EXTECH 401014 User Guide

Setup and Operation Manual

Basic Set-up

Table of Contents

Part One — Setup

1. Overview 3 – 5

2. A Tour of the Merlin 6 – 8

3. Getting Started 9 – 10

4. Pre-setting “Z” Axis 11 – 15

5. Installing Dovetail Plate 16 – 18

6. Balancing & Mounting the Camera 19 – 21

7. Horizontal and Vertical Trim 22 – 26

Part Two — Operating

8. Hand Positions 28

9. Body Positions 29 – 31

10. Extreme Trimming 32

11. Stairs 33

12. Shooting and Resting Positions 33 – 34

13. Vehicle Shots 35

14. Merlin Technique 36 – 40

Moves and Results

15. Accessories 41

16. Troubleshooting 42

17. Maintenance 42

18. Glossary 43

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Basic Set-up

Part One

A letter from Steadicam Inventor, Garrett Brown

Dear Friends,

You are about to have a two-part experience. Even
this manual is in two parts. First you will go through
the Setup of your particular camera on the Steadicam
Merlin — think of this as a brief game of weights and
balances — after which you will progress to the fun
part: Operating!

Steadicam is a compelling and evolving art, and the
Merlin is a true instrument – fully as capable as its big
brothers in the movie world. Between the DVD and this manual, you’ll find everything you need
to get started; and a bit later, as your skills develop, you may find it worthwhile to have a second
look through the ‘Operating’ section for info and tips you may have missed.

Meanwhile, for those familiar with the Steadicam JR, here’s a bit of history: the original 1990
prototype was made of aircraft aluminum, the lightest, stiffest, most precise ‘JR’ ever. Until now.

The Steadicam Merlin™ with its new Folding-Caliper hinge, is that legendary, first-ever,
camcorder stabilizer, reborn! Ultra-light, ultra-rigid aluminum construction permits moving
shots at unprecedented focal lengths, and the Folding-Caliper extends and retracts to balance
cameras weighing from one-half pound to five pounds, yet automatically seeks the compact
folded position. I hope that you will really enjoy owning and using the Steadicam Merlin, and I
look forward to seeing some of the results – in sample reels, documentaries, commercials, home
movies and feature films!

Good luck and have fun.

Garrett Brown,
Philadelphia, 2005

www.garrettcam.com

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Part One — Setup

Congratulations on your purchase of the Steadicam® Merlin™!

The Steadicam Merlin is a camera stabilization system for lightweight camcorders
based on the professional Steadicam technology used worldwide in professional film
and television production.

Features

• Ultra-light: by itself weighs less than a can of soda!

• Ultra-compact: folds to less than two inches thin

• Ultra-rigid aluminum construction: supports longer-focal-length shooting

• Precision two-axis vernier stage for accurate, repeatable horizontal balance

• Adjustable vertical trim

• Patent pending ‘Folding-Caliper’ hinge—magically finds true folding position

• Quick-release aluminum dovetail with three-position lock

• Quick-release tripod adaptor

Basic Set-up

• Tough, modular, user-serviceable construction

• Flies cameras weighing from one-half pound to five pounds

• Patented ergonomic, three-axis inter-gimballed handle

Camcorder video quality is now superb, but unstable shooting still looks
amateurish. When you master the Merlin, you will be able to move your camera
smoothly, with a high level of artistic and creative freedom. With the Merlin your
moves can be virtually indistinguishable from those made by dollies, cranes and
the big Steadicam.

The Steadicam Merlin is an instrument that requires know-how and practice. Please
read the rest of this introduction and then carefully follow the recommended procedure
for setup and operation. You’ll save time in the long run and minimize the risk of
damaging the unit.

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Overview

1. Overview — Read this first

How to Use the Merlin Manual and DVD

The Merlin manual and DVD are designed to be used together. They are divided into corresponding
sections. Watching the video for each section will show you the basic principles and operations of the
Merlin and give you a feel for how to perform them. Then the manual will take you step-by-step through
the same operations with your Merlin and camcorder. We recommend that you proceed as follows:

Read this introduction all the way through and prepare for setup as described.

