Question on Steadicam Merlin with FX1.

[Kevin Wang]

So I am thinking of a steadicam, so far I have added a few things to my FX1, which is a beachtek DXA-4, changed the battery to a NP-F970, added a shotgun mic, and have the optional sony NPF-570 light, my question is, with all these weight on my FX1, which exceeded the limit of steadicam merlin's weight, will steadicam merlin still work for the FX1? I see lots of people using it, so just wondering if I should drop the big bucks to those things until I confirm that it will work....

thanks in advance :)

[Charles Papert]

The Merlin is rated for 5lbs out of the box, however with the new metal gimbal and added weight kit it can support up to 7 lbs. This would be an unpleasant handful however, so you will be much better off working with the Merlin vest and arm (which thoughtfully include said metal gimbal and added weights--these items will be sold a la carte also but are not yet available as such).

[Kevin Wang]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

The Merlin is rated for 5lbs out of the box, however with the new metal gimbal and added weight kit it can support up to 7 lbs. This would be an unpleasant handful however, so you will be much better off working with the Merlin vest and arm (which thoughtfully include said metal gimbal and added weights--these items will be sold a la carte also but are not yet available as such).

well, I was looking for the cheapest way to get a steadicam and merlin seems to fit in fine.... probably can't afford the vest... but thanks for the info and suggestion :)

[Charles Papert]

No problem. Just bear in mind that the Merlin is the lightest of all commercially available handheld stabilizers which means that your overall payload is going to be the least possible; even still, a payload over 5 lbs is really uncomfortable to operate for any extended length of time for most people.