Steadicam Merlin on the KVR

It's always fun testing new gear. I've spent the past couple of days working on getting my Canon XQ10 properly balanced. It's a bit tricky and takes patience. For my first outing I took the Steadicam Merlin on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway at night. It was a great way to experience how versatile this unit is. It's similar to the larger Steadicam used in movies but much smaller.

Canon XA10 mounted on Steadicam Merlin

 

Steadicam Merlin

"The Steadicam Merlin offers light, agile, seamless shooting for today's videogapher. Ultra-light and ultra-compact, the Steadicam Merlin allows you to keep up with the action more easily than ever.

Designed by Garrett Brown, the inventor of the original Steadicam Jr, the Merlin is the next generation hand held Steadicam system.  The Steadicam Merlin is half the weight and four times as stable as the JR. Yet, it can move as smoothly as the big $60,000 rigs used in Hollywood.

The Merlin let's you "fly" wherever the scene takes you--up and down steps, indoors and outside, through crowds--almost anywhere, with precise, elegant control and ease. Its quick release mount lets you instantly swap camera connections between your Merlin and any tripod.

Merlin's design significantly reduces fatigue. So lightweight, it weighs less than a can of soda. With a compact DV, balanced and ready to go, the Merlin weighs about two pounds. Its rigid construction permits longer focal lengths than ever imaginable with a hand-held stabilizer.

Merlin's unique dual extended weight system greatly increases inertial stability. And its counterbalancing weight can be precisely adjusted to balance cameras from 0.5 to 5 lbs.  The new patent-pending "Folding-Caliper"TM hinge allows instant fold-up, perfect for shoulder-mounted shooting, and just as quickly, returns precisely for hand-held camera work."

- Courtesy: Vistek

http://vistek.ca/

http://www.kettlevalleyrail.org/