From this point on, each step requiring a specific action on your part will contain space for a check mark
and should be checked off as performed.

Now watch Sections 1 (Introduction) and 2 (Tour of the Merlin) on the DVD. Watch them all the way
through, and don’t attempt to follow along with your Merlin. We’ve found that it’s almost impossible to
work with the Merlin and watch the video at the same time!

At the end of Section 2, the DVD will pause and you can turn to Section 2 of the manual. Perform each
step as requested and check them off as you go. If you determine that a step does not apply to you, check
it off anyway.

It is important to perform the steps in the proper sequence, to avoid both frustration and the risk of
damage to the Merlin. Do not unfold the unit or attempt to mount your camera except as directed.

The Merlin Cookbook

Recommended settings for some popular camcorders may be found in the Online Cookbook at:

www.merlincookbook.com

Note: Due to the ever-increasing number of camcorders, we may not yet have your

camera setting listed. If your camera is not in the cookbook, we recommend the
following:

If you know that your camera generically resembles one that is listed, try using the specifications
for that camera.

If not, we’ll help you balance ‘from scratch’, and you can help us in return, by
e-mailing your successful Merlin settings for cameras not yet listed in the cookbook to:

[e-mail] to be posted in the “User-Reported Settings” Table.

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Requirements for setup

Set aside an hour or so for your first session with the Merlin. Set up a comfortable work chair and table in front of
your TV and near a bright light. Put the following items within easy reach:

• The Merlin packing case. Don’t unpack yet.

• Your camcorder, with a fully charged battery.

Basic Set-up

• Check for your camcorder listing at: www.merlincookbook.com and write down the settings here (we’ll

explain):

• Number and size of forward weights

• Number and size of lower weights

• Arc size

• Mounting hole letter (A-O) on dovetail plate

• Stage position

• ‘Guide’: number of turns.

• Large and small flat-head screwdrivers.

• A pencil.

• A tape measure.

• A white grease pencil or china marker (optional).

• A shallow cereal bowl or glass pie plate (optional).

• The DVD remote. It can help to perform the setup as a team effort. One person reads the manual, checks

off each item and plays the sections of the DVD as appropriate; the other performs the setup of the Merlin.

You will perform these basic operations

• Unpacking and identifying each part.

• Learning to safely unfold the Merlin into “flying mode” and to re-fold it into “travel mode.”

Don’t attempt to unfold the Merlin until you reach this section.

• Presetting Merlin balance for your camera.

• Preparing and mounting your camera.

• Trimming (fine-tuning) Merlin balance.

Once the camera is properly balanced on the Merlin, we recommend that you leave it attached to the Merlin’s
quick-release dovetail plate. By itself, your camera can be hand-held or instantly attached to your tripod with the
included Tripod Adaptor Plate, and when mounted on your Merlin it can be tucked against your shoulder for extra
stability if shooting conventionally, or quickly folded for traveling or storage.

Merlin setup takes a little time, but if you do it right you’ll only have to do it once. Even if you remove the dovetail
plate from your camera the locating pin will insure that it can be remounted in the correct, balanced position with
just a single screw.

Now, you’re ready to start.

View the first two sections of the DVD, including Section 1:

Introduction and Section 2: A Tour of the Merlin.

Follow up by reading A Tour of the Merlin in this manual.

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2. A Tour of the Merlin

Before you take your Steadicam out of the box…

The Parts

We’ll begin by describing the purpose of the system and identifying
the major components. Then we’ll cover the procedure for safely
unpacking and unfolding the unit. So leave it in the box for now!

Camcorders are unstable because the human beings holding them are
always in motion. Small rising, falling and side-to-side movements
don’t really show unless there’s some object close in the foreground,
but tilting the camera up, down or side-to-side by a similar amount
will noticeably affect the framing.

Activate your camcorder, go fairly wide-angle and frame
a scene across the room. Keeping the camera level, try
raising and lowering it about an inch by slightly bending
and unbending your knees, then moving it side-to-side the
same amount by slightly shifting your weight from one foot
to the other. Note that the effect on the framing is slight.

