I've talked to Tiffen/Steaducam and they say they started shipping the vest/arm/gimble last week. But calling B&H and Calumet they say 4 weeks....

I have a project I've been bumping start date on till I can get one.

Anyone know of one on the shelves somewhere that I can purchase ASAP?

Thanks in advance!

edit....
Frank Rush from Tiffen hooked my up with Kenny Christler at Showcase in Atlanta and they're shipping me one today!
All I can say is that both Tiffen/Steadicam and Showcase are MOST AWESOME!

Unpacked and assembled the Merlin Vest/Arm last night... Very well made... you can tell this is one of those things that will last forever. Looks like I have serial number 8.

I flew around the house till 1AM... had "The Shining" flashbacks!

Actualy... the only problem I had was I was afriad to wake the kids with all the velcro noise... Hey Charles, can you ask Zach Braff where I can get that silent velcro his High School buddy invented? hehe.

Now.. hopefully the xdcam ex will fly on it ok... as the Z1 seems to quite well.

Sweet! Be sure to share some footage taken with your new rig! ... maybe some shots of one of your kids riding around on a tricycle ;)

does the new gimble really make it more stable?

can't tell... Yet... I'll know more after tonight

Trust me, it'll fly a bigger camera beautifully. The Merlin itself will be the deciding factor, the Arm will do it with no question. I've been running around my house with a 14 pound sled+camera combination on it, and it flies like a dream. (Homebuilt sled and Panasonic DVC-60 with shotgun mic).

By the way, B&H now has the Merlin on their website! (although the item is back ordered, sigh...)

ok... I've had about 4 hours with it and I'm pretty happy! Now if only it wasn't 4000 degrees outside I'd go shoot something not client related.

I think I'm going to add the extra weights that came with the vest.... and some more weight to the z1 and see if it makes it even better.

One thing cool... I had an old haliburton case lay'n round and the foam inserts from the box fit perfectly... so the arm and vest fit in the case... I might look like a smuggler carrying it around tough.

Does the Arm and Vest make for a sort of "night-and-day" difference between the merlin having the arm and vest and NOT having it? Are your shots smoother with the arm and vest? Or does the Arm and Vest simply mean that you can run the Merlin for longer periods, but not necessarily smoother?

The arm and vest take the strain of the rig, this has 2 benefits:

1) You can in deed operate for longer. Whiel the Merlin in hand can get tiring, it's nothing on the vest!

2) Because you don't have to worry about supporting the Merlin, you can focus 100% of your concentration into the shot, this generally leads to improved shots as you arn't worrying about how to hold it, only how to move it.


- Mikko

definitly makes a did... Now I can actually zoom in a little more and not shoot everything at full wide... Without the vest/arm, I'd get a little shaken after a minute or two... The z1 was pushing the limits weight wise.... Now I'm tempted to load everything I can in the thing.... Sony led light, wireless reciever.... Beer coozie.... Toilet paper holder... Kidding

Hopefully the xdcam ex will work well with this setup...

Anyone knows where I may be able to order the system to be delivered to me by this Thursday?

This coming Friday I'm off to Laguna Seca (Mazda Raceway) in Northern California as a support crewman on two 935's. We are participating in the Monterey Historics (Vintage Auto Racing) and will have the opportunity to take some incredible video footage. This annual event is normally well televised on "Speed-Vision" each year.

Anyway, any input on who may have taken delivery will be great. Thanks!

call tiffen and ask for frank rush... he knows exactly where product is.

[QUOTE=edit....
Frank Rush from Tiffen hooked my up with Kenny Christler at Showcase in Atlanta and they're shipping me one today!
All I can say is that both Tiffen/Steadicam and Showcase are MOST AWESOME![/QUOTE]

Hi Chris!

If you don't mind me asking the total of the Arm/Vest and do you by chance know if they had anymore?

Also...
How did the "test" session go that night? Now wondering if I'm lucky enough to get the arm/vest system by this Friday morning, that I will be competent enough to learn how to use the thing in less than 6-hours. (Sure! ...and we also went to the moon and back in two-days). : (

Looking forward to reading your "review". ; )

Thanks again Chris!

PS: I called Shocase too late today...

If your already fimiliar with using a merlin then the vest/arm will be easy.... It took me less than half an hour to put it together, put it on, change the gimble to the new one, and adjust the knobs on the arm to get the camera floating right.... I probably have about 12 hours flying on it by now and getting pretty good.... much better than just the merlin alone....

To tell you the truth... the only trouble I'm having is all the people looking at me like I'm some weirdo puppet master.... I actually had to edit out audio of people saying " look at that... what is it.... what's he doing... "

Like I said... Frank Rush at tiffen is the man to talk to... he know where every steadycam product in the world. Kenny at Showcase told me that the one I bought showed up that morning.... only one he had.... serial number 8. These things must be hand made cause they're just trickling out to venders.

Hello Chris,

I have zero-hours with the Merlin as I don’t currently own one, but probably have no less than 12-hours watching others handle the unit so I'll say that I have the "theory" down (Groucho Marx Walk). ; )

Yes, it's difficult to say the least to get everyone around you to act as natural as if you weren't even there video-taping, etc. Not only are you handling a larger and more sophisticated camera than those smaller consumer units the public is used to seeing more often, but now you also have some articulated robotic-arm that could be at first-glance, mistaken for your own prosthesis. I think one would blend much better and go unnoticed dressed as a “Hare Krishna” with 9 others dancing around behind him… lol

Thanks again for the quick-review and information, much appreciated!

I have zero-hours with the Merlin as I don’t currently own one, but probably have no less than 12-hours watching others handle the unit so I'll say that I have the "theory" down (Groucho Marx Walk). ; )

Mmm...well...I wouldn't call the Groucho walk part of stabilizer operating theory, certainly it's one of the major factors for handheld work. A smooth step that rolls from ball of the feet to the toes is good for stabilizers as it limits the jolting that can then translate through the operating hand, but the Groucho walk is all about limiting the vertical travel and shock that is already taken up in a stabilizer by either the mechanical arm or one's own "meat" arm.

I would describe operating theory as being much more about the fingerwork than the footwork, all things being equal. But that's harder to suss out by watching as it is much more subtle.

any suggestions of a case to keep it protected?

I use an old camera case for the arm, which then also holds batteries, my monitor, and tools. Still looking for something for the vest.

Tiffen are selling Steadicam Flyer travel bags modified for the Merlin. Will fit everything including the Steadistand. I have ordered one.

hey phil....

I use an old haliburton case.... the foam layers that came in the box that the merlin vest/arm shipped with well.... it's really nice that they shipped with precut foam! I wish more manufactureres would go to the efforts tiffen does with their steadicam products!

I'll probably pick up a pelican case to replace the hali.... the hali makes me feel like I'm transporting illegal subs....

here's some quick snaps.... vest goes up in the lid....

http://www.witzke-studio.com/hd/mercase.jpg

the case measures... 18" X 21" X 7"

I see these cases all the time at used camera stores.... as cheap as $20.... they are made well.... and have a combination lock.

Hi Chris

That looks good. need to find something to put it in urgently!

Phil

i think anything with these measurements will work....

18" X 21" X 7"

at more height and another layer of foam for the merlin as well.