Steadicam Merlin Brochure 9

T 
S
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

.
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d
L, ,


 ’
.
to
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rac
ulous shots!
V. . .
The Steadicam Merlin is your
essential professional partner.
L
ife doesn’t stand still. Now keep
up with the action more easily than
ever with the new ultra-light, ultracompact Steadicam® Merlin.™
Merlin is what you’ve been waiting
for since the dawn of camcorders.
Merlin was designed by Garrett Brown,
the Wizard himself, who revolutionized
moviemaking with the original
Steadicam. He then brought that same
magic to video-making in 1990 with
the Steadicam JR™ handheld stabilizer.
Brilliantly reborn as the Steadicam
Merlin, it’s half the weight and four
times as stable as the JR! Yet astonishingly, Merlin can move as smoothly
as the big
$60,000
Steadicams
used in
Hollywood.
Merlin lets you fly wherever the
scene takes you—up and down steps,
indoors and outside, through crowds
—almost anywhere, with precise,
elegant control and ease for memorable,
professional “you are there” footage.
And its quick-release mount lets you
instantly swap camera connections
between your Merlin and any tripod.
Merlin’s design significantly reduces
fatigue for longer, more elegant shots
—by itself it weighs less than a
can of soda! Still, the rigidity of its
construction permits longer focal
lengths than you have ever imagined
with a hand-held stabilizer.
Merlin’s unique dual extended
weight system greatly increases inertial
stability. And its counterbalancing
weight can be precisely adjusted to
balance cameras from 0.5 to 5 lbs.
Garrett’s best new trick is his
patent-pending “Folding-Caliper”™
hinge. With an almost-sensuous click,
the lower spar instantly folds up
The Steadicam Merlin.
The simplicity of
pure design married
to common-sense
ergonomics.
and magically disappears up
alongside the camera, perfect for
shoulder-mounted shooting. And just
as quickly, returns precisely for handheld camera work.
Best of all, with a compact
DV, balanced and ready to
shoot, Merlin weighs about
two pounds! Less than the
next-lightest stabilizer
without camera and
weights!
r
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c
am
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y
Set
r
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d
C S S
fr
e
Steadicam Merlin
Now Tiffen is proud to announce
the Steadicam Merlin, Garrett’s
personal rig—brilliantly reborn!
Ultra-light, ultra-rigid aluminum
construction enables stable, accurate
moving shots at unprecedented focal
lengths, and Garrett’s magical new
Folding-Caliper hinge extends and
retracts to balance a wide range of
cameras as light at one-half pound, yet
it instantly returns to the compact
folded position.
T
Garrett Brown invented the
Steadicam JR in 1990—and
therefore the entire category
of hand-held stabilizers for
camcorders! The historic prototype
was crafted in aluminum, and
aluminum is still his favorite for
the lightest, stiffest, most precise
stabilizer.
e!
Whether
you’re an independent camera
professional or
running a corporate
AV department;
a wedding
and event
videographer
or real estate agent; enthusiast or
film student, you’re serious about the
quality of work you bring to your
audience, and of the tools that get
you there. The Steadicam Merlin is
your new magic wand!
Steadicam
Merlin.
B
.
A.
large trim stage
with level for secure
camera mounting
precision trim
stage micrometer
adjustments
patented 3-axis
gimbal handle
assembly for
precise control at
unprecedented
focal lengths
upper spar
lower tapered
weight cap
trim stage
front tapered
weight cap
upper caliper
locking knob
patent-pending folding
caliper hinge for precise
geomentry whether open,
closed or shoulder mounted
lower caliper
locking knob
ultra compact folded design
caliper adjusting knob
folding caliper hinge
caliper release lever
ultra-light, ultra-rigid
aluminum alloy
upper and lower spars
Specifications:
Folded size: 3.5" x 2" x 11"
Open size, without weights:
3.5" x 3.5" x 7" (minimum)
to 13.5" (maximum)
Weight, without weights: 12.8 oz.
lower tapered
weight cap
6 threaded precision rapid-mounting
stainless steel locking dovetail plate
balance weights
Weight w/ultra compact DV: about 35 oz.
Cameras accommodated: 0.5–5.0 lb.
Specifications are subject to change.
accessory tripod
mounting plate
I   T.
T T C
 O A
H,  
...
S     
 ..
0905
A new
breakthrough
in camcorder
stabilization
The Steadicam Merlin,
Arm and Vest
THE STEADICAM MERLIN
and the NEW SIX-BEARING
METAL GIMBAL
for hours without undue fatigue, and
preserve all the flexibility and reach
of your own arms.
The Merlin is by far the world’s lightest
and most advanced hand-held stabilizer.
Ultra-rigid aluminum construction
enables stable moving shots at unprecedented focal lengths, and Garrett’s
unique Folding-Caliper hinge extends
and retracts to balance cameras as light
as one-half pound, yet automatically
seeks the compact storage position.
The Merlin Vest is the lightest and
thinnest ever made – it can even be
worn under a tuxedo jacket – and it’s
designed to fit the entire gamut of
human sizes and shapes. For 23kg
eight-year-olds or 150kg linebackers,
the Merlin Vest provides complete
