Bogen 501 Tripod for HVX

mb72378

mb72378

Well-known member
I am going to be shooting a short film with a very limited budget. I found the bogen 501 tripod system for $350. Is this a good tripod for use with an hvx and an on camera monitor? I cant spend more than $550 so if there are better ones out there please let me know. I would like something with a spreader and a good fluid head, and at least 1 stage. I will continue looking so if anyone else knows of anything let me know.
 
mb72378 said:
I am going to be shooting a short film with a very limited budget. I found the bogen 501 tripod system for $350. Is this a good tripod for use with an hvx and an on camera monitor? I cant spend more than $550 so if there are better ones out there please let me know. I would like something with a spreader and a good fluid head, and at least 1 stage. I will continue looking so if anyone else knows of anything let me know.
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I own the 501, frankly it's a piece of junk. Its not a true fluid head and its not capable of smooth tilts or simultaneous tilt/pans. It has no counterbalance and with a heavy enough package like an HVX-200 loaded with accessories, it can tip over when the tilt lock is overloaded.

You own a $5,000.00 camera and a monitor but can't put out the money to buy a suitable tripod? I don't get it. You probably should have considered a less expensive camera with better support gear. Not trying to put you down, but a great camera with a lousy tripod is a waste of resources.

If you are on a budget, the Libec LS-38 or the Cartoni Focus would be the lowest end I would even consider. Bogens are not very good unless you buy one of their high end ones but the 501 and 503 are pretty much crap.

Good luck,

Dan
 
tripod packages dont start getting "good" until about $1600-$2000. a 501 head with equivalent bogen legs will get you by if all you want to do are VERY simple pans or tilts with a very simply set up hvx. but bogen gear is pretty much garbage until you get near the $2000 range and at that point, there are probably better options.

i used (and still do sometimes for basic setups) 501/503 bogen heads, but for smooth, complex moves with a fully rigged camera - its nearly impossible to get by without jerky motion using them

BTW a tripod (generally) has to have at least one "stage" a stage is just the height adjustable part of the legs. be that telescoping or sliding parallel sections. and get used to the terminology. the top part that attaches to your camera and moves is called a head and the lower part is generally referred to as legs or sticks. and head and legs come in all kinds of paired combinations.
 
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I have a standby 503 tripod and I can vouch for Dan... its a piece of crap. But, it is usable under some circumstances. Satchler make some great pods but out of your price range.
 
i have a 503, it works great. i use it as a stand more than anything, but as far as panning/tilting, it still works with my 90% rigged up camera. i understand the concept behind using an expensive tripod (i.e. sachtler, oconner), but if it works, it works.
 
Thanks for the replies

Thanks for the replies

Thanks for everyone's replies. The following doesn't apply to most of you so please continue to reply. I understand that some of you have serious opinions about how you shouldn't get an HVX200 unless you have tons of money to buy perfect equipment etc. I saved for two years for ths camera. I am a broadcast major at a university so I feel this camera fits me like a glove. All i asked was what would be the best tripod to get in my price range. I didn't ask for your [personal opinion on my financial restraints. And I don't have a monitor yet, the price of one is in my film budget.
 
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I have a 503 and it works fine for my needs. I don't think Bogen is cr@p. I don't have the world's most complicated setups, I don't do a lot of panning and tilting, but the Bogen gear I have sets up quick, it's reliable and versatile. I agree that one of the replies was a little insulting to you. Buy the best tripod you can afford now because you definitely need one. Then sell it if you find yourself wanting/needing something better. There is always a market for used 501/503 systems.
 
I have a 501 that I used with a HVX/Brevis/Marshall set-up and it will make do if it's all you have.

But if you look at this as an investment then I would get something better. Maybe you can rent some sticks for your shoot while saving up to buy some nice ones later.
 
The 516 and the 519 are good and great respectively. They are probably the next step up price and quality wise when you look at the landscape of options. I have the 516 personally and it can give you smooth pans, It also can handle the weight of the HVX full loaded with accessories.
 
hey mb, sounds like we may have offended you with our editorials. keep in mind where youre asking these questions. there are a lot of pros here who have learned their lessons the hard way and just want to share that with others.

both a 501 and a 503 will "work" just fine for a basic hvx - but i STRONGLY suggest getting a gooseneck for your monitor, as a monitor mounted ON your hvx sitting on a budget bogen tripod rig will just make things more problematic. bogen makes a decent gooseneck that will clamp to your tripod legs and is threaded for the monitor at the other end. that way youre not carrying all the weight on the head. i think its under $200

however, you WILL notice the limitations of a 501/503 before too long. i used them both for about a year until i started to notice the travel was kind dodgey - and it wasnt simply a matter of my not being used to them. there simply IS a BIG difference between a $200 head and a $1000 head.

you can (at least in my experience) edit around these issues in many cases. so get what you can afford and make the best of it. bogen IS a boat load better than something youll find at best buy or frys or wherever.
 
wgzn, what do you think about the bogen 516? I could probably swing this as long as it is worth paying the extra money for now instead of getting what will get the job done until I can afford a really nice one?
 
when you get into the 510, 516, 519, and 526 areas of bogen - the landscape changes a good bit. they are all more or less older/newer versions of a couple of heads. if i recall they are all proper fluid-heads. and i use them all on a fairly regular basis (mainly 516 and 526 and even for my kessler crane) and you WILL notice a huge difference in behavior.

the situation is that its a pretty big price jump from a 503 setup to a 516 setup. if i recall, its about a 2x price jump.

i would suggest renting both a 501/503 level rig AND a 516/526 level rig at the same time and get a real world feel for them. they are both like $50 a day (money id consider WELL spent in your case) and tell the rental guy that youre kinda new to the game and ask him to give you a quick tutorial on how they work and you'll save yourself a world of unhappiness.
 
awesome, thanks. Now I need to find a decent rental house close to home. Charlotte, NC is the biggest city close to me so maybe I can find something there.
 
Is the 516 head good enough to handle the weight of, say a 8ft. or 12 ft. crane? Like maybe the Kesslers?

If so, what LEGS would you consider the 'minimum requirements also?
 
mb72378 said:
awesome, thanks. Now I need to find a decent rental house close to home. Charlotte, NC is the biggest city close to me so maybe I can find something there.
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Sorry if I offended you, didn't intend to, but to me, a great professional tool like the HVX on a sub-par piece of gear like a low end Bogen makese no sense. In your price range, if you can make it all of the way up to $900.00, Libec LS-38.

Another way is to consider used, I have seen some used Cartonis and O'Connors that are real tripods within your price range.

I am VERY anti-bogen 501/503 because they have wrecked many shots that I have tried to use them on and it is amazingly frustrating and expensive when the client/director is not happy with the moves so I always strongly warn new owners NOT to even consider them. I would be remiss in recomending that you pair your new camera with a subpar piece of gear.

When you are doing film/video professionally, you don't think about pieces of gear, you think about systems. Camera package, grip & lighting and sound are your three main production systems. All that matters is that each "system" functions as a whole and that each piece of gear within each system is the best you can afford and works reliably, smoothly and competently. When gear doesn't function, or functions poorly, it can wreck a shoot, which can lose you work and clients, give you a bad reputation, all of which can make your life unpleasant. Why start with such a great camera without an at least decent tripod?

That said, for stills, lockoffs, interviews, a lousy tripod is fine because you aren't doing moves.

Good luck,

Dan
 
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