I've never been a fan of Steadicam's Merlin stabilizer from the start; and when I used it, it turned into a hate. It's damn near impossible to balance, and the inertial stability is very low. If you let the gimbal (or lack thereof), it will move on its own. Well the geniuses (and I've met him) has recognized the demand for a simple stabilizer for the huge DSLR market, and have designed a baby Artemis with the operator in mind.
There were a few things that immediately stuck with me: to control the Merlin, the operating hand needs to grab the plastic gimbal just above the handle. Its minuscule on the Merlin; on the Artemis it's huge. It's both taller and thicker, made of metal, and has a knurling for easy grip. Curvature and a rubber material on the grip also means your hand isn't struggling just to hold up the rig. Second thing was how balanced the rig is; after letting it go, the unit just sat there. No spin, no rocking, nothing. Even when spinning the rig from left to right, it stayed level. It was completely predictable, unlike the impossible-to-balance Merlin.
They were also smart enough to add a monitor as a counterweight; it's the thing I miss the most. The optional monitor is powered by a Canon LP-E6 battery keeping overall weight low and compatible with the camera. The example on the floor looked like it had a Manfrotto 557 QR plate system, though the brochure says its compatible with their heads. If it can be changed over to my 357, it's even better.
Becuase it's a Sachtler, it's going to be expensive; well count me surprised. Quoted from the floor, the rig without monitor will be $650, and the monitor shown with the E6 battery mount is $350. It should be available very soon.
Where can this be purchased in the USA?
ReplyDeleteI'm also interested in purchasing one. Is there a place in the US that is currently selling it? What location did you test it at? What was the monitor that it was demoed with in the photos above?
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