hello forum,
i am using a merlin 1 with a lightweight camera (canon hf s30).
i'm on day four and have made improvements but problems remain: at rest, the camera still sways like a fisherman's boat on a gentle sea and as i walk forward, the front of the camera wants to point back at me as if i'm the sun and it's the earth.
for what it's worth, i've read, re-read the manual, watched and watched again the dvd, and have scoured these forums and various videos online.
it seems the common thread of advice is to practice.
but herein lies the rub, if the setup is somehow incorrect, no amount of practice will help.
it's like improperly sighting-in a rifle. if the thing is askew, your shot will always be off.
i am encouraged by the progress i've made, but the shots i am taking are still unacceptable.
my camera with battery weighs 1.2 lbs.
i'm using hole M (despite the cookbook setting calling for G -- boy was that off).
i'm using a start weight for the front
a start and an end for the bottom.
stage mark is 4.2
arc is nearly wide open at 10.9
i'm at one thread (although the cookbook calls for 5).
and i still don't know how to adjust vertical center of gravity (cookbook says 1.4").
i've really spent a lot of time experimenting with different arc settings, different stage marks, different dovetail holes, etc. and i'm even using two hands.
despite that, i still get the gentle boat sway and when i walk forward, the camera wants to turn towards me like it has a gravitational attraction to me.
any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
tom edwards
janesville, wi
ps -- i tried adding a rode videomic to the canon to add weight. it was simply too top-heavy (i have pulled up some wireless mic threads to see if there is an answer)
tks
tde