Now tilt the camera half an inch or so to the left…to the right…up…down. Note the
dramatic effect on framing of these tipping motions.

Hand-holding a camera, particularly a small camera, results in angular motions (little ‘tilt’ and ‘pan’
corrections) which are quite disturbing because the human eye doesn’t see the world with the shakes.
So-called ‘digital stabilizers’ and optically stabilized lenses work well to eliminate vibrations, but are
useless for the large-scale bumps that occur when you attempt to walk, run or climb stairs.

The Steadicam works by disconnecting the camera support from the camera and allowing you just
enough angular influence to aim it. In addition to being a great stabilizer, it is also an elegant way of
holding a camcorder to permit complicated and graceful moves that would otherwise be impossible.

Locate the following parts on Diagram 1:

Gimbal and Grip. The shape of the Merlin is designed to stabilize the system by placing

its center-of-gravity below the camera — in fact, just below the center of the Gimbal. The
Gimbal won’t permit any angular force to pass through it, so it doesn’t matter if your hand
shakes while holding the Grip, which is below the Gimbal and therefore isolated from the
camera.

Just above the Gimbal is the Guide, the small surface you use to aim the Merlin. Since your
“gripping hand” does all the work in supporting the Merlin, your “guiding” hand can retain
the extremely light touch necessary to aim the camera without transmitting the shakes.

Your camera will mount to the quick-release Dovetail Plate, which attaches to the

Stage.

The Trim Controls on the Stage make it possible to tune the balance of the system so
that it is poised level on the Gimbal, but is every-so-slightly bottom heavy.

The Upper Spar and Lower Spar distribute the mass of the system. (Note the tapered
Start and Finish weights screwed together at the end of the Lower Spar.)

The Folding Caliper Hinge has two functions: It permits the Merlin to fold and

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unfold between the travel (storage) and shooting positions; and it adjusts the size of the
arc between the upper and lower spar, to tune the vertical balance of the Merlin. (Note the
single Finish weight in place.)

The Caliper Release Lever prohibits inadvertent folding with heavy cameras.

The Upper Locking Knob and the Lower Locking Knob release the upper and
lower spars to expand or contract at the Caliper Hinge, and then lock them tightly to prevent
vibration when shooting

The Caliper Adjusting Knob raises and lowers the lower spar to adjust the size of the
arc between them.

The combination of these elements works astonishingly well, and we hope you will enjoy the Merlin as
much as we do. With practice, you can move easily through almost any shooting opportunity, walking,
running or climbing stairs, and deliver wonderful shots.

stage

fore-and-aft
trim roller

side-to-side
trim roller

guide

upper spar

gimbal

upper locking knob

grip

Basic Set-up

nish weight

folding caliper
hinge

lower locking knob

Diagram 1

lower spar

caliper adjusting
knob

caliper release
lever

folded metal edge

dovetail plate

dovetail lock

tapered start and nish weights

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The Parts

Unpacking and identifying parts

Remove the parts one at a time from the box. Make a check in the space provided as you identify each
part. Any part that is packed in an envelope should be identified and then kept in that envelope until
it’s called for. Do not throw away any packing material until all parts are accounted for. If anything is
missing, please contact Tiffen for a replacement.

You should have:

Steadicam Merlin, including 3 pre-installed weights and dovetail plate

DVD: “The Art of Steadicam Merlin”

Nine threaded stainless-steel weights (with cushioning rubber O-rings installed):

One Start and two Finish weights (shipped installed on Merlin)

Six Mid weights

Plastic Bag, containing:

One Mounting Screw for mounting camcorder to Merlin

One Locating Pin set: pin and attaching screw

One “Gezornenplatz” Screw (provides optional stiffening
and support for some heavy camcorders)

Tripod Adaptor Plate

When all parts have been located and identified, watch
Section 3 of the DVD, Unfolding the Merlin.

Then continue with the Manual.

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3. Getting Started

Unfolding the Merlin into Flying Mode

The Steadicam Merlin is shipped to you in its compact Folded or Travel Mode.

