2009Steadi-Newbies forum
Merlin steadicam losing balance after being set down and exhibiting continuous pendulum motion
17 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
What the thread found
- A Merlin can appear balanced when held but become unbalanced after being placed on a surface and picked up again, which may be caused by slight movement in the lower spar even when the caliper lock screws are tight.
- Ensuring the lower spar is fully open each time the rig is picked up helps prevent balance issues.
- When picking up a Merlin, pulling down on the arc can help maintain proper balance.
- The Merlin behaves as a slow pendulum that requires active operator control through gentle hand guidance to prevent continuous swinging motion.
- Proper Merlin operation requires the operator to 'shepherd' the pendulum with corrective inputs such as brief nudges at the start of motion, opposite pressure to stop, and side pressure when changing direction.
- A drop time of one to two seconds is appropriate for Merlin operation and indicates the rig is working as designed.
Depends on
- The user was new to steadicam operation at the time of posting.
- The specific camera setup was a Canon HV-40 with Raynox 6600 pro wideangle lens totaling approximately 0.96 kg.
- The exact nature of the problem discovered by the user was not detailed in the final message.