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Canon XHA1 and Steadicam Merlin – Tutorial	6votes
	Views:4444 Favorited:0 Reviews:0 Comments: 14

I’ve been asked by many people to help them with setting up and using their Merlin with the Canon XHA1 and so decided to make a tutorial video to help others.

This tutorial is supplementary to the DVD that you get with your Steadicam Merlin and is specific to setting up the stock Canon XHA1 and Steadicam Merlin. Before I bought my own Steadicam Merlin I was very curious to know what it even looked like. I’d seen enough footage but didn’t really get a good look at the device itself, so I hope this tutorial satisfies the curiosity of folks like me as well.

For me this was more an exercise in shooting and editing this kind of thing and I should apologize for the bits that are out of focus. It was the first time I had used the HV30 for anything more than a point and shoot kind of thing and it was on full auto. After seeing the footage and the out of focus parts, I sat down and played with the camera and figured out how set it in manual focus and such and planned a second shoot the next day.

As soon as we started the shoot I found to my dismay that I had lost one of the caliper locking screws (probably the previous day) and had to abort the shoot, and here we are.

I’m really impressed with the quality of video this little camera puts out. The whole thing was shot on the long end of the lens in order to get a shallow depth of field with the stock camera (I don’t own a Letus Mini). The shoot itself was a lot of fun considering we had to shoot close-ups such that continuity could be maintained during the edits. I must confess that a few of the close-ups were not used because I had difficulty maintain continuity during editing. But all in all, it was a fun experience to do this kind of thing and I’m thinking, once I get my locking screw I might do one for the HV20/30 folks.

I’d like to thank Peg and Rebecca who’ve been keenly interested in learning the trade and were the “camera man” and “sound man” assisting me with this.

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Mdsize: 94.25MBwxh: 640x360

Updated: 3 months ago

Short

Duration: 00:13:07

Definition: This Video is a High Definition (HD) Video

Dimensions: 1280 x 720

Size: 346.8MB

Credits

Cinematography/Videography: Peg Futrell Rating: 4.25

Tags: How To Tutorial

Equipment:

Editor: Shiv Kumar Rating: 4.50

Tags: How To Tutorial

Equipment: Tiffen Steadicam Merlin Audio Technica ATH-M40fs Libec LS 55M Canon HV30 Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 Sennheiser ew100-ENG G2

Comments

Steven Dempsey

July 12, 2008 02:44 PM

Shiv, nice job on the tutorial...it's too bad the focus went out but at least the point of the tutorial is still realized.

Most people will edit out all the trial and error of setting up the balancing because it's more about the technique rather than watching it in as much detail as you have presented here.

On the other hand, it was fun to see how the camera can be balanced in real time so that was valuable.

I found the music to be distracting...I think because it was a little too loud in the mix and conflicted with your voice a few times. Also, given the repetitive nature of the music, it really needs to be way in the background so it doesn't get tedious.

So just some thoughts but a very valuable tutorial nonetheless. Demystifying this process is quite significant. :)

werner prackwieser

July 12, 2008 04:42 PM

werner prackwieser

Nice to see you in work shiv,doing something to help people to understand more
of the background, how to make excellent camera moves. What I missed is the "steady in action" shots.

Thank You for spending us Your Time
Werner

Shiv Kumar

July 12, 2008 06:14 PM

Hey Steven,

Thanks for your comments.

Yes, I think the music needs to be softer so I'll fix that. The lav position of the mic makes things sound a bit muffled and so makes my voice all the more difficult to hear.

Also nice to know that it was fun to see the fine tuning issues. I'm actually glad I did have those issue because I normally don't. The View finder thing happened by chance, and I left the end parts (struggling with the fine tuning) in there intentionally so people can see that it's just how things are.

Werner,
Thanks for your comments! I thought about adding footage, but due to the length of this video, I decided not to include it. There is enough footage out there, including one of my videos.

FYI: I'm not an expert in "using" the Steadicam Merlin, yet :). That's a very different skill. :)

Gabriel Sandalo

July 13, 2008 12:16 AM

Shiv,
This is a very good tutorial...
Don't worry about the technical problems, what really matters it's the
information on the video!
Gabriel Sândalo.

Shiv Kumar

July 14, 2008 03:58 AM

Thanks Gabriel!