It is important to unfold and fold the unit in the proper sequence, to avoid accidental
damage. There are only two positions.

Begin by unfolding the unit into Flying Mode as follows:

Position the Merlin as shown. Hold the Stage and the Grip
together with your hand.

Note the storage position of the Grip in the folded unit,
velcro’d up under the stage alongside the folded lower spar.

Check that the Caliper Hinge

Release is open and out of the way.

With the other hand, swing down
the Lower Spar sideways until it
clicks into the fully opened position.

If you plan to use a heavy camera, get into the habit of
locking the Caliper Hinge Release when the Merlin is
unfolded into Flying Mode.

Getting Started

The Steadicam Merlin is now in Flying Mode. When a camera is
properly mounted on the Stage, you will be able to hold the unit by
the Grip (with the Velcro side always forward and in contact with
your fingers) and the camera will “float” in balance above it.

Folding the Merlin into Travel Mode

Open the Caliper Hinge

Release and swing it up

out of the way.

‘Dock’ the Gimbal under the stage by pressing the
Velcro patch on the Grip to the matching Velcro under
the bubble level.

Grasp the Stage and the Grip with one hand and swing
up the Lower Spar until it clicks into the ‘Travel’
position under the stage alongside the grip.

Practice folding and unfolding the Merlin between Flying Mode and Travel Mode.

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Getting Started

Identify the following parts:

Gimbal. We identified the Gimbal in Section 1, but

now examine its range of motion. The Gimbal contains
delicate bearings and must not be forced beyond its
natural range of movement.

Grip. The Grip supports and positions the Merlin.

The Grip should always be held with the Velcro side
facing forward in contact with your fingers. If it’s held
backward, movement of the Gimbal will be impeded
and under some circumstances the Gimbal could be
damaged. Try gently moving the Grip and Gimbal
around to compare its range of motion in the correct
vs. incorrect positions.

Guide. This is the black ring above the Gimbal. The

Guide provides a minimal surface so the thumb and
one or two fingers can aim the camera. The “Tongue”
at the front of the Guide provides extra surface area to
assist in tilting the camera. Do not rotate or adjust the
Guide yet.

Blue Fore-and-Aft Trim Roller, along the side

of the Stage.

Blue Side-to-side Trim Roller, under the Stage

at the back of the Gimbal mount.

Now you are ready to begin balancing the unit for your camera.

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Watch Section 4 of the DVD, Presetting Balance.

Then continue with the Manual.

4. Pre-Setting Balance

When your camera is mounted onto the Merlin, the entire unit must be set-up and balanced so that the
combined center-of-gravity (camera plus Merlin), ends up just below the center of the fulcrum (the
Gimbal), and precisely adjusted to be slightly bottom-heavy. Let’s take a moment to understand this.

Try balancing a shallow pie plate on the tip of your finger. It’s very difficult to do,
because the center-of-gravity (c.g.) of the bowl is above your finger.

Turn the bowl upside down. Now it’s much easier to find the balance point and
once you find it you can move your finger from side-to-side and it won’t fall off.
That’s because you’ve made the bowl bottom heavy and put its center-of-gravity
below your fingertip.

“Z” Balance

c.g. is above nger

Slight bottom-heaviness is the key to Steadicam stabilization. That’s what the compact stage and the
weights on the Lower Spar are for: to provide just enough mass well below the Gimbal to compensate
for the much greater weight of your camera just above the Gimbal. Of course you’ll want the unit to be
somewhat bottom-heavy before attempting side-to-side or front-to-back balance, or the camera will tend
to flop over and hang upside-down.

c.g. is below nger

Three ways to balance bottom-heaviness

Because the Merlin accepts cameras weighing from one-half lb (220g) to five lbs (2.2kg), we provide
three graduated ways of achieving appropriate bottom heaviness.

