( 4 reviews )
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Posted: 07-04-2009
The merlin is very very smooth, and I was able to set it up in about 2 hours out of the box, to the point where I was able to use it to get short shots that looked very fluid. I am still learning how to get longer shots. The technique is actually very time consuming to learn, and is quite tricky. The merlin is a great tool for making good smooth shots, but it won't do it for you. There is a large element of skill that must to be mastered to get consistently good shots. It is not really second nature. Shots require much more planning, and spontaneous shooting doesn't work as well. I have found that it takes a lot of concentration on the steadicam function, and that I am less able to pay attention to what I am shooting. All in all I think its a great tool, and does a great job. It is a bit more difficult to use than I expected, but learnable with time and patience.
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Posted: 12-03-2008
I got this used and in good condition i spent a week trying to balance the thing. and finally decided its not worth it and am reselling it. It would be a great product and all but i just for the life of me coudnt get it balanced right. If you are interested in this product i STRONGLY suggest you find someone else who has it first who can show you have to use it and set it up before getting it. it is NOT something you can just pick up and use it takes a LOT of time. some people can get it right away but most others it takes a long time to get right. at least the creator Garret Brown was helpful. I really wish i could have gotten this to work...it would have great.. but i decided to make the very difficult decision of selling it back rather then risk spending more money or time to figure out how to balance it. one thought though i hear the lesser priced systems are even harder to set up... so if you have the time and perhaps know someone who has one too maybe it wont be so bad. i do know for the money this is the only product of its kind to do the job.. it just requires the skill which apparently i dont have yet..
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Posted: 11-26-2008
First of all, you will see a slight up and down motion resulting from your footsteps (this is apparent even in their DVD demo material). The faster you move, the more apparent it is. More importantly, it's very hard to get the gyro to aim precisely where you want it to. Pans and tilts are very difficult, so expect to do a lot of practice and many takes to get something that roughly equates to what you want. After a few months, I didn't see enough of a benefit versus frustration, and I sold it. I've also used a fig rig, which is much easier to control but doesn't give as smooth results. Basically, I haven't found a smooth-cam control at this budget level that I can really recommend.
