Remote Control

[Frank Harper]

Dear Forums,

 

I am purchasing my first Steadicam, the Merlin 2 with vest and arm. I will be mounting a Canon XF100 to the unit. Thought I might like the ability to remotely control the zoom as well as pause/record. The XF100 has a LANC port so I am looking at compatible remotes such as those offered by VariZoom, Libec and Manfrotto.

 

#1 - Is this practical? My concern is mounting the remote control on the Merlin 2 so that it is convenient to use without disturbing the balance and function of the Steadicam unit with the additional weight of the remote, and drag potentially created by the connection wiring from the remote control head to the camcorder.

 

#2 – If practical which remote unit (design and function) have most folks used with success.

 

I am new to this technology. Any advice that can be provided would be appreciated.

 

Best regards, Newbie Frank

 

 

[Kris Torch Wilson]

Frank,

Welcome to the nemesis of what we TV guys face daily. The damn wire can and will effect your rig. That being said you will find a way to compensate through experimentation. I don't have a "curly" or coiled wire on my controller. I would think that would add even more tension. Experiment with wrapping the wire around the top of the post tightly, loosely, letting it hang straight down. At some point you will find what works best for your wire and operating style. If you are using the controller to simply adjust the focal length between shots and for the start/stop function, I would suggest the smaller the better. Several of us that are zooming during the shot use the Stanton controller. It has the added feature of controlling a wired focus motor. Good luck.

 

Torch