Leica Video: Stedicam Merlin 2

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A heads up for people who might be interested in this product, B&H has it on sale as part of its Black Friday promotion for $349: Steadicam Merlin 2 Camera Stabilizing System MERLIN2 B&H Photo

 

That's a very good price. I bought one today, although I expect that I will eventually wind up with one of the radio controlled helicopter rigs that are being adapted for land use, e.g. The Ghost, Defy G5, Movi M5.

 

Cheers

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A caution to those who aren't familiar with these kinds of rigs...

 

They are not plug and play.

 

The Stedicam and similar rigs take time to balance the camera to the rig and experience to use it effectively.

 

The Stedicam site has info on how to balance many cameras, but currently no information on balancing the M 240.

 

When I get my 240 (hopefully in the next couple of weeks), I'll post info on balancing it on the Merlin rig with a Summicron-M 35mm f/2. Then maybe with some other lenses.

 

If anyone already has info on balancing a 240 on this or similar rigs, and is prepared to share it, thanks a lot!

 

Cheers

[Guest redge]

Just a thought...

 

It might be an idea to create a sub-forum called something like "Leica Video".

 

Cheers

[Dannybuoy]

I used to own one and used it with a 5DII which was a nightmare as it was just far too front heavy and the center of gravity was very had to get bang on. It would gently wobble when filming. You can see this in a lot of online videos. A tell tale sign of an unbalanced steadicam. Not sure about the M but as it uses smaller, lighter lenses in general then it might be ok. These stedicams are really best with devoted video cameras where the center of gravity tends to be lower and in the middle. Would be interesting to see the M video on a Merlin though.

[Ecar]

Just a thought...

 

It might be an idea to create a sub-forum called something like "Leica Video".

 

Cheers

 

Maybe...

But only if it's buried down deep or can be made invisible at the push of a button.

...

...

Just kidding;)

[Guest redge]

I used to own one and used it with a 5DII which was a nightmare as it was just far too front heavy and the center of gravity was very had to get bang on. It would gently wobble when filming. You can see this in a lot of online videos. A tell tale sign of an unbalanced steadicam. Not sure about the M but as it uses smaller, lighter lenses in general then it might be ok. These stedicams are really best with devoted video cameras where the center of gravity tends to be lower and in the middle. Would be interesting to see the M video on a Merlin though.

 

Yes, I'm hoping that the M 240 with a 24mm, 35mm or 50mm lens might be a good fit - maybe even 90mm if I'm lucky.

 

There's very little on the internet, apart from so-called test shots, that shows sustained Merlin footage. This piece, by a French cinematographer, is an exception. The whole thing was apparently shot with a Merlin mounted Canon DSLR. Lenses were 24mm, 16-35mm and 100mm. I think that it's interesting that he uses the Merlin not just for shots where the camera moves, but as a tripod replacement:

 

More About Bangkok on Vimeo

 

He has a couple of other pieces on Vimeo shot with the same gear, including this: About Bangkok on Vimeo, and a Stedicam Merlin show reel: Steadicam Showreel on Vimeo

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Maybe...

But only if it's buried down deep or can be made invisible at the push of a button.

...

...

Just kidding;)

 

Hey, we're on the same wavelength. If there was a Leica Video sub-forum, the people who think that Leica video is a sacrilege wouldn't have their purist sensitivities jarred

[Ecar]

Hey, we're on the same wavelength. If there was a Leica Video sub-forum, the people who think that Leica video is a sacrilege wouldn't have their purist sensitivities jarred

 

I don't use the video function, but it's there. And I appreciate that some want to take advantage of it.

Now, if a FW update could give me the ability to re-assign that video button...

[Guest redge]

I received an M two days ago and will try to balance it on the Merlin this weekend. A professional Steadicam operator has kindly offered to cross-check my effort sometime in the next couple of weeks.

 

Will post as this progresses.

 

Cheers

[Vicente]

I received an M two days ago and will try to balance it on the Merlin this weekend. A professional Steadicam operator has kindly offered to cross-check my effort sometime in the next couple of weeks.

 

Will post as this progresses.

 

Cheers

 

Hi Redge,

 

Please do, I'd be interested in the setup. If you don't mind what lens are you setting it up with?

[RITskellar]

If you already own a tripod of a small to medium size and weight to use as a counter balance, you can do what this stedicam merlin does, only cheaper and easier.

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Hi Redge,

 

Please do, I'd be interested in the setup. If you don't mind what lens are you setting it up with?

 

Initially 35mm f2 Summicron-M.

[Guest redge]

If you already own a tripod of a small to medium size and weight to use as a counter balance, you can do what this stedicam merlin does, only cheaper and easier.

 

How?

[RITskellar]

How?

 

Simply put, all a stedicam does is provide a counterweight (to your camera) and a handle or support in which to brace it. You can use a tripod or monopod in all kinds of creative configurations to achieve the same result for a variety of shots. A quick Youtube search yields lots of options...

 

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- Monopod steadicam - cheap steadicam (Poor man's steadicam) - YouTube

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-

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[Guest redge]

Simply put, all a stedicam does is provide a counterweight (to your camera) and a handle or support in which to brace it. You can use a tripod or monopod in all kinds of creative configurations to achieve the same result for a variety of shots. A quick Youtube search yields lots of options...

 

-

- Monopod steadicam - cheap steadicam (Poor man's steadicam) - YouTube

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-

-

 

Hi Andy,

 

A Steadicam, and the devices made by competitors, don't just provide a counterweight to the camera and a way to brace it. In fact, the last thing you want to do is "brace" the camera. The whole point of a Steadicam is that it isolates the camera from the movement of one's body. In the case of the Merlin, this is done, in part, by placing the camera platform over a freely moving ball/ball bearings.

