FS5: 100mm bowl fluid head recommendations

drboffa

drboffa

Well-known member
Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some 100mm fluid head recommendations that are on the cheaper side—i.e., $600 or lower.

Right now I have a 75mm leg/head setup that works perfectly for my work and rig. But I just bought a hi-hat with a 100mm bowl and unfortunately the 75-100 adapter doesn't quite work. Hence, I'm looking for a decent 100mm head that will see only occasional duty.

One of the few options I found in this range (on ebay) was the Vinten Vision 10 LF.

To give a sense of my rig's size and weight, in general I'm shooting with my FS5 and an Atomos Shinobi monitor; sometimes I'm using the Atomos Shogun and a VCT plate with shoulder rig.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
 
Thanks for the suggestion!

I've seen some questionable reviews of Proaim stuff, although not their heads specifically. Do you have any insights into this or similar stuff from them?
 
Definitely a budget company for the most part (they do have some nice gear though).

I imagine many negative reviews are from people who have more experience and are expecting better performance/quality for a few hundred bucks. Sometimes you'll read about missing pieces or quality-control issues, but you'll have to evaluate your own situation and see if any risk or reward is worth it.

If you asked about a 100mm head which you used day in and day out and needed the absolute most precise control for around $600 then no Proaim would ever be recommended - but for occasional use, especially on a hi-hat, it's maybe worth a consideration.

With that said, if you did need that high-quality performance for those random times then buying a used high-performance head for around your price or a bit more from a bigger company maybe is the better option.

Have you also tried using another 75mm-100mm adapter?
 
Thank you again for the thoughts and considerations.

So far I've only tried the Benro adapter ring. There's a Sachtler model that is about $200 (and therefore the cost of the Proaim head) and a Kessler for about 1/10th that, although not in stock at the moment. But I'll see if I can find one (or another brand), since using my current head would be nice. Otherwise maybe that Proaim isn't a bad idea...
 
Miller is a good budget. Cartoni works well too.

Secced or Cam-gear is a company that rips off older Sachtler designs that fell out of copy right(?fact check?), or something. They are good in feel, but I have never used them extensively. I met a guy that buys those and then replaces the branding stickers with Sachtler ones. He loves them. I have only seen them in like show rooms and at trade shows. They felt great, but I was unsure if they would last, but amazing feel. Rock solid on their larger models. The crazy thing is, the Secced felt as good as the Sachtlers that were right next to them that I was trying out at one of the shops here in Socal.

Anything below that, you are going to get varying degrees of "good". Good for the price? That doesn't mean good, just means you spent less money. Which that can be important. But there is also price to performance. Which seems more important, if you want performance. And I think Secced, Miller, and Cartoni deliver in that regard.

Miller is proven reliable.

Cartoni has that modern tripod look. The snazzy red locks, the sculpted head. and they do well.

Secced/Cam-gear is that price to performance thing. It has the performance, but it much cheaper than anything else at that level. Granted, I was messing with the larger payload models. But they nailed the feel of Sachtler. Just slightly lower quality paint job? Still better build quality than many of the other new names. I think they are half the price of Sachtler for essentially similar performance. But half the price of Sachtler is still expensive for a lot of people.


Are you more of a frame and hold type of sticks shooter? Any tripod will do that doesn't shake. I found that sometimes the Benro's are more stable than similarly priced Manfrotto's.

Are you a long lens pan and scan shooter? Get a good head. Stay away from Manfrotto. Haha. They're fine, I just haven't used one I like. Vice seems to make them worse than they need to be so people buy Sachtler.

So, it really depends on your use case, and your tolerance for subtle back lash.

Many of the Chinese or Korean tripods are well worth a look. They tend to have really bad resale value, so consider any purchase you make to be final. Philip Bloom does a video on some E-image thing. He isn't usually too bad to listen to for gear advice.
 
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James0b57 said:
Miller is a good budget. Cartoni works well too.

Secced is a company that rips off older Sachtler designs that fell out of copy right(?fact check?), or something. ...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into these. For the hi-hat scenario I don't need the precision of my usual setup, so something "good enough" will probably suffice.
 
drboffa said:
Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some 100mm fluid head recommendations that are on the cheaper side—i.e., $600 or lower.

Right now I have a 75mm leg/head setup that works perfectly for my work and rig. But I just bought a hi-hat with a 100mm bowl and unfortunately the 75-100 adapter doesn't quite work. Hence, I'm looking for a decent 100mm head that will see only occasional duty.

