remotes supplied with many camcorders. Watch this FAQ and the Steadicam.com Merlin pages for notice of future LANC-type controllers compatible with Merlin

I have a wired zoom/focus controller, but when I use it with the Merlin it throws off the balance. What can I do?
It is important that the path of the wire, either curly-cord or straight, be arranged to minimally influence balance. We suggest that the cord should pass up along the side of the camera just above the Merlin gimbal (flex-tie it to the camera’s side handle, for example), so it has the shortest possible ‘lever-arm’ to influence pan/tilt. Of course the thinner and more flexible the wire, the more satisfactory the results.

Is it possible to set the Merlin to hang at some other angle than level - to trim tilt for a specific shot?
(Aha! You must be an American -- you didn’t look at the DVD or read the manual!) Yes. The blue roller on the side of the stage adjusts the nominal hanging angle of the Merlin. Pushing up on the roller causes an up-tilt. Pulling down causes a down-tilt. Experiment. And by the way, the blue roller under the stage controls the side-to-side angle, AKA ‘roll.’ (If you don’t know what the stage is, you may actually have to read the instructions!)

I’d like to shoot looking up or down at something, is there a way I can set the camera to be tilted way up or down?
The Merlin can be trimmed to tilt radically up or down (push up the blue fore/aft trim roller to balance tilted up), but we would only recommend it if your entire shot was to be at that angle – otherwise you would have to ‘fight’ that trim the rest of the time. If a single shot has both high and/or low angles and at times needs to be level, try reducing bottom-heaviness so the Merlin is more neutrally balanced (see the video or manual – counter-clock the ‘Z’ ring 3 or 4 turns so the ‘drop time’ is up to 3 seconds) – and it will require almost no effort for your fingers to hold those extreme tilts. (Keep in mind that more neutral trim will make subsequent normal operating a bit more touchy and harder to keep level, so remember to return to slight bottom-heaviness for subsequent shots)

I got it all balanced, then I put in the tape and opened up the LCD, but now it’s all wrong. Why?
I mean no disrespect whatsoever, but ‘Duh’! You changed the distribution of mass! You moved weights sideways! C’mon! I know people aren’t used to balancing things in the 21st century, but, as we say in Philly, ‘Yo!’

Why won’t my Panasonic DVC-30 want to hang upside down? I used the Cookbook settings!
I take back the above abusive remark. This was my error. I provided our web designer the wrong setting for the lower weights. I apologize to all DVC-30 owners. It has been corrected!

Why doesn't Merlin have a monitor? My operating is limited if I can only use the cameras monitor.
Using the camcorder’s monitor is indeed somewhat limiting and requires contortions to view-find at certain angles. We will eventually offer a slick, lightweight monitor to screw on in place of the front weight.

Do I have to use two hands? (Or: I can’t operate one-handed!)
Two-handed operation is generally easier to control and is thus more precise. One-handed operating requires more practice. Watch the DVD closely to see the exact hand position. Keep the gimbal handle a bit sideways so that the part of your first finger between the first and second joint lightly contacts the front tongue part of the gimbal, and your thumb lightly contacts the rear surface of the gimbal. Open and close your finger & thumb for intermittent contact with the gimbal if the angle of the shot needs changing. When you start a pan, make your whole hand turn a bit, so your fingers are never strained or contorted. If your grip is uncomfortable then it is incorrect. Closely watch the sections of the DVD that describe one-handed operating.

Can I mount the Merlin or my camera to a tripod quickly, or do I need to buy a quick release plate?
Every Merlin comes with a tripod adaptor plate. The dovetail mounting plate, plus camera, instantly unlocks from the Merlin and locks onto the tripod adaptor plate. Note the Merlin ‘stage mark’ beforehand so you can remount your camera back in the balanced position with a minimum of re-trimming

What's a dovetail?
On full-sized Steadicams the dovetails are the thick camera mounting plates with beveled edges. On your Merlin it’s the blue & black sheet-aluminum sandwich with the 15 camera-mounting holes and the locking lever.


