Can I use a slider on a Sachtler FSB 8 system?

[anwarfayrouz]

Hello everyone,

I'm looking into buying the Sachtler FSB 8 Head with the Speed lock sticks, I was told by a friend I couldn't use a slider on this system. Is that true? I've tried looking it up but I've not found anything. I figured I'd rather be sure before I took the plunge!

Also out of interest what are your thoughts between the Speed Locks and the 2 stage Miller Solo's? Generally I work alone so speed is often essential to me so I'm looking for a light, flexible, easy to set up set of sticks. I'm quite set on the Speed Locks but I'm interested to hear opinions from those of you that have used both of them.

I hope to hear from you soon. All the best.

Anwar

 

[Michael Carter]

You can stick a slider on about anything - generally put a release plate on the bottom and stick it on the head.

The problem is, if you slider has a head on it, attached to a camera with matte box & so on... it can be hard to get a smooth move unless the slider is really nailed down tight - this of course depends upon the specific slider. But a rig can get pretty top-heavy, enough to make a slider bind up. In my experience, it's been much better to put a good fluid head on the slider, and mount the slider to two tripods, one on each side (mine's 48" though...)

I just drilled & tapped 3/8-16 holes in each end of my slider platform, and use fairly butch quick releases on stills legs (I have a ton of those manfrotto stopsign-shaped hex plates and parts from still shooting in the 90's) - it's way sturdier that way, for my setup anyway. You can use pretty cheap sticks, too.