Does the World Really Need Another C-Stand?

I just saw this. ???? When I see odd product announcements like this it reminds me of the many times I was with desperate marketing and product managers who would go off the deep end looking for more revenue. It's not exactly NAB or IBC announcement material.

"Hey everybody! Did you hear? Lowel has C-stands! Wow, I'm going to check them out!". C'mon, who is going to think of Lowel when the want a C-stand?
 
Normally I say choice is a good thing. But I just don't see a need for yet another brand-line of C-stands. There doesn't look to be anything novel or innovative about them.
I so wish that someone would come out with a line of 2/3 size C-stands. I think with the advent of smaller and lighter grip gear, there is a market for say, a 30" smaller, lighter and less expensive
C-stand. Yes, I have Gary Colemans, not the same thing. I mean the whole thing is smaller, lighter. Still built out of the same materials, work the same way. But not every job and user needs a
typical 40" C-stand and at that size, they are challenging to transport in smaller car trunks or in cars without fold down rear seats.

The C-stands we all use today were conceived when big crews of pro grips with 5 and 10 ton grip trucks were the norm for "movie making". Today, most of us sometimes use smaller lights, flags, etc. in at least some
situations, it would be cool if someone like Matthews or Lowel came out with this 2/3 sized C-stand for say $119.00 or $99.00 that was perhaps 30" tall, smaller base, 30" arm. I'd buy a few and I suspect
they would be a hit with the OMB, mirrorless and DSLR crowd. Everyone needs C-stands but for travel, flying or bringing half a dozen when shooting by yourself when you have to load into an office building.

I'd still need and use my regular stands much of the time, but having this would be an innovative choice.
 
The grip heads seem to be exactly the same as 'Matthews' but with a tricorn threaded bolts.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/139495-REG/Matthews_350580_Hollywood_Grip_Head.html

Considering the cost of a casting set up (the heads are cast and then machined right?) it would seem most unlikely that these are made by Lowell.

The 'made in china' sticker in the CU photo rather gives the game away.

In the UK we have avenger/arri/manfortto clearly from the same factory and also calumet/kupo/et al. also from the same (different) factory

All this adds up to me thinking that when I go on amazon and buy some cheap stands Im getting the same ones arri buy in and rebadge and when I buy a Feelworld monitor Im getting the same panel as smallHD without the mark up.

Are uk/germany/usa actually doing anything now but rebranding.. and does it matter.
 
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Pure I think a 30in stand is a bit wooly.

My 40s put a panel just right to be maybe 20-30 degrees down on a subject, lower is not flattering.

THe 70in stands are to put a background/greenscreen maybe 2.8m - enough to shoot a clear key.

I could see a steel turtle and an aluminium shaft - that would save some mass and make them more OMB frieldly.
 
Received the email a few hours ago. Glad they sent me an email. One more thing to clutter up my inbox, today.


morgan_moore said:
Pure I think a 30in stand is a bit wooly.

My 40s put a panel just right to be maybe 20-30 degrees down on a subject, lower is not flattering.

THe 70in stands are to put a background/greenscreen maybe 2.8m - enough to shoot a clear key.

I could see a steel turtle and an aluminium shaft - that would save some mass and make them more OMB frieldly.
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I do not like underneath lighting, either. Not flattering and just plain looks wrong(unless you're shooting a horror movie). I remember when we "discovered" the underneath fill 20-somehting years ago and producers LOVED it... Dear Lord what were we thinking? luckily we moved on from it VERY quickly. Now, it appears some of the local news photogs have "discovered" it, as I've seen it on several nighttime live shots recently.
 
Joshua Cadmium said:
Tiffen owns Lowel so here's their webpage about the stands: https://tiffen.com/pages/c-stand-edu
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Scroll down. To the skater pic then get angy.

<geek on>

-The sandbags should be hung on the tall foot so they dont touch the ground and best use is made of thier mass

-The stands should be elvated using the smallest diameter rod first or one ends up adding further elevation (or attempting to) using an extension that is out of reach. (done correctly on the left hand fixture but not the right)

-the two extension bolts should be kept lined up as they will be easier to store and operate.

Fire the photographer for this shoot!

</geek off>
 
morgan_moore said:
Scroll down. To the skater pic then get angy.

<geek on>

-The sandbags should be hung on the tall foot so they dont touch the ground and best use is made of thier mass

-The stands should be elvated using the smallest diameter rod first or one ends up adding further elevation (or attempting to) using an extension that is out of reach. (done correctly on the left hand fixture but not the right)

-the two extension bolts should be kept lined up as they will be easier to store and operate.

Fire the photographer for this shoot!

</geek off>
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Yep...

And the next pic down shows a StormTrooper Komodo which explains the skateboarding in the first pic.
 
morgan_moore said:
Scroll down. To the skater pic then get angy.

<geek on>

-The sandbags should be hung on the tall foot so they dont touch the ground and best use is made of thier mass

-The stands should be elvated using the smallest diameter rod first or one ends up adding further elevation (or attempting to) using an extension that is out of reach. (done correctly on the left hand fixture but not the right)

-the two extension bolts should be kept lined up as they will be easier to store and operate.

Fire the photographer for this shoot!

</geek off>
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Good catch. That really is embarrassing for a c-stand marketing picture.

- The tall leg should be facing the same direction as the load - in this case towards the wall.
 
morgan_moore said:
Scroll down. To the skater pic then get angy.

<geek on>

-The sandbags should be hung on the tall foot so they dont touch the ground and best use is made of thier mass

-The stands should be elvated using the smallest diameter rod first or one ends up adding further elevation (or attempting to) using an extension that is out of reach. (done correctly on the left hand fixture but not the right)

-the two extension bolts should be kept lined up as they will be easier to store and operate.

Fire the photographer for this shoot!

</geek off>
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Them light weight LED's have people slacking. Haha

Run&Gun said:
Yep...

And the next pic down shows a StormTrooper Komodo which explains the skateboarding in the first pic.
Click to expand...
LOL.
 
Funny thing I’m actually in the market for raised leg c-stands. I’ve got a job where it be ideal to position them on the steps. BH has 3 tiers: Impact $145 free ship, Lowels $159 free ship, & Matthews $159 + $35 ship (not in stock). Even though Matthew is a quality name, I won’t use them much. Any thoughts? Look at the specs Lowel are the lightest 12lbs as opposed to Matthews 17lbs
 
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morgan_moore said:
Scroll down. To the skater pic then get angy.

<geek on>

-The sandbags should be hung on the tall foot so they dont touch the ground and best use is made of thier mass

-The stands should be elvated using the smallest diameter rod first or one ends up adding further elevation (or attempting to) using an extension that is out of reach. (done correctly on the left hand fixture but not the right)

-the two extension bolts should be kept lined up as they will be easier to store and operate.

Fire the photographer for this shoot!

</geek off>
Click to expand...

They've gone "lefty loosey" a couple of times too.
 
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