Steadicam Merlin

[TemplarReturns]

That guy with the bald head looked like an asshole.

[TheSickOne5]

@TemplarReturns agreed, what's up with the arrogant grab of the device!

[AlkimyDeal]

Damn people are not happy with ol' Merlin on this page. Forget building an imitation pickup a Cam Caddie for $38 it can help you achieve comparable shots and it can mount lights/mics/and a monitor if need be. Works great for my independent setup.

[barbershop22]

Its good metal with good paint. It would look stupid running around with the same product made out of PVC, which is what I have and works better. I also have a Merlin and hate it. Its over priced and hard to adjust. Given the number of cameras its impossible to build one product to fit all. That is why I made my PVC version exactly for my camera and only my camera. Spent about 30 hours and $28 and its better than the Merlin laying on the couch next to me. Truth.

[ledwatch]

Why is it $800? It's the BEST one! Stop whining, if you can't afford it then go and get one of the many cheap nasty copies, you will have crap performance though.

[futurestartsnow]

dreadful customer relations... lol... rude!!

[MrPeterFinland]

Quit whining, misers! You could always whine about how expensive things are, like why are Bentleys so many times more expensive than BMWs? Guess what, you don't have to buy one!

[jackaltv]

@MrPeterFinland Sir, you hit the nail right on the head!

[beerborn]

Merlin is just way too overpriced. The things that I noticed of all the videos I've seen with steadicams and even I have the Manfrotto Steadicam, is once you start walking the gimble would start to rotate slowly. This is because it is frictionless. Another is trying to avoid the pendulum effect. This is why they want you to use two hands to avoid these things. So your better off buying a real cheap one. Or better yet use a simple monopod and avoid walking as much.

[JoeyLovesChachi]

drumboi6 is right. Let's stop feeding the bear!

[supersteadicam]

Merlin at $700-$800 is actually quite reasonable. camera stabilizers are precision instruments. much like a ruler can cost 10 cents but a really precise vernier calipers to within 0.001" are $400+. Camera stabilizers need to be have precision within at least roughly 0.05", Remember if your camera tilts up by half a degree, on screen it shows up as a lot.

[Exposethefrauds]

Worst salesman. He talked to the customer as if he was 2 years old. 2 hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would have said Fu#K u and walked away. Im sure a lot of people did.

[ALKUKES]

u right i would av sayed tthe same,,,,

[Nerte85]

Fuck Merlin. Overpriced as hell! Why they don't sell it for 100 bucks? How come that some pieces put together are more expensive than my Full HD camera with latest technology?? Ridiculous!

They could be as popular as tripods (almost everybody has one). They would make so much money. I never saw Steadicam with my own eyes. Only on youtube videos. How many people actually REALLY have it??

[ImYourDrillerMan]

Get the MMC Hague stabilizer. It's around $100 in Europe.

[Skeletonwitharaygun]

That old guy is a dick.

[d1g1talsm0k3]

lol, 2 hands! what a joke. That guy got told off for not holding it with 2 hands but the founder of the merlin says in the videos 1h or 2, up to you. mind, for such an expensive piece of plastic u gotta look after it :P

[dabigjokeoftheday]

800 bucks and it comes with a plastic piece of crap handle..what a joke

[drumboi6]

I think this Merlin is vulgar display of greed in this country. $900.00? Are you kidding? Three pieces of metal and counterbalance? Please people don't perpetuate the greed.

Even at $400.00, I cannot justify spending that kind of money on something so simple. Make it yourself for $100, and take $100 and send it to your favorite charity. Help a poor family buy food, give your wives a nice dinner. But please don't be fools and spend $900 on this. It's a freaking crime!

[Back2BackJack]

You should make them for $100 and sell them for $200.  Think of how much you could make.

[beeernardo]

Stop complaining and start to build one yourself, you'll find that there's a lot of engineering involved in this little thing. Your comment is a vulgar display of ignorance in yourself.

[drumboi6]

People, go to vimeo and add this number to the url 2007039 and watch the video. Build one for $14 bucks donate the rest to charity. The only magic Merlin performs is to make your money disappear. This is basic engineering. A bent rod with a center of gravity and counterbalance. Big woop. This is a great way to put a young filmmaker out of business. Make one yourself, and teach these highway robbers a lesson. Engineering, my left toe. Basic, high school level science. Nothing more.

[beeernardo]

That system is completely different from the merlin's. There is not even a gimbal, which is the most important part of the system, since that's the part that filters the jerky motion of the human hand while walking or running.

Search for the WSCLATER's videos here in youtube, you'll see the amount of dedication needed to do youself a Merlin like stabilizer.

Start to build one yourself and I bet that half the way you'll rather spend 800dlls and save yourself A LOT of time and effort.

[beeernardo]

People, look for a video called "Steadicam Merlin Demonstration" from "mastersgta1" and let me know if the footage taken from the Vimeo video look's something like the one from the Merlin.

The 14$ footage results simply suck!

[garett69]

It's not about greed. I'm a businessman and my "greed" sees a good opportunity to make a similar product, sell it much cheaper, and steal the market from Steadicam, making me rich in the process. The reason that isn't being done is because Steadicam has patents on this obvious piece of metal and plastic. This is a clear case of government giving special privileges to certain groups at the expense of others. A clear case of patents doing more harm than good.

[kezadrone]

@drumboi6 I know I guy here in Scotland who made one for £40. And it works even better that this . I shit you not. Type in Home made merlin stedycam.

[oasotam]

@drumboi6 here in brazil, it costs $ 1.100

[24pStudio]

@drumboi6 You are paying for the idea, the trend as well. Just like the new ipad2. It only cost them $60 or less to assemble all the gears together in production line in China or somewhere like that but you pay $800 for it and shit load of people still buy it because that is the new trend and people like the idea.

[patreal2000]

I was waiting for the guy to tell him "Sorry you can't buy this, your way top stupid" NEXT.....

[whattheheckdood]

does any1 know what camera that is?

[electriccrabb]

Sony HVR-A1. Couple year-old CMOS-based 1080i pro HDV camera.

[humaxf1]

arrogant fcuker

[KarameloKaramelo]

I agree. THe white thisrt guy is sooo arrogant trying to sell it the hard way.

[Steadico]

Its called training... thats what these guys do.

Look again and you will see that the camera is drifting completely out of control until the 'dude' is shown how to operate it properly.

After only a few moments being shown how to use it properly, He gets it back and operates perfectly... probobly because this Tiffen guy has trained some of the best Steadicam Operators in Europe.

[cazz77]

what a prick he just crapped the the merlin from the dudes hand I dont know but If a salesman did that here in nj I would have at least said something like dude wtf watch how you take things out of my hands