comfort and functionality for extended
productions and long continuous shots.
All adjustments are ‘no-tools,
including the right-arm/left-arm.
By itself Merlin weighs just 13
ounces (.36kg) without its stainless steel add-on weights. With the
standard gimbal, Merlin was rated
to carry camcorders weighing
only as much as six pounds
(2.7 kg)
Now, with the new, precision-machined Six-Bearing Metal Gimbal and a few
additional weights, Merlin can
balance camcorders weighing as much as seven pounds
(3.2kg). Of course the additional weight will require a
great deal more effort. The
Merlin manual and video
teach techniques that help
share the load with both hands,
and this works for grabbing those
quick, spectacular moving shots,
but shooting entire weddings, or
sporting events or theatrical performances can become quite
strenuous, even with lighter
cameras.
Enter the new Merlin Arm
and Vest!
THE MERLIN BECOMES
WEIGHTLESS!
THE New MERLIN ARM and
VEST makes extended shooting
nearly effortless.
Now Tiffen introduces the worlds
most advanced ultra-light Arm
and Vest. Even with heavy
cameras – up to seven
pounds (3.2kg) with
the optional Metal
Gimbal – your
Merlin can
now fly
The Merlin Arm is ultra-light and
extremely capable. It’s a 7/8 scale
version of its big brothers, the Flyer,
G-50 and G-70 arms, and provides the
same legendary performance and flexibility including instant, knob-adjustable control of lifting power for camera
payloads between 2.5 and 7 lbs. (1.1 to
3.2 kg) The Merlin Arm also provides
enormous vertical lifting range (28” or
71cm) and full ‘iso-elasticity’ so you’ll
need only ounces of force to maintain
the highest or lowest lens heights (way
above the head to below the waist)
Like its big brothers, the Merlin Arm
includes two-axis adjustment of the
arm-to-body angle so that people of
differing shapes can adjust the lifting
angle to their most comfortable posture.
Together The Merlin Arm and Vest
actually increase your shooting options.
You can ease the Merlin back against
your body and shoot ‘handheld’, with
both hands on the camera, and fly
seamlessly back off the shoulder and
continue moving. With practice you
can even fly the Merlin one-handed
right off of the mounting post during
a shot (docking the arm to the vest
with the other hand) and execute
those unique Merlin shot opportunities – ultra-low- or ultra-high-angles
– and then ease it back onto the arm
to continue the shot.
The Six-Bearing Metal Gimbal,
and the Merlin Arm and Vest are the
first releases of a suite of planned
Merlin Accessories that will further
enhance the professional capabilities
of the world’s lightest and most
advanced camcorder stabilizer:
The Steadicam Merlin.
VEST:
•W
eight: 2.6 lbs (1.179 kg)
• Size Range: Fits the widest variety of
human shapes and sizes of any Steadicam
vest (from 23 kg 8-year-olds to 150 kg
linebackers!)
• Fasteners: Thin, all-hook and loop fasteners permit unobtrusive use and ultra-compact disassembly and transport.
sively as the big $60,000 Steadicam, yet
remains ultimately unobtrusive. The Merlin
is not only stable, it is also an inherently
graceful way to hold a camera –not only
for big moves and running around, but also
for those subtle, imperceptible and elegant
displacements of the lens that cannot be
achieved any other way.
The STEADICAM® MERLIN™
is ultra-light, ultra-rigid, ultra precise,
folds spectacularly and is beautiful –
in short, the ideal instrument for today’s
videographers with camcorders weighing
less than 5 pounds. For documentaries,
weddings, news segments, commercials,
even low-budget features, the Merlin shines.
In practiced hands, it performs as impres-
ARM:
•T
otal Payload: Knob-adjustable from
4 to 15 lbs (1.8 to 6.8 kg).
• Arm Weight: 5.1 lbs (2.3 kg)
•L
ifting Range: 28 vertical inches (71 cm)
• Mounting: Two axis adjustment of arm-tobody angle, with quick-release right-hand/
left-hand changeover
And now, with the new Merlin Arm and
Vest, you’ll be able to shoot longer and
‘fly’ more easily and precisely than with
anything else on the market.
T Steadicam Merlin, Arm and Vest C S S
Specifications:
MERLIN:
• Folded size, without weights: 3.5 x 2 x 11"
(8.5 x 5 x 27cm)
•O
pen size: 3.5 x 3.5 x 7" (8.5 x 8.5 x 18cm)
(min. arc) to 13.5" (35cm) (max. arc)
•W
eight by itself: 13 oz (360 grams).
• Rigid all-aluminum construction
“supports telephoto shooting”
• Micrometer stage for precise
horizontal balance
• Precision caliper-adjusted
vertical balance
• Patent pending ‘Folding-Caliper’ spar
geometry automatically seeks true
folding position
• Ultra-light: (weighs one third of nearest
competitor!) (by itself weighs less than a
can of soda)
•T
ough, modular, user-serviceable
construction
The Steadicam Merlin,
Arm and Vest
The Steadicam Merlin
performs as impressively
as the big $60,000
Steadicam, yet remains
ultimately unobtrusive.
Now with the new
Merlin Arm and Vest,
you’ll be able to shoot
longer and ‘fly’ more
easily and precisely
than with anything
else on the market.
Tiffen, Steadicam and Steadicam Merlin are registered trademarks of The Tiffen Company.
Covered by U. S. patents 5,435,515 and 5,360,196 and pending foreign patents. Steadicam reserves the right to change specifications without prior notice.
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