GH2 on Baby Merlin (modified Steadicam Smoothee)

• • 19 Comments

The GH2 or other small video cameras are very lightweight and the selection for a quality stabilizer are few. Lately, there's been some interest around modifying a Steadicam Smoothee to work with such light cameras. I was able to modify one successfully, but I never got around to showing it's full capabilities. So it's great to see other examples out there, and here's one of the best videos i've seen so far about a modified Smoothee (a.k.a Baby Merlin) with a GH2 camera from Vimeo member MKVideoFilms.

If you want to find out how to modify your own, there's an article posted here: http://cheesycam.com/diy-steadicam-smoothee-mod-cheesycam-baby-merlin/

GoPro-Steadicam-Smoothee-DIY-Steadicam
find-price-button Steadicam Smoothee for GoPro and iPhone

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19 thoughts on “GH2 on Baby Merlin (modified Steadicam Smoothee)”

  2. sorry when I said remove the quick release plate I meant SHAVe down the entire "base" of the quick release plate that comes with the baby merlin...
    What's the point of having a quick release pro plate on top of a crappy quick release plate...just shave it down 😉

  3.

    hey is there any reason people are not mounting the quick release brackets DIRECT to the baby merlin?
    meaning remove the entire quick release plate (that whole top part of the baby merlin unscrews...I'm thinking of doing that with mine...

  4. Mike

    LOL my bad, I was looking at the plate for the smoothee, not the actual steadicam itself. Better read twice next time!

  5. Mike

    This is quite funny, the steadicam smoothee is available for 55 dollars in Sweden, while the Hague Mini Motion costs about 250 dollars lol! I'm thinking about selling my MMC and getting the smoothee and modding it. Being able to adjust the top part is quite nice, unlike the mmc.

  9.

    This is overall a great how to video and want to commend you for sharing it. I have one question though. What is the purpose of using the QR plate? Why not mount the GH2 directly to the Smoothie?

  11. MK

    Whitney - The link that DanDOF provided for the bracket is the one that I picked up. They sent me the Bower branded flash bracket.

  12.

    Is anyone making a QR plate for the smoothee, or do you need to adapt one of the current mounting options? if so which option is the best?

  14.

    Can you tell me what Bauer bracket you're talking about? And/or provide me with a link. I can't find it.

    I'd love one of these for my GH2!

    Thanks!

  15. Paul

    Great demo, but I have a couple of comments.

    Guys! Please hold those little thingies you're showing us still. I'm getting sea sick watching all these nice demo vids with y'all waving the parts around. How about putting the stuff down on a table or kitchen counter and gently pointing out the nice parts. A pencil works well for this.

    And while I'm on a production values rant, how about stopping down that aperture a little? Take it from an old professional still photo hack, there is no law prohibiting you from stopping down a couple of clicks giving us a more appealing depth of field. Really, that little thingie you want to show us needs to be fully in critical focus for us to enjoy your demo and get the most from it. Experiment some and you'll see what I mean. I think too many of us have become obsessed with shooting "wide open" thinking that's the best technique. It's trendy but not necessarily useful all the time.

    Okay, that's enough. Really, thanks for sharing your experience and insight. I do appreciate your efforts and look forward to trying this one myself this year. Then I'll put up a demo vid and you can jump on my lousy production values (tongue firmly in cheek here).

    - P

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