Official Tripod F.A.Q's

I've heard some good stuff about those sticks, but I would invest more in your sticks and then choose your head by your pocket book. The reason I figure this is a good idea is because the technology of heads is likely to change faster than the sticks. I mean a good pair of sticks will last you 25+ years.

But don't listen to me if you've already made up your mind.

If anyone is ever interested in the above answer to my question: turns out it was a 100mm tripod. very hard to find an adapter. had to special order ouot of vistek. I'm waiting for the part right now. It's made by manfrotto, $45 CDN. Same adapter from Sachtler would've been $200+. The guy at Whites here told me they had a 100mm bowl to mitchell made up for about $125. I'll let ya know how the piece fits...

i like the 100mm and i'll probably upgrade heads whenever i have the need and the cash. Now, does anyone know where to get a mid level spreader and some feet for cheaper than $800?
 
Soo...I had my tripod mounted on my camera...and somehow the metal screw attaching in the camera had snapped off and is now stuck in my camera. Is there anyone who has any suggestions on how getting that out? I was going to attempt sending it to Canon but they're asking for 500 dollars...
 
Hey Guys,

What are your thoughts on the Bogen 701HDV... good bad? there doesn't seem to be a tripod review site around :D
 
Kiarash212 said:
Soo...I had my tripod mounted on my camera...and somehow the metal screw attaching in the camera had snapped off and is now stuck in my camera. Is there anyone who has any suggestions on how getting that out? I was going to attempt sending it to Canon but they're asking for 500 dollars...
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you could carve a nothc in the bottom of the screw and then use aflat head to get it out. Or there's a tool that you can buy that is meant to remove screws that have lost their heads. home depo should know what they're called.
 
puredrifting said:
...But if you can't afford it, the Focus or the Libec are at least decent compared to "cough, gag, splutter" BOGEN. I own two Bogens, mainly because I am too afraid to fly with my expensive Sachtler and the Bogens are horrendously bad in comparison. I have the 503 head with the 745 MdVE legs and it's pretty bad for moves although fine for interviews. I really feel sorry to anyone sentenced or forced by cheapness to have to use an amazing camera like the HVX with a POS like the Bogens. It's just not right...
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:grin::furious3::crybaby::grin:
Don't sugar coat it, Sundance...

Now you know where I am... Not yet needing to pan or tilt, but needing a solid studio tripod and tilt sideways, locked-down cam:
http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CK7800/

ps, and by the way, which is it, Dan? Do you, or don't you fly with your A tripod rig?

puredrifting said:
B&H sells the Miller Solo legs by themselves. I have the Sachtler DV-6SB with my Miller Solo DV CF legs and love it. It has been great for me for the past two years and I have dragged this setup all over the world.

Dan
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Kiarash212 said:
Soo...I had my tripod mounted on my camera...and somehow the metal screw attaching in the camera had snapped off and is now stuck in my camera. Is there anyone who has any suggestions on how getting that out? I was going to attempt sending it to Canon but they're asking for 500 dollars...
Click to expand...

You can buy a dremel for 35-40 bucks, and if you've got enough of the screw showing, do as SlowBMW said and cut a screwdriver-ready notch in it. Otherwise, you'll need an electric drill that can move in reverse (most can), and a left-handed drill bit smaller than the hole in the camera. You drill out the screw, and the force helps the screw come out.
 
Hi:

I have told my clients that I refuse to FLY with the good tripod. When I fly, I use the POS Bogen, that way if they lose it, I am only out about $500.00

I have two corporate clients though who are service providers to UPS and FedEX so when I shoot internationally for them, I ship the Sachtler via UPS and FedEx because they have replacement value insurance and my client pays for the shipping. It gets pretty expensive, about $700.00 per flight for the tripod and two or three lighting cases but if I don't have to pay, its the way to travel and shoot. So I have shot all over the world (U.K., Puerto Rico, Mexico, Philippines, Australia) with the Sachtler.

UPS actually lost one of my lighting kits when I had it shipped back from a shoot in Philadelphia last year. They ended up cutting me a check for $4,000.00 to buy a new one. Airlines tell you take a hike if they lose your stuff.

Dan

dcnblues said:
ps, and by the way, which is it, Dan? Do you, or don't you fly with your A tripod rig?
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Hey guys. Its getting close to purchase time. A few post up I have a list things I am considering.

These Legs - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...um_Tripod.html

Looking at the heads again, I'm not sure if they are the best choice.

I'll have a hmc-150, 35mm adapter (not sure which one yet), rails. And possibly matte box, ff in the future.

Any suggestion on a head around $400 - $600?

EDIT:
Just found this on BH.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...5_3192_Tripod_Legs_Black_.html#specifications

Its bogen, but the price is pretty good.
 
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puredrifting said:
Hi:

I have told my clients that I refuse to FLY with the good tripod. When I fly, I use the POS Bogen, that way if they lose it, I am only out about $500.00

I have two corporate clients though who are service providers to UPS and FedEX so when I shoot internationally for them, I ship the Sachtler via UPS and FedEx because they have replacement value insurance and my client pays for the shipping. It gets pretty expensive, about $700.00 per flight for the tripod and two or three lighting cases but if I don't have to pay, its the way to travel and shoot. So I have shot all over the world (U.K., Puerto Rico, Mexico, Philippines, Australia) with the Sachtler.

