Better tripod or shoulder rig?

iplaysnowboards

iplaysnowboards

Active member
Hey guys,

So my 7D should be arriving tomorrow along with the tamron 17-50 non-VC. I'm really in a huge debate right now about what I should be doing about stabilization.

I have a cheap tripod right now, davis and sanford, it's pretty much only good for locked off shots as the head is not fluid enough for a good pan or tilt.

I want to know what you guys think I should do. Do I:
A) Get a better tripod and a short rail system to be able to mount the 7D along with a FF to the tripod

or

B) Deal with my current tripod and only use it for completely locked off shots and then buy a shoulder rig with a FF for any kind of shot with movement.

If you have any experience with either ways of shooting please give me some insight as to which you believe is the more useful/beneficial route to go. I realize each will have benefits and drawbacks.

If you want some background I am currently in college for film and am primarily shooting shorts if that helps your advice. Also, I sort of intend on sticking to non-VC non-IS lenses as I am a poor college student and will certainly save the money if possible.

My next lens might be either a sigma 30mm 1.4 or the canon 70-200mm f4 non-IS if this helps at all either. The 70-200 would with my best guess need to be locked down on a tripod. I can't imagine shooting video with such a zoom on a shoulder rig would turn out all that well, but i could be wrong.

All advice and insight is welcome.

Thanks a ton.

-Ryan
 
Handheld and long zoom never go well together, no matter how stable you are. Zooms aside, shoulder rigs are very useful, as handheld with a DSLR is just too shaky without it.

That said, I'd focus on the tripod right now. You'll use a good, solid tripod much more often, and such a purchase will last you a long time if you invest properly. Don't discount the need for a shoulder rig, but I'd say the tripod takes higher priority.
 
Tripod. Always a tripod. Nothing screams non-pro like hand held shots.

Now if you work for CBS or Michael Bay, then do what you will. Otherwise, get some sticks and get a pocket dolly.

You won't regret it.

Also, you can make a pretty usable hand held stabilizer from plans in the DIY section. The PVC plan works very well.
 
jdv said:
Tripod. Always a tripod. Nothing screams non-pro like hand held shots.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I'd go that far. There are times that called for hand-held, if you know what you're doing. But the tripod is vastly more important.

It's also interesting that you completely dismiss hand-held for being "non-pro," yet you advocate a PVC stabilizer? I can't imagine any of my colleagues taking me seriously if I showed up on set with a PVC contraption. Nonetheless, for student films it's probably not a bad idea... not a long-term solution, though.

To the OP, you might want to consider the tripod and a loupe. The loupe can help greatly in stabilizing hand-held shots, without a shoulder rig.
 
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C2V said:
It's also interesting that you completely dismiss hand-held for being "non-pro," yet you advocate a PVC stabilizer? I can't imagine any of my colleagues taking me seriously if I showed up on set with a PVC contraption.
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Then fire them.

No one who might buy you film will care how you got the effect as long as you get it. And you won't get tripod stediness w/o a tripod.
 
jdv said:
Then fire them.

No one who might buy you film will care how you got the effect as long as you get it. And you won't get tripod stediness w/o a tripod.
Click to expand...

But you will get boring static shots with your tripod. I have become so good handheld that I can mimic dolly shots and crane shots with smooth handheld motion. I personally now almost hate the look of tripod shots, so for you to think that handheld = non pro you are sadly mistaken.
 
Depends what you define as budget,
If you want a really great tripod that'll last you when you need to bulk up with either a mattebox or a full rig, go with the Bogen 504: http://www.evsonline.com/manfrotto-504hd-head-with-546b-2-stage-aluminum-tripod-system.html Great price for a great kit that will last you many cameras more.
If it's a tighter budget then there is a Mathews Tripod, they make all the C-stands and flags, that is actually pretty great-they are backordered as of now: http://www.evsonline.com/matthews-matthews-lightweight-professional-tripod-system.html
 
Thanks guys.

-Simons $800 is a little steep for me. I'm still in college without a job right now so i'm looking for something a little less expensive.

Anyone else have any more input?
 
Ah, well, I don't have experience with the more expensive tripods but I did just snag a used ProMaster 6850 Tripod. Don't have any experience using it yet, hasn't arrived, but the fluid head on it looks like it delivers pretty silky smooth results.

If you don't have a problem with used equipment, you might be able to find a really good tripod at a firesale price on Ebay.

Also, I read that you're looking into lenses and are steering clear of IS and VC to save money. I have two lenses I use, the Canon 50mm f/1.8 with no VC or IS and a Tamron 17-50mm with VC. The VC makes a huge difference when I compare between the Canon non-IS and the Tamron with VC.

(Granted, I'm also shooting on the Tamron wide at 17mm with the VC on)

Even on a good shoulder rig you're going to get some wobble. For handheld or shoulderrig shots, having one VC lens might make a world of difference for you. Here's a short I filmed using both lenses with a quick breakdown of what is used where:

http://www.vimeo.com/14436814

(following shots are handheld)

At 0:05-0:07 I'm handholding the non-IS 50mm f/1.8.

At 0:07-0:09 I'm handholding the VC 17-50mm f/2.8

At 0:09-0:15 I'm handholding the 50mm f/1.8

At 0:15-0:20 I'm handholding the VC 17-50mm f/2.8 (very minor additional stabilization applied in AE)

The rest of the shots in the car up to 0:39 are the 50mm f/1.8 handheld.

Jumping ahead, at 1:01 the VC 17-50mm is mounted on a $14 poorman's steadicam.

Jumping again, the shot of that taxi at 2:35 to 2:42 is the VC 17-50mm on a bumpy two-land highway, shooting out of a car window handheld in a rush as we followed the taxi back into town because we could only afford to pay him for 1-hour of his time while we got all of our taxi shots.

I'm not always shooting that way, but especially when I'm on the shoulder rig and comparing footage, the difference is big. Having one VC lens might be worth your money.
 
Thanks Torrey awesome footage by the way.

But I'm guessing my best guess is to try and find a solid used tripod as of now or settle for a new one more around my budget.

Hmm and yes I agree that having a VC or IS lens would be extremely helpful, but as of now i'm looking into primes which (at least normally) not have any sort of stabilization and I already have the tamron 17-50 non-VC which is probably where I should have gotten a VC/IS lens...hmmm
 
Get a good tripod that will last and last. You will not look back on it.

But you can make a shoulder-mounted rig for $20. DIY

There is a DIY Follow focus in the DIY forum here. Altogether you'd spend...$26 on a shoulder rig.

This way you can get great, smooth tripod shots and go handheld Rambo-style with the essentials, maybe saving money for a better rig some day.

Just a thought.
 
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