Steadicam Merlin arm & vest Technical manual

The Tiffen Company, 90 Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788 • 631-273-2500 • 1-800-645-2522 • www.tiffen.com

Tiffen Steadicam Operations, Glendale, CA • 818-843-4600 • 1-800-593-3331

When the Merlin

Vest/ Arm sys-

tem is properly

adjusted, both arm

sections are paral-

lel to the ground.

The Merlin Handle

is held in the right

hand. The left hand

operates the Merlin

gimbal as usual.

Practice proper

standing, walking

and hand position.

See the Merlin

DVD for further

operating tips.

Before mounting the Merlin on the arm, we suggest turning the bottom wheel until the rod end (14) is all

the way in. Then turn the top most wheel in the opposite direction (out) until about 3 threads are showing.

That will lean the arm slightly away from the operator, allowing for proper use.

When switching the arm mounting to the opposite side for left or right-handed operation, be sure to

re-adjust these wheels so the ‘top’ attachment is out and be sure the ‘bottom’ one is always in.

DON’T OVEREXTEND EITHER ATTACHMENT SCREW

AS THE ARM WILL EVENTUALLY COME APART

FROM THE MOUNTING BLOCK.

To operate the Merlin on the right side of the body, remove the pin from arm as shown in the photo detail-

ing wheels (13). Turn the socket block upside down, insert pin again. Then, lay the vest down on a table.

Loosen and remove all four thumb screws holding the arm bridge (9) to the vest and turn the bridge

around 180 degrees so it rests on the left side of the vest center. (right of center as you look at it) Lock it in

place again using thumb screws.

Insert the arm. Tighten the bottom wheel all the way and loosen the top one a few turns and you are set.

This mode frequently offers an easier view of the camera’s ﬂip-out viewﬁnder that’s used when operating the

Merlin system.

There is an arm restraint strap (15) on your Merlin

vest. To capture the arm from moving about while

the Merlin is not mounted, open the strap. Draw it

away from the vest. Tuck the Steadicam arm up

against the left vest spar area near the strap. Wrap

the strap around the arm and capture it against

itself. Now the arm cannot move, but can quickly

be freed.

Your Steadicam Merlin Vest/

Arm system comes with an

all-metal gimbal (16). As per

instructions in the Merlin for

adjusting your gimbal, remove

your Merlin gimbal and replace

it with this new one. There is no

need to go back and forth. Us-

ing this new all-metal gimbal,

you can use the Merlin on or

off the Arm/Vest system.

To mount the Merlin onto the arm, hold the arm

still with your right hand. Grasp the Merlin gimbal/

handle (16) with your left hand and lift off of the

optional docking bracket. Line up the hole in the

bottom of the Merlin handle with the arm post (17)

in the Steadicam arm. Rest the Merlin onto

the arm post.

To adjust the lift delivered by your

Steadicam Merlin arm, lower the

arm by pushing down with the left

hand until the arm section closer

to your body is just above horizon-

tal. This is the “sweet spot” for turn-

ing the lift adjust knob (18). Turn to

the right to increase lift. Turn to the

left to decrease lift. When that sec-

tion appears to feel as though it is

ﬂoating ﬂat – parallel to the ground-

make the identical adjustment to

the other section.

Tiffen, Steadicam and Steadicam Merlin are registered trademarks of The Tiffen Company.

Covered by U. S. patents 5,435,515 and 5,360,196 and pending foreign patents. Steadicam reserves the right to change specications without prior notice. 0707

Arm and Vest Quick Start Card

LIT-801001

Remove the straps from

the bag. There are two that

are 12” long. These are the

shoulder straps. Attach to

both shoulder areas as shown

in the photos, using the keeper

near the end.

Two straps are 22” long. One is

18” long. Attach one of the 22”

straps to the right side of the waist

panel of the vest. Overlap the sec-

ond 22” strap on top of it. Pass the

open end of that second 22”

strap through the keeper, and

fold it back on itself. This is your

waist strap length adjustment.

