Canon 5D Mark II and Steadicam Merlin from Vladimir Chaloupka on Vimeo.
Ok, so you got yourself a brand new Canon 5D Mark II and you're hoping to use your Steadicam Merlin to smooth out those shaky handheld shots. Are you going to read the instruction manual or follow some complex directions to balance the camera from scratch? No, of course not, that would be silly–just watch this short video and you'll be flying your 5D in no time!
One extra element to the setup is the addition of this Bogen tripod quick release plate which makes it really easy to switch the camera from Steadicam to tripod.
I shot the interview myself with two tripod mounted 5D IIs–one with a 50mm 1.2 lens and the other with a 24-105mm 4.0. The audio was recorded withe a wireless Sennheiser lav mic plugged into one of the cameras. Overall I am very pleased with the performance of the mic. A couple times you can hear a bit of hiss when the cameras automatic audio gain kicks in but it's not bad at all.
There are some great resources on the Steadicam site, including this great movie on advanced Merlin moves.
Enjoy!!
So simple! Thanks for posting this.
Vlad! Thanks heaps for taking the time to put this tutorial together. Can’t wait to try it out sometime!
Thank you Sebastien and and Matt–glad you enjoyed the video!!
Great work. I know you have all sorts of appearances to make, like on EventDV, so I really appreciate you taking the time to share the skills. Looking forward to this new blog – really great stuff!!
Thank you David, really enjoyed making this (and also looking forward to everyone’s posts!!)
Hey my question is how do you maintain focus???? What is your F stop at? Is it better to use a prime lense like a 50mm?