Best tripod and head for video production.

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fanatic_about_film

Member
I wonder if anyone could give me any recommendations for a good tripod and fluid head for video (not stills) production.

I will probably be shooting on a canon 5D.

I think a 503hdv head would probably be pretty good, unless any one can tell me differently.

What tripod would be good for me?
 
Manfrotto is really overrated IMO, not true fluid heads.

What lenses will you be using? Do you use a rig? How much can you spend at the most.

Two that pop up in my head is that Vinten Vision Blue and the new Sachtler Ace. Or an E-Image, Libec or Caroni.
 
It's not a true fluid head? Really?

I guess I wanted to spend something in the region of £600(UK), maybe a little higher if I had to.

I don't know what lenses yet. I guess a whole assortment. I will be using to shoot short films and music videos, but I want decent gear like a tripod and head to get very professional, smooth pans and tilts.

I may also purchase a shoulder rig which would be nice to be able to put onto the tripod (but this is just wishful thinking at the moment).
 
You really want a smooth fluid head with an continuously adjustable counter-balance control, so that you can achieve perfect balance with a variety of lenses / hardware attached to your camera. When the tripod head is properly balanced you don't have to lock it down to hold your camera at almost any position, this way you can make a smooth motion with your camera and then just stop at pretty much any position without locking the fluid head.

The least expensive tripods with continuously adjustable counter-balance fluid heads are:

Libec RS-250M ( 4.0 - 11.0 lbs Counter-Balance ) : $800 from B&H Photo

Vinten Vision Blue ( 4.6 - 11.0 lbs Counter-Balance ) : $1124 from B&H Photo

Libec RS-350M ( 6.5 - 16.5 lbs Counter-Balance ) : $1200 from B&H Photo

These heads have far smoother action than any of the low cost Manfrotto heads.
 
Technically, the Vinten Vision Blue is not a "true" fluid head either, and if you look carefully at the sales material, they do not advertise it as such. It uses what they call "lubricated friction" instead of a real hydraulic mechanism. Effectively, it seems to work just as well and some people prefer the feel and action of the Vinten over the low-end Sachtlers and other more traditional designs. I'm not a fanatic either way -- I have a Vision Blue, a Sachtler DV6SB and a Manfrotto 516 and they're all pretty usable -- the Manfrotto has more backlash than the more expensive heads, and no adjustment on the counterbalance spring, but they're all acceptable within their price ranges.

Personally, I'd recommend the Vision Blue with either the stock aluminum legs (if you're working indoors or have some assistants to help set up), or the Miller Solo DV sticks if you're looking for something more suitable for outdoor run'n'gun type action.

- Greg
 
Sort of on topic: Is there a thread or resource that will explain all about true and non-true fluid tripod heads? I would love to learn more and searched a while back to no avail. I'm particularly interested because I have a 501hdv and have never been able to get truly smooth moves with it.
 
Im awaiting the arrival of the Sachtler Ace that is dropping in January, looks to be a great tripod!
 
This is like asking what is the best flavor of ice cream. Everyone will have a different opinion. That said, my flavor is Sachtler.
 
If you are anywhere near New York city why don't you go to B & H and actually try them all out? They have ever tripod head discussed here and more. They don't have the inexpensive Weifeng tripods, which some DSLR users (I included - model 7060 @ $300) have found adequate. I should imagine though I don't know, that there may be retailer similar to B&H in southern California.
 
I have the Manfrotto 503. It's decent for the price (paid like $500 with cheap sticks as a package). That being said, for my "real" stuff where I hire my DP we use his Vinten.
 
This has been addressed to death - a search would give you all of the above answers - even up to the Sachtler Ace which has had a few posts here.

That said, the Ace sounds like an amazing deal - if they don't sell the head separately (haven't seen that they do as of yet) buy the whole thing, eBay the legs, get a set of decent sticks.

Manfrotto's heads aren't bad for the money, but they do make some good video legs.
 
Paul Hudson said:
This is like asking what is the best flavor of ice cream. Everyone will have a different opinion. That said, my flavor is Sachtler.
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Ha, same here.

@OP: Tripods are long-term investments - at least, good ones are. I would highly recommend renting a few different models from a local rental house. They are very, very cheap to rent - hell, a Sachtler Video 20, which is my favorite tripod ever, rents for $30/day at a local house in Dallas.

Just don't skirt by on your tripod. You can find great deals out there, too. I just picked up a worn, but fantastic Sachtler Video 14 II from a DVXUser for $700, and it works beautifully (and it's not the only tripod I own and use).

The Sachtler Ace does look promising. Then again, I have never used a Sachtler product I did not like. They know tripods.
 
notharrylume said:
If you are anywhere near New York city why don't you go to B & H and actually try them all out? They have ever tripod head discussed here and more. They don't have the inexpensive Weifeng tripods, which some DSLR users (I included - model 7060 @ $300) have found adequate. I should imagine though I don't know, that there may be retailer similar to B&H in southern California.
Click to expand...

Samy's in LA is similar to B&H. Go to their professional video store though.
 
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