Full shooting package for HMC150

Justyn said:
I got this:
http://www.tiffen.com/displayproduct.html?tablename=davissanford&itemnum=PROVISTA7518B
Found it for about 200 bucks. Gotten great reviews and can't beat the price. I have a really nice big bogen that I love.. and there's lots of nice ones out there, but personally those 501 and 503 heads are crap. I hate each and every time I have had to use one. A tripod should have some weight to it.. in my mind, unless you are backpacking.

I don't know how this one will be, as it arrives on Friday. I'll give you a full report next week..
Click to expand...

I'm very curious to hear your report. Did you look anywhere besides DVXuser for reviews? I know B&H has some listed... I saw some for the Provista 7518 on Amazon, and they looked very positive... but I wasn't sure what kind of user those people were.
 
I did a bit of research online. Amvona and amazon, and a few other sites. videographer had an indebth review and it got great marks. I think that it will be a decent tripod for what I'm doing. If I need critical stuff I still have my bigboy in the trunk of the car. I also know that Tiffen as a company produces some pretty nice stuff.


Either way, its a better choice than the Bogen imho. I also wanted a heavier tripod and this one fits the bill. It will be here tomorow so if you or others are interested.. I'll post a review and some pics. I can put up the HVX and telephoto and some other gack to see how it handles the weight.
 
Justyn said:
I did a bit of research online. Amvona and amazon, and a few other sites. videographer had an indebth review and it got great marks. I think that it will be a decent tripod for what I'm doing. If I need critical stuff I still have my bigboy in the trunk of the car. I also know that Tiffen as a company produces some pretty nice stuff.


Either way, its a better choice than the Bogen imho. I also wanted a heavier tripod and this one fits the bill. It will be here tomorow so if you or others are interested.. I'll post a review and some pics. I can put up the HVX and telephoto and some other gack to see how it handles the weight.
Click to expand...
Yeah, definitely! I look forward to seeing what you have to say about it.
 
Barry_Green said:
Yes and yes. The Focus is the minimum head I'd recommend to anyone. But at $1400 for head & legs, it may be out of some folks' price range.

I'm saying I only use one when necessary, and I think the notion of "stick a cheap piece of glass in front of your high-def lens" is misguided. More glass = potential for reflections, diffusion of the image, etc. If you get the very best filter, it's not going to have much (if any) visible impact, so that's okay. But a cheap filter will just degrade everything you shoot.
Click to expand...

It's not a matter of lack of money for the Focus. I have the funds available... the matter is one of distribution. Is it really worth me investing $1400 into it, or using that money on other projects? I haven't been able to convince myself yet. But I really don't know. I guess I just don't have first hand experience with kind of difference this will result in as an end product.

As far as filters go, I'm on board with you. That all makes sense.
 
BrianMurphy said:
I am going to suggest that you consider a mono-pod in your kit. I use a Manfrotto 558B, it is solid, has a rubber foot, quickrelease column rather than twist to lock and is equipped with a manfrotto quickrelease head. If you are using a manfrotto tripod it makes it easy to snap on and off and helps steady shots but allows you to keep moving. There are other less expensive versions. It is always in my tripod bag.
Click to expand...

I've thought about the monopod... I think the times I'd be using a monopod... I'd be able to get by with a shoulder brace. Something I haven't 100% decided on, but I don't think I'll purchase initially. In what situations do you find it most useful?
 
I officially have my full kit IN HAND! I went out and played with it today. Here's what I went with:

HMC150
Bogen Manfrotto 503HDV/351MVB2k
Tiffen 72mm UV Filter
Panasonic 5800 mAh battery
2x 16gb class 6 Transcend SDHC cards
PortaBrace 2700F and Kata CC-193 cases.

I only got the Kata case because Bogen has a $100 rebate if you buy a Kata bag and a Bogen tripod. I got the PortaBrace because that is what I really wanted. :) I'm really happy with the quality / value of this kit.

Thanks for all your help!
 
The last pieces of my more or less finalized kit arrived today:

HMC150
2 pqi 16gb class6 sdhc
Libec H38/Miller Solo aluminium
UV coated filter
3 Panny 5800mAh batteries(one from shooter's pack)
zylight z50 w/tekkeon battery
Kata R106 Cam/Laptop backpack
Petrol AG-YUSC150H (the shooter's pack cam bag) (holds random audio gear)
Tool bag (to hold random cables)
HD Proline (? Panasonic) MC70 shotgun mic (shooter's pack)
LCD hood (shooter's pack) - this thing is awesome
2 m-audio pulsar II condenser mics
mic stand
old pan tripod to hold zylight off cam
APC UPS backup xps 1300 (backup battery)
14 ft LED strip lighting (ac powered)
42ft DIY extension cord, power strip, xlr cables

The shooter's pack bag is okay for a generic cam bag, but i'm glad i got impatient and got the Kata R106. It holds more gear and i can also have my laptop without having to carry yet another bag (it seems i have plenty of them to carry as is).
 
Last edited:
m.t, how does the libec h38/miller solo bundle work with the cam and accesories? how are you feeling about it?
 
ilauzirika said:
m.t, how does the libec h38/miller solo bundle work with the cam and accesories? how are you feeling about it?
Click to expand...

When i first started using the H38, it was a bit tight (the tripod would move with just the cam on if i tried to pan too quick), but it has loosened up just enough to where it nice whether or not i have the light and other gear on board as well. It can handle weight for days though. The high weight capacity of the combo was the primary reason i chose this setup. As for the miller legs, i really like the easy of set up and break down, as well as the weight. The lack of a spreader is mostly a blessing, but can be a curse, if you need to drop in a small space. Say you had a 1/2 meter space to set up your tripod and you wanted to have the it extended to full height, the legs will have a bigger footprint than the space. For the event/ random run and gun shooting this set up works great for me though. The legs quickly extend and lock and the head can be setup and leveled quickly. Since i leave the tripod plate on the cam at all times, i can be up and recording in under a minute.

Hope that helps?
 
ilauzirika said:
Thanks m.t., so would you say that for the camera alone this setup would be too much?
Click to expand...

I think if you are just using the cam on the LibecH38, you would need to keep one hand either on the tripod or the cam while panning faster than a crawl (i use the zoom control on camera which gives me the extra weight). The H38 is more of a HVX200 platform, but i went with something that i could load up(weightwise) if needed. I tried the Bogen503/351 setup, but the legs were the deal breaker for me (pinched my hand in the spreader.... lol).
 
Last edited:
So far, I've found the 503HDV/351 to be quite adequate. The head certainly outclasses the legs, but for my purposes I've found the legs to be very... adequate! Everything I've asked of them they've delivered... so far :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top