UPS actually lost one of my lighting kits when I had it shipped back from a shoot in Philadelphia last year. They ended up cutting me a check for $4,000.00 to buy a new one. Airlines tell you take a hike if they lose your stuff.

Dan
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More and more I'm thinking this is the way to travel with gear: ship it ahead of yourself. I went out to Az from NY in December with a small kit; everything fit in a backpack. But the time I spent fussing with it and having it scrutinized was worth $$ in aggravation. For what? It's not like I'm going to use the camera on the plane.

I bought a Sachtler DV8/100 back in January. There's no way I'd trust it to the airlines, even though it's in a hardshell case, for the reason Dan mentions: there's almost no possibility they will cover the cost if they lose it or damage it.
 
I like the shipping option a lot except that is costs a lot of money. To ship my small travel package for interviews to NYC from here using three day ground costs around $700.00. Each way, so $1,400.00 round trip. Most clients will not cover that, some will, some will and will grumble about it. So I end up flying this same package, I can make two cases, each at about 48lbs that covers it including my clothes and toiletries and I fly with a 35lb backpack as carry on.

It is quite a schlep but I do it half a dozen times a year.

Someday, one of these cases won't show up and I will be hosed out of thousands of dollars but that seems to be the cost of flying with gear these days.

Dan
 
I use my Sachtler DV-6SB with the Miller Solo DV carbon fiber legs. Works really nicely, I got some great shots on this shoot with it and it was all at the longest focal lengths so we could isolate the talent from the cluttered backgrounds.

Dan

picture.php
 
Hi Dan

NICE PIC

so this 2 are ok?

i m going to buy the Sacher dv-6db and the miller solo 2 stage legs.
here are the links
head.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/382480-REG/Sachtler_0605_DV_6SB_Fluid_Head.html#specifications
Legs

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...1106&addedTroughType=search&Q=#specifications

I dont pretend to put any MB or other acces for the camera other than the batteries and the P2 cards.

so are this ok for a fluid workflow??

Are the miller legs less stable because they don´t have spreaders??

Last thing, what does "Bowl Diameter" stands for?? I think that this means that the head must have the same "Bowl diameteR" like the Legs, if not, they will not match and Game Over, right?

Sorry to bother but the 3-stage miller solo (100mm bowl) and the 2 stage miller solo (75mm bowl) and the Sacher head (75mm), have diferent "bowl Diameter"
Also i send you a PM, sorry -_-

Thanks for your time

Best
 
Answered via PM but yes, your setup is fine, although I see now that the DV-6Sb head is discontinued now, I wonder which head is taking its place. I know Sachtler has sold a lot of DV-6SBs over the past few years.

Enjoy!

Dan
 
Wow, I guess I bought the last DV-6SB Speed Lock 75CF combo from B&H! I love the action of the head and the single lever to release each leg is pretty sweet. I've never spent much time with a spreader system before, but so far, seems to be OK. I only wish they would go lower.

The DV-6SB head has the touch-n-go system and when I attach the plate to my **NEW** HPX-170, the setup cannot balance. The Head plate only slides forward and not back, so the camera is slightly rear heavy. When I loosen the head adjustments, the camera will tilt back. And I did attach the wedge plate to the camera in the rear most position. Vertical tension settings of 3 to 5 the camera is stable. Is there anything that I can do about balancing the head?
I'm glad that it has a fair amount of slide adjustment to the rear for when I start hanging adapter and rods etc. off the front.

Also I 'm pretty sure that the replacement is the FSB-8 head. This works with the SOOM system. The head supports 2-20 lbs but the spec on the whole system is up to 15.4 lbs. Has anyone used the SOOM system? It looks pretty awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu1KatOLjjQ
very versatile very pricey (and heavy at 18 lbs), but I wish I was clued into this earlier! I found it as I was loking for a monopod solution to go with the Satchler touch-n-go plate.
 
What about a Vinten Vision 5? I can buy one for about 800 euros and it has carbon legs. My setup is still a 'bare' HPX 171 but in the future a 35mm adapter (probably SG Blade) and a monitor will be added. I can't really find any good info about the specs of the head...maybe it is too heavy for the HPX alone? Thanks in advance.

If the Vinten Vision 5 won't the the one, I'd probably go for a Manfrotto (Bogen) 519 head with 525 legs or a Vinten Vision 3.
 
Hey guys, I'm a broke film student looking for a decent tripod for a dvx100b. I've got a max budget of 300 bucks, but I'm willing to patiently scavenge around ebay. Any ideas?
 
Budget "Transformer" Tripod>Crane>Dolly?

Budget "Transformer" Tripod>Crane>Dolly?

Hi All,

Trying to post this as a new topic, sorry if I am doing this wrong.

I don't own a real video tripod yet, just got my AG-HMC150 and I am a novice wannabe indie video maker.

Is there really a quality/budget tripod that can be "transformed" into a Crane and also a dolly? Ideally with bendable tracks for the dolly? I've seen a couple websites with stuff like this and even economical stuff like, but do they really work? Would they really be smooth?

Plan to have the HMC150, SmallHD monitor, 35mm DOF adapter on the tripod so it might reach (guessing) around 10-15 pounds?

www.cobracraneusa.com this is a site with this type of equipment although their dolly seems to be on fixed PVC pipe (and would work if I had to).

I'll pay what it takes, but would prefer the entire setup be below $2,000 if possible.

Thanks a bunch,
Dean
 
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