One of the few options I found in this range (on ebay) was the Vinten Vision 10 LF.

To give a sense of my rig's size and weight, in general I'm shooting with my FS5 and an Atomos Shinobi monitor; sometimes I'm using the Atomos Shogun and a VCT plate with shoulder rig.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Click to expand...

The 10LF was the first head I bought. Couldn't quite afford the 12SD when I first started. The 10 has been mounted (semi-permanently) on my hi-hat for probably 4-5 years now(seen next to my 'A' set-up of the 100 and Flowtech's). If the head was taken care of, it could be a good deal. Mine is approaching 23 years old.
Flow:HiHat 2.jpg
 
drboffa said:
Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into these. For the hi-hat scenario I don't need the precision of my usual setup, so something "good enough" will probably suffice.
Click to expand...

I updated my post. Looks like Camgear and Secced might be from the same manufacturer, but different brands.

Yeah, I basically didn't read you original post after "100mm.." Haha.
 
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Run&Gun said:
The 10LF was the first head I bought. Couldn't quite afford the 12SD when I first started. The 10 has been mounted (semi-permanently) on my hi-hat for probably 4-5 years now(seen next to my 'A' set-up of the 100 and Flowtech's). If the head was taken care of, it could be a good deal. Mine is approaching 23 years old.
View attachment 139289
Click to expand...

That’s wild. Yeah, Vinten is great. I've never owned one personally. But loved them at TV stations and sports arenas. Occasionally I consider picking one up, but people seem to keep them forever, and I just never stumbled across that "deal" on the used market yet. Though certainly they exist. Oh, I take that back, a couple years ago I missed bidding on an original Flotech by Vinten, went for maybe $800 ish? maybe lower. I just missed the Ebay notification.
 
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NorBro said:
You could also sell the 100mm hi-hat and purchase a 75mm one for your current head (just brainstorming because of the occasional use factor):

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1236881-REG/benro_hh75av_video_hi_hat_75mm_bowl.html
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Given all my options, I think this pretty clearly makes the most sense. I had a great deal on the original 100mm hi-hat but didn't take into account the much higher prices of 100mm heads (as I'd assumed the adapter would work seamlessly). But if I can just use my regular 75mm head, without an adapter, that's probably the best bet.

Thank you again! You just saved me $600 ��
 
Vinten

Vinten

James0b57 said:
That’s wild. Yeah, Vinten is great. I've never owned one personally. But loved them at TV stations and sports arenas. Occasionally I consider picking one up, but people seem to keep them forever, and I just never stumbled across that "deal" on the used market yet. Though certainly they exist. Oh, I take that back, a couple years ago I missed bidding on an original Flotech by Vinten, went for maybe $800 ish? maybe lower. I just missed the Ebay notification.
Click to expand...

I bought the Vinten system 10 with carbon fiber legs over 35 years ago. I have taken it on shoots all over the world and it is still as good as ever. I still use it as my main tripod for the FS7. And I have never had to have it serviced.
Alan Dater
Marlboro Productions
 
Alan Dater said:
I bought the Vinten system 10 with carbon fiber legs over 35 years ago. I have taken it on shoots all over the world and it is still as good as ever. I still use it as my main tripod for the FS7. And I have never had to have it serviced.
Alan Dater
Marlboro Productions
Click to expand...
That is so awesome. Half the working vintens i see are really old, and still kicking better than all the new stuff. So good!
 
Alan Dater said:
I bought the Vinten system 10 with carbon fiber legs over 35 years ago. I have taken it on shoots all over the world and it is still as good as ever. I still use it as my main tripod for the FS7. And I have never had to have it serviced.
Alan Dater
Marlboro Productions
Click to expand...

If you bought it with the Vinten CF legs(especially the torque safe versions) and they’re still kicking, my hat is off to you. That’s nothing short of amazing. On mine the clamps cracked at least two of the CF tubes, causing them to have to be replaced, then the spreader literally came apart on a shoot and almost put my, at the time, ~six month old 27H VariCam and Fuji HA13x4.5 into a polished concrete floor, lens first. I chunked it and moved to Speedlocks. They were just shy of 10 years old.
 
Soon after buying the Vinten System 10 I switched over to mid-level spreader which seemed to hold up well. As I look back I realize I was very protective of it, maybe because it cost over $5000 at the time. I would seldom ever let a helpful producer carry it. It got care equal to whatever camera I was shooting with. Strange how these habits become our security/operating rituals. It was the same with my spectra light meter no one ever touched except for me.
Alan Dater
Marlboro Productions
 
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