1. Adding weights

The coarsest adjustment of bottom-heaviness is obtained by adding or subtracting weights, particularly
at the end of the lower spar. The Steadicam Merlin comes with nine threaded stainless steel weights:

One ‘Start’ weight:

1/8 lb (57g)

Two ‘Finish’ weights:

1/8 lb (57g)

Six ‘Mid’ weights:

1/4 lb (114g)

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“Z” Balance

You won’t need to screw them on tightly. Each weight has a rubber

O-ring at the back of the threads that keeps it from working loose,

even when barely tightened.

Screw and unscrew two weights together and apart, notice that
they only need to be lightly tightened (until just snug), so they
remain easy to add and remove.

Unfold the Merlin and unscrew the Start weight from the
forward position and the Start and Finish weights from the
lower position and set them aside.

If your camcorder is in the Online Cookbook at www.merlincookbook.com note the number and
type of weights specified for both the forward and lower positions, and note them again here:

Forward Position: Finish (always) + Mid (0 or 1)

Lower Position: Start (0 or 1) + Mid (0 to 6) + Finish (always)

Install the weights specified at both the forward and lower positions. Note, as above: a Start weight
may not be called for, but cameras weighing a pound or more will almost always employ Finish
weights, both forward and below.

1

1

Balancing from Scratch I: Formula for adding weights

If you don’t see your camcorder in the Online Merlin Cookbook, here’s a rough formula to help you preset vertical
balance. Weigh your camera accurately (or look up its weight in the camera’s manual or on the manufacturer’s
website). Make sure you have the tape, disc or memory card aboard, plus a camera battery when you weigh it. Note
that the compact structure of the Merlin puts its counterweights about four times as far below the gimbal (think
fulcrum!) as the center of your camera’s mass is above it. Therefore you’ll need at least a quarter of your camera’s
weight down below as counterbalance.

For every pound of camcorder weight, add at least a quarter-pound Merlin weight to the lower spar.

< 1 lb Cameras under one pound will generally need one Finish weight forward and one Finish weight

below.

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> 1 lb Cameras weighing over one pound will also need a tapered Start weight added below.

> 2 lbs At two pounds, add one Mid weight below.

> 3 lbs At three pounds, add one more Mid below and also add a Mid in front (but never more than one

Mid and one Finish in the forward position -- they are for increased inertia and don’t contribute
much to vertical balance.)

+1 For every additional pound, add at least one more Mid weight below.

Note some of the heavier HDV cameras suggested for use with Merlin, such as the Sony “Z” have higher than
normal centers-of-mass and may require the Mid weight in front to be moved down onto the lower spar. The idea
is to add as little weight as possible to balance your camera and so preserve the essential lightness of the Merlin
system. (Without its weights Merlin weighs just 12 oz, or 340g!)

2. Adjusting the Caliper Hinge

The second method of balance – for a finer adjustment of bottom-heaviness – involves expanding and
contracting the angle of the Merlin’s lower spar. This adjustment raises or lowers the weights relative to
the camera.

Identify the Caliper Hinge Locking Knobs. They tighten
the connection between the upper and lower spar and keep
the Merlin rigid to prevent vibration.

Loosen both Locking Knobs.

Identify the Caliper Adjusting Knob. It adjusts the angle
of the lower spar.

Notice the graphic on the knob. It tells
you which direction to turn to expand or
contract the Arc Size. Clockwise expands.
Counterclockwise contracts.

If weights have already been added, support the lower
spar rest on the surface of the table to make the Caliper

Adjusting Knob easier to turn. Turn the knob clockwise to

increase bottom-heaviness.

Continue until you reach the maximum expansion of the

Arc Size between the upper and lower spars – almost 13

inches (33cm) – but don’t force this adjustment further.
Use this maximum Arc Size for cameras weighing much
above two pounds (.9kg), so you can use as few weights as
possible.

Basic Set-up

Turn the Adjusting Knob counter-clockwise to reduce the

Arc-Size. You will reach the minimum arc size at just under

7 inches (17cm) This size is only used for the lightest 1/2 lb
(227g) camcorders.

If your camera is listed in the Online Cookbook, note the

Arc Size distance specified again here:

Arc Size for your camera: inches.

The distance is measured from the lower weight to the top of the Stage.

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