 

I have watched all of the videos linked in your post. Two observations. First, the people who made the videos don't claim that these juryrigged alternatives do what a Steadicam does, and indeed in two or three of the videos expressly state that the results are inferior. Secondly, while watching the footage, I thought that I was going to be seasick. Then there are the differences between a Steadicam and a shoulder mount (one of the videos) and a dolly or jib (another of the videos).

 

However, the videos do help explain why Garrett Brown, the inventor of the Steadicsm, won an Academy award for his invention and what the Steadicam, by comparison, does.

 

I thought that you were going to talk about doing something like mounting a gyroscope on a tripod plate that would somehow be attached to the camera

 

Cheers

[RITskellar]

Hi Andy,

 

A Steadicam, and the devices made by competitors, don't just provide a counterweight to the camera and a way to brace it. In fact, the last thing you want to do is "brace" the camera. The whole point of a Steadicam is that it isolates the camera from the movement of one's body. In the case of the Merlin, this is done, in part, by placing the camera platform over a ball bearing.

 

I have watched all of the videos linked in your post. Two observations. First, the people who made the videos don't claim that these juryrigged alternatives do what a Steadicam does, and indeed in two or three of the videos expressly acknowledge that the results are inferior. Secondly, while watching the footage, I thought that I was going to be seasick. Then there are the differences between a Steadicam and a juryrigged shoulder mount (one of the videos) and a juryrigged dolly or jib (another of the videos).

 

Cheers.

 

First, I'm not about to spend my time researching the subject for everyone or screening the videos. I offered up a few related Youtube results that can inspire further research as desired.

 

Aside from that, I think we're quibbling a bit. I was simply offering an alternative. Whether or not it's an equal alternative is another matter. I've used several techniques over the years to combat camera shake which is helping a lot with the new M as well. I like the convenience of simply being able to carry and use one thing (my tripod) and use it in a variety of ways, and I'm sure some other folks would as well. While specific products may perform better at specific things, it's ridiculous to think that one needs to own all this gear just to make their M videos better.

[Guest redge]

Hi Andy,

 

I suggest that you look at post #6 above, and in particular watch one or more of the videos linked in that post, and then watch the videos linked in your own post that you say you didn't take the time to watch.

 

The difference is blatantly obvious.

 

Having spent $7000 on the camera (plus a bunch more on accessories), I am not going to get too exercised about spending $350 on a Merlin and taking the time to learn how to use it.

 

And no, I don't believe that fancy camera movement is essential to good video-making. I'm a big fan of an Eric Rohmer film called Pauline à la plage, and know from a book written by the film's cinematographer (Nestor Almendros) that it was made by a crew of five with rudimentary gear.

 

Cheers

[RITskellar]

Hi Andy,

 

I suggest that you look at post #6 above, and in particular watch one or more of the videos linked in that post, and then watch the videos linked in your own post that you say you didn't take the time to watch.

 

The difference is blatantly obvious.

 

Having spent $7000 on the camera (plus a bunch more on accessories), I am not going to get too exercised about spending $350 on a Merlin and taking the time to learn how to use it.

 

And no, I don't believe that fancy camera movement is essential to good video-making. I'm a big fan of an Eric Rohmer film called Pauline à la plage, and know from a book written by the film's cinematographer (Nestor Almendros) that it was made by a crew of five with rudimentary gear.

 

Cheers

 

 

Thanks. I stand corrected.

[Guest redge]

Andy,

 

I see from your web site that you've spent some time in Newfoundland. I spend about four months a year there in the Trinity area. If you were hunting icebergs, you were probably there in May/June. Next time, come late June to mid-August and I'll take you whale watching (Fin whales, Humpbacks, Orcas, Minkes) and fly fishing for salmon and trout

 

Cheers

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

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Nothing to do with using the Merlin rig with the M240, but this is an interesting 1976 letter from producer Jan Harlan to Stanley Kubrick about a "new contraption" that wound up being used in The Shining and every Kubrick film after. The reference to "Haskel" is to the great cinematographer, and documentary filmmaker, Haskell Wexler. The reference to "tracks" is to dolly tracks: Letters of Note: It's just terrific

 

A bit more context, from the Wikipedia entry for Steadicam, especially in relation to Wexler and Kubrick:

 

"The Steadicam was first used in the Best Picture–nominated Woody Guthrie biopic Bound for Glory (1976), debuting with a shot that compounded the Steadicam's innovation: cinematographer Haskell Wexler had Garrett Brown [the Steadicam's inventor] start the shot on a fully elevated platform crane which jibbed down, and when it reached the ground, Brown stepped off and walked the camera through the set. This technically audacious and previously impossible shot created considerable interest in how it had been accomplished, and impressed the Academy enough for Wexler to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography that year.

 

"It was then used in extensive running and chase scenes on the streets of New York City in Marathon Man (1976), which was actually released two months before Bound for Glory. It landed a notable third credit in Avildsen's Best Picture–winning Rocky (1976), where it was an integral part of the film's Philadelphia street jogging/training sequences and the run up the Art Museum's flight of stairs, as well as the fight scenes (where it can even be plainly seen in operation at the ringside during some wide shots of the final fight). Garrett Brown was the Steadicam operator on all of these.

 

"The Shining (1980) pushed Brown's innovations even further, when Kubrick requested that the camera shoot from barely above the floor. This prompted the innovation of a "low mode" bracket to mount the top of a camera to the bottom of an inverted post, which substantially increased the creative angles of the system, which previously could not go much lower than the operator's waist height. This low-mode concept remains the most important extension to the system since its inception."

 

Cheers