I can't seem to get my HV30 balanced when I ad a Rhode Mic or an Azden SGMX. Anyone have merlin setting that would work with one of these mics.

Is the mic directly attached to the camera, or to a mount that lifts it up? Do you have anything else mounted on the camera?

I have either Rhode or Azden mic attached to the top of the camera in the shoe. No I don't have any other weight. Battery is the standard one that came with the HV30. Without the mic I could use the Merlin Cookbook to balance it but with the added mic it seems impossible.

How would you describe the specific issue you are having? Presumably you are unable to get the Merlin back to it's proper slightly-bottom-heavy balance--did you extend the caliper or add weights?

Cookbook settings should really be thought of as a "quick start" method to get going with a given camera, but it is greatly beneficial to move forward and be able to balance from scratch for just this reason.

While that mike has undoubtedly raised the center of gravity quite high, that is a light camera and you should not have a problem dropping it back down again via the two methods listed above.

I have pulled out the original Merlin Manual and DVD and started from scratch so I can learn how to set up the Merlin manually. Hopefully this will help with all the different arrangements.

Good to hear Greg, let us know how you get on.