Will Mahoney

July 14, 2008 08:59 AM

WOW!

Shiv,
The whole video came together at the end when you were swinging the A1 from side to side and backwards and forwards. The camera just stayed there, perfectly level and still! That was awesome!

Yes, there were some focus issues, but you'll have that on auto. And they were really short sections, so it's not a big deal. And way to go on being on the long end of the lense. It adds an extra level of detail. Nice.

Carlos Oropeza

July 14, 2008 10:19 AM

Cool....

Tim Palmer-Benson

September 03, 2008 06:55 PM

I have a Merlin with a Canon HV30. I have had no end of troubles trying to balance it perfectly. It always rocks a bit or wanders and bit and is hopeless in any kind of wind. I have been told that the HV30 is too small and that the Merlin will do better with the XHA-1 as seen here. But, I must confess, that I saw that same rocking in the video that I am plagued with! Is there a way of making the whole thing ABSOLUTELY STEADY? Is it only rock steady when you have achieved perfect balance after many hours of fiddling? I keep hearing what a wonderful gizmo this is, but I have yet to trust it out on a job. Any advise about achieving the steadiness I seek woud be appreciated. I know how to get a rough balance.

Shiv Kumar

September 03, 2008 07:36 PM

Tim,

When the Merlin is perfectly balanced it's like it's in a vacuum. The slightest touch will send it off. But what you want really is a slightly bottom heavy Merlin. This makes it less susceptible to touches and breeze.

You get rocking when the rig is too bottom heavy. In the video, only in the end is it balanced the way it is supposed to be and there is no rocking then. If you look at the last test where I jerk the Merlin forwards and back and side to side you see that it’s rock steady. That’s how the rig is supposed to be.

But breeze will affect the rig, even breeze while walking with the Merlin (when there is no breeze per se), will affect the rig. The affect in this case is that the rig turns (the camera acts like a sail of sorts). You’ve typically got your thumb or forefinger pressed lightly against the guide to prevent the right from turning.

The HV20/30 is too light IMO as well. You can make the rig heavier by adding more weights. The rig still needs to be just slightly bottom heavy but the whole rig needs to be heavier.

Tim Palmer-Benson

September 03, 2008 08:11 PM

Shiv:
The video is excellent and is the reason why I am going to try with the XHA1. By the way, what is the arc distance from the bottom of the handle's fulcrum to the tip of the last finishing weight?

In your video, I see the camera drifting around. My HV30 does that. I have it with the large, heavy Canon wide angle adapter, the biggest battery I can get and a Canon mike on top. But still, it is not good. I wouldn't trust it for a "last dance!"

Tim

Shiv Kumar

September 03, 2008 08:23 PM

Tim,

As I said, the Merlin is balanced only at the end of the video, so of course it's driffting around till I get it balanced :). But once balanced, it's rock steady.

I don't know the arc angle. And frankly, you need to understand the balancing act rather than rely on someone else's "numbers". There are many combinations to a perfect balance.

The same goes for the HV20/30, probably even more so since it's a lighter camera and so you can keep adding weights. Try this for fun:

Get the HV30 balanced as per the cook book. Then add a weight to the bottom spar and get it balanced, then add another weight to the bottom spar and get it balanced again. And keep doing this till you've used all weights.

Next, attach your wide angle lens and repeat the steps above.

Get the picture?

If your rig rocks like a pendulum it's bottom heavy, you need to fix that.

Tim Palmer-Benson

September 03, 2008 08:58 PM

No Shiv,,,,I distinctly see your camcorder drifting around 360 right at the end....that's what I get. Why does it do that. I talked to the inventor one time on the phone and he told me that if you jerk the camera around, you cannot expect the bubble in the spirit level to stay perfectly still. For a long time I was trying to achieve that!

I have tried going through gardens and videoing bees in the flowers with this thing but it's a lot tougher than being on a tripod. I also have a Fig Rig which I find less steady but easier to use. I recently bought a stand for it and have tried the whole things with a unipod. But now, I am thinking I need the new fluid damped unipod to really be in business!

Shiv Kumar

September 04, 2008 01:07 AM

Tim,
The 360 pan at the end was an intentional move on my part as a kind of finale. Said another way, the Merlin was under my complete control.

I wouldn't call that rocking :).