Steadicam Metal Gimbal/Handle Assembly for Merlin 2 Camera Stabilizer 

Steadicam SKU: Merlin2 | Helix SKU: SC8127100

Overview

Tiffen brings you the latest technological advances to the award-winning Steadicam Merlin. Steadicam Merlin2 Versatile…Adjustable…Precise…From camcorders to point and shoot cameras, the Steadicam Merlin 2 camera stabilizing system is your essential professional partner for shake free DSLR video, ideal for shooting run and gun video with DSLR . Life doesn’t stand still. Now keep up with the action more easily than ever with the new ultra-light, ultra-compact stabilizer system.

The Merlin2 hand-held stabilizer is what you’ve been waiting for since the dawn of camcorders. It was designed by Garrett Brown, the Wizard himself, who revolutionized moviemaking with the original Steadicam stabilizing system. He then brought that same magic to videomaking in 1990 with the Steadicam JR hand-held stabilizer. The Merlin 2 stabilizer can move as smoothly as the big $60,000 Steadicam rigs used in Hollywood.

The Merlin2 stabilizer 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. This is the ideal stabilizer for run and gun handheld video shooting with a dslr, with or without an arm and vest. And its quick-release mount lets you instantly swap camera connections between your stabilizer and any tripod. The design of the Merlin2 stabilizer significantly reduces fatigue for longer, more elegant shots. The rigidity of its construction permits longer focal lengths than you have ever imagined. The Steadicam® Merlin2® was developed using the same Steadicam engineering ingenuity that powers the $60k feature-film models, the Merlin2 stabilizer system offers everyone from the video enthusiast to the professional shooter an ultra-smooth, elegant handheld camera stabilizer system with unparalleled performance and precision and a host of better than ever features.

The Merlin stabilizer’s unique dual extended weight system greatly increases inertial stability. And its counterbalancing weight supports a wide range of DSLR, compact and professional camcorders, point-and-shoot cameras and other video-capture device models weighing from 0.5 to 5 lbs. (0.23 to 2.2 kg). The Merlin2 offers a more precise Folding-Caliper hinge to assure you have the only hand-held unit that folds but needs no readjustment when reopened! It is designed to be more rigid and robust through efficient tolerances and materials, allowing for easy folding for travel and storage. The intuitive spring-loaded spar lock instantly folds up and magically disappears up alongside the camera, perfect for shoulder-mounted shooting. And just as quickly, returns precisely for shooting steady hand-held camera video.

Features include:

• The robust stage design features a rigid camera plate, multi-angle viewable level, and larger easily adjustable knobs for secure camera mounting and ease of use
• A secure gimbal lock allows for precise tuning
• The lens platform adjusts to various heights and angles to help support longer lenses and camera bodies
• The ergonomic handle affords a comfortable grip for hours without undue fatigue for either right or left handed users
• All parts are stainless steel, aluminum or brass for corrosion resistance
• Dovetail plate and gimbal are retrofittable with original Steadicam Merlin
• Top dovetail plate has been designed to clear battery doors on most DSLR cameras
• Secure metal interconnect to Merlin arm post
• Sleek new black and stainless steel styling

Best of all, with a compact camcorder, balanced and ready to shoot, the Merlin2 stabilizer weighs only about two pounds! 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 2 stabilizer is your new magic wand!

Specifications

Weight: 1.4lbs (0.64kg) (without balance weights)
Camera Weight Capacity *: 0.5 to 5.0lb (0.23 – 2.27kg) 7.5lbs max. (3.4kg) with OPTIONAL Merlin Arm & Vest Accessory
Maximum Height Folded: 5.3 in. (13.5cm)
Minimum Height Open: 8 in. (20.3cm)
Maximum Height Open: 15.3 in. (38.7cm)
Case Size (W x H x D): 13.4 x 9.9 x 4.9 in. (34.0 x 25.2L x 12.5cm) ·
Note that Camera Weight Capacity is dependent on camera CG position.