Tiffen Steadicam Merlin Camera Stabilizing System
Shake, rattle and roll — it’s not just a classic rock ‘n roll song from the 1950s; it can also be used to describe the results of hand-held video camera use. Trying to hold a camera perfectly steady while panning, walking, riding in a car — it’s at best difficult to get smooth video that wouldn’t give people motion-sickness when viewed on their sanctuary’s large projection screens. However, there is a solution to this challenge. The motion picture industry has long used Tiffen’s Steadicam camera stabilization products for capturing amazing footage with the freedom of movement of a hand-held camera, but with the stability of a camera mount. The Steadicam product line also has systems designed for smaller-scale and smaller-camera use. Tiffen’s latest model in this product line is the Merlin, an ultra-light-weight stabilizer ideal for churches doing videography work.
The Merlin is capable of supporting cameras weighing up to five pounds, and comes with a set of nine weights for balancing the Merlin/camera combination; an excellent instructional DVD on the set up and use of the unit; and a plate that can be used to quickly mount a Merlin-installed camera on a tripod. The basic concept is that the Merlin provides a camera mount on a gimbal-mounted handle, and the weights attached to the spars lower the center of gravity of the combined system to just under the gimbal. This enables the camera to almost “float” on top of the Merlin, and any tilting or twisting of the hand that supports the Merlin doesn’t get transmitted through to the camera. Supporting the Merlin with one hand via the handle, the other hand is free to apply gentle control movements to the knob located just above the gimbal.
Expect the initial set up of your camera (and watching the included instructional DVD — I don’t recommend using the Merlin without seeing this first) to take a few hours. Proper operation of the system requires almost perfect balancing, and the first time you do this can take some trial and error. Fortunately, Tiffen provides an online “cookbook” for the Merlin, and if your camera is listed in the cookbook, all the critical pieces of information you need for quickly getting your camera balanced is provided, and will reduce the set up time. If your camera is not listed, you need to go through a manual balancing procedure.
Once balanced, learning to operate the unit also takes time and practice. Using the Merlin well is not complicated — but it is an acquired skill that takes time to master. With practice, the Merlin provides amazingly smooth and steady shots, enabling one to shoot excellent footage while walking, running, going up and down stairs — just about in any situation. I’m by no means a wizard with it yet (pun intended), but even after an hour or two of practice, I was able to get much better shots with the Merlin than by merely holding the camera in my hands. I had the pleasure of being able to use the Merlin at our Worship Facilities Conference and Expo (WFX) in Dallas, videotaping portions of the keynote addresses, capturing footage from the tradeshow floor, and generally providing endless amusement for my coworkers as they watched me wander all over the show looking like — well, the geek that I am. It’s amazing the isolation from bumps and jars that the Merlin provides. In fact, our Editor Mark Johnson thought he’d have a little fun with me at WFX, giving me a few strong shoves on the shoulder to try and mess up my shots. But to the amazement of both of us, you couldn’t tell from the footage that my body had just moved radically half a foot side-to-side. My arm naturally moved on its own to compensate for the lateral movement, and the Merlin absorbed all other motion.
And as an added bonus, it also has the side-effect of helping introverts meet new people. Walking around WFX (as well as my church) with a camera attached to the Merlin was like walking a cute puppy around your neighborhood. Everyone wants to stop and see it.
At a price of $799, it initially seemed like an expensive accessory. But after working with it for several weeks, it’s well worth the investment for anyone that wants to shoot video while moving. I’m not looking forward to sending it back. Hmmm — perhaps I should hold off on this review until I have the chance to investigate the effect that 1/6 lunar gravity would have on balancing my camera….