What is the “Gezornenplatz screw”? (Garrett, where the heck did this name come from?)
I thought I made up the word, but remembered that it was the punchline of a Bob Newhart sketch. An “infinite number of monkeys with typewriters” would eventually, randomly write Shakespeare’s works, but also lots of dreck like: “To be, or not to be, that is the Gezornenplatz.”
In Merlin terms, the flimsy mounting structures on many camcorders may cause visible vibration: Counterclock the supplied plastic bolt upward until it kisses the underside of your lens housing, and you’ll be able to work at much longer focal lengths (now that is the Gezornenplatz!”)


The gezornenplatz screw doesn't seem to contact properly on my Sony HDR-FX1.  Any tips?  Have you heard this from other fx1 owners?
The head of the 'gezornenplatz' screw is narrow. We used it because it's lightweight and won't mar camera surfaces. You can slide the dovetail plate forward or rearward before you lock it down which may help this issue. Then adjust the fore/aft trim roller to get back in balance. The consequence for dynamic balance will probably be slight.

If that doesn't do the trick, You can replace the supplied 'gezornenplatz' with any so-c1/4-20 screw or bolt (quarter inch diateter, 20 threads per inch). So, if the gezornenplatz is too short, or too narrow at the top, you can acquire a longer screw or wider version at any hardware store. We suggest you put some tape on the top so it won't scratch your camera.


I Just bought a "Steadistand" but can't figure out what it has to do with the Merlin. It did not come with any manual or pictures, so I was just wondering if you could clue me in on the proper use of the Steadistand?
The Steadistand is not the little plastic item that used to come with the Steadicam JR. It's larger and heavier, with a base plate and jointed arms and a u-shaped yoke.  Adjust the arms and lock the joints with the supplied allen wrench so the yoke is poised horizontally above the baseplate. Now you can set the Merlin gimbal within the yoke (with the handle dangling) and it will be safely 'docked'.  If you are working within a location and can keep the Steadistand nearby on a table, it provides a safe place to quickly set down Merlin and camera between setups, shots or even indivitual takes if your camera is heavy. An additional benefit is that your 'trim' settings will be exactly preserved.


Are there instructions on the proper use of the Steadistand and docking bracket? I have both items and can't figure out how to put it all together and safely have my Merlin and camera docked.
The Docking Bracket clamps onto a light stand (the kind with a 5/8th inch stud on top). the Merlin handle is lowered gently onto the upright pin, and is 'docked' safely so you can walk away.
The Steadistand is a bit more complicated. Loosen the joints and arrange them in an arc so the 'yoke' part is horizontal and roughly over the stand base... then lock the joints tightly. The merlin gimbal can be set down within the arms of the yoke, and docks with the handle dangling. The former is for floor use. The latter sits on a tabletop.


The mounting screw loosens when placing the the camera - mounted on the Merlin - on my knees while sitting in a driving car (on bumpy road). What should I do?
Did you put two parallel strips of cloth 'gaffers' tape on the base of your camera riunning fore and aft at either side of the mounting hole? We designed the mounting screw to have the maximum threads to grip the camera. If,
on some cameras, the screw is nearly 'bottomed out' you will need these tape strips. They will compress slightly when the screw is tightened and keep it under pressure, as well as making the mounting a bit more firm. (If you already have such tapes, as per the manual and DVD, add another thickness).


The Velcro patch on the Grip loses stickeness to the matching Velcro under the bubble level after short time of use.
If the velcro has worn out already I would be surprised. However, if you can find thin black self-adhesive velcro strips -- In the US, for example, at 'radio shack' -- stick a short male and female strip together (adhesive to adhesive) and then use the female side to contact the stage. This will have the effect of making the velcro protrude further and the 'male' side will give you additional contact with the 'female' velcro on the handle.



(Note: you can submit additional questions to be considered for this FAQ to: FAQ@MerlinCookbook.com)