Then take the 18” strap and

pass it through the keeper.

Follow directions to afﬁx to

waist panel.After you put the straps in place,

the vest will look like this.

Fold back the right shoulder strap (1), so that the

right-hand pad clasp (2) is able to line up with the

right top of the chest spar (3). Press the spar end

against the hook area on the pad clasp. Close the

shoulder strap over onto the top of the chest spar.

This insures a very tight grasp. Do not repeat this

step on the left hand side-it is left open until you

put the vest on.

Draw the left chest

(7) strap across the

chest bridge (6),

while at the same

time holding ﬁrmly

onto the waist

panel (8). Make

sure chest spar

is vertical to your

body as you do

this, not crooked.

Press the left

chest strap on top

of the right chest

strap on the chest

bridge.The vest is

now 2/3 ﬁtted to

your body.

The waist strap should look like this as you reach

behind with your left hand to grasp it. The long

smooth part is pressed into the right side of the

waist panel. The adjustable part is grasped in the

left hand.

Hold the waist panel with the right hand. Draw the

waist strap ﬁrmly around your back and press it

down onto the left side of the waist panel.

From the back the straps

are symmetrical, insuring an

even ﬁt with good distribu-

tion of the weight.

Insert the connecting pin through the sections as

shown. Insert it so that the ring is on the top of

the arm.

Insert the arm into the vest socket block

(12). Holding the section shown in your right

hand, guide the arm socket into the vest

socket block. Line up the pin to the hole.

Using the left hand, gently guide

the socket into place.

We thank you for investing the time and resources in our Steadicam Merlin Vest and Arm system. Step by step you will

build the components into a compete system and begin to create the Steadicam shots of which you have always dreamed.

Pull the right chest strap (4)

through the keeper (5) and afﬁx

to the back of the vest. This will

take a few tries back and forth.

The goal is to have both chest

straps symmetrical, and to have

the upper part of the vest held

ﬁrmly against the torso.

Take the portion of the right chest strap (4) that will

hold the right side of the vest and press it against

the chest bridge (6). Slip your right arm through

the armhole and pull the vest on until it is resting

on your shoulders.

Repeat the shoulder clasp maneuver on the left

side, pressing the left shoulder strap onto the

left top of the chest spar. Line up the left chest

strap with the chest spar. Attach it.

From the front, the chest

spar is straight. The straps

snugly ﬁt along the chest

and waist. The shoulder

pads of the vest are resting

on your shoulders.

The length of your vest can

be adjusted. Loosen the

thumb screws located on

the bottom area of the arm

bridge (9). They hold the

bridge on the vest spar

and also permit for vertical

adjustment. All four screws

should be loosened no more

than three turns. This is

enough to allow the spar to

be moved. Once the thumb

screws are loose, grasp the

chest bridge in the right

hand and the waist panel

in the left hand. Gently tug

them apart and the two

parts will slide easily.

To move the arm bridge along the vest spar when the vest is

made shorter, lay the vest down. Loosen all four thumb screws

until they come out. Remove the arm bridge and move it lower

on the vest spar, lining up the holes in the bridge with holes in

the spar. Re-attach using the four thumb screws.

Hold the lower section of the Steadicam

arm (10) in the right hand and pull the

connecting pin (11). It is the steel pin with

the ring attached. Line up the two sections

of the Steadicam Merlin arm. One section

nests just inside the other. Some ﬁnd this

easier if the sections are held as shown,

others prefer to lay the sections on a table.

The arm is not properly inserted in this view. Note

the shiny steel back plate pressed against the

bolts. The thumb screws must be turned out far

enough to allow the socket to insert fully.

The arm is properly inserted in this view, with the

thumb screw bolts nested in the slight groove

in the steel back plate. Now the screws can be

adjusted for each operator.

Wheels (13) on arm mount are

used to ﬁt the side-to-side angle

of the Steadicam Merlin arm to

the individual user.

11 10

Merlin Arm & Vest