Does the World Really Need Another C-Stand?

morgan_moore said:
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 ..r.
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Good point Morgan.

Actually I have a bunch of cheapish China c-stands, and they serve me well since over 10 years now - no complains so far.
Nothing broke of, nothing worn out or anything.
C-stands are a pretty simple and crude mechanical thing anyway, it's not rocket science or some secret sauce to it,
of course the Chinese can make a decent one for under 100 bucks, when they can make a phone for under 20 bucks.
 
Postmaster said:
Good point Morgan.

Actually I have a bunch of cheapish China c-stands, and they serve me well since over 10 years now - no complains so far.
Nothing broke of, nothing worn out or anything.
C-stands are a pretty simple and crude mechanical thing anyway, it's not rocket science or some secret sauce to it,
of course the Chinese can make a decent one for under 100 bucks, when they can make a phone for under 20 bucks.
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I agree - I have a "cheap" c-stand whose brand and where I bought it I cannot remember. It serves me well.

I think it's "easy" to duplicate the design in a durable way and make a professional product.

At the same time, I've never seen a c-stand for less than maybe $120 or maybe $90-100 without an arm.

So, you're looking at maximum 33% discount off the good stuff. This is not a product that you can find cheap copies selling for <50% of the brand-name version because I dont think they can be manufactured for less

Also - about Chinese manufacturing - it's getting really good. I dont know if the durability and quality control of their products is on par. But they are out-innovating all but the best
 
Paul F said:
- The tall leg should be facing the same direction as the load - in this case towards the wall.
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This is something ive never been so clear on. If your load (mayby a light on a short arm, or with a softbox) is to the right (towaards set) of the stand it seems that the bag should counter it by being at the left (far from set/talent) in an attempt to get the total mass of the loads CofG to be over the middle of the turtle.

Not saying Im correct just its not clear to me.
 
morgan_moore said:
This is something ive never been so clear on. If your load (mayby a light on a short arm, or with a softbox) is to the right (towaards set) of the stand it seems that the bag should counter it by being at the left (far from set/talent) in an attempt to get the total mass of the loads CofG to be over the middle of the turtle.

Not saying Im correct just its not clear to me.
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The tallest leg is the longest leg, so it provides the most leverage to support the cantilevered weight.

If the weight is flat on top of the c-stand (like a single light fixture), it rarely matters much, but if anything is being boomed out on an arm, or if the mass of it is hanging to one side (like a frame or floppy) you absolutely want as much leverage holding against that as possible.
 
That skateboarding filmer appears to be Chris Ray. Seeing as he's a working professional I wonder if someone else set up the lights? Seems like too many "whoopsies" in one photo.
 
morgan_moore said:
No disagreement that the longest leg should have the bag, its just should it be under the 'boom' or opposite it,
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Generally under it because it provides the most leverage to brace the cantilevered weight. It's not always the leg to put the weight on necessarily though. The cantilever is already applying pressure on the leg, so sometimes setting the weight on the middle leg (on the opposite side to the cantilevered weight) is the way to go.

It's always easy to test, you just apply some pressure higher up on the stand and see what it's doing. Sometimes the weight just hangs strangely and you have to adjust. What should NEVER happen though is for the sandbags to be touching the ground at any point.
 
I often use my C-stands to build walls of Duvetyne when blacking out windows or creating a black limbo on location. I those cases, I have to use C-stands on the corners to follow the contours of the room.
In order to remove as many wrinkles in the Duvetyne as possible, I have to stretch it between the C-stands. In order to do this, you have large pressure pushing and pulling the stand from at least two sides.
I will have to put a 25lbs sandbag on the tall leg and two eights on the shorter legs. The eights, if they are sandbags and not shot bags, will often reach the floor. When you have two pressures on the stand,
you do whatever works for your situation as far as the tall versus the shorter legs and direction.

If I am flying, say a hair light at the end of a 40" arm, I would angle the tall leg opposite the load and put a 25lb bag on it.

BTW, shot bags rule but are expensive. My goal is to begin acquiring at least a nice little stash of shot bags to replace my sandbags, simply for storage and transport, the shot bags are so much better.
 
puredrifting said:
I often use my C-stands to build walls of Duvetyne when blacking out windows or creating a black limbo on location. I those cases, I have to use C-stands on the corners to follow the contours of the room.
In order to remove as many wrinkles in the Duvetyne as possible, I have to stretch it between the C-stands. In order to do this, you have large pressure pushing and pulling the stand from at least two sides.
I will have to put a 25lbs sandbag on the tall leg and two eights on the shorter legs. The eights, if they are sandbags and not shot bags, will often reach the floor. When you have two pressures on the stand,
you do whatever works for your situation as far as the tall versus the shorter legs and direction.

If I am flying, say a hair light at the end of a 40" arm, I would angle the tall leg opposite the load and put a 25lb bag on it.

BTW, shot bags rule but are expensive. My goal is to begin acquiring at least a nice little stash of shot bags to replace my sandbags, simply for storage and transport, the shot bags are so much better.
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I went ‘all shot’ several years ago, mostly to “save space”. I can get more 25lb shot bags in a given space than 25lb sand bags. Important when you’re also the grip truck carrying most of the gear. Shot vs sand used to roughly be triple the price. Now, it’s even more. When I switched, the Advantage 25lb butterfly handle bags I bought were roughly $70-$75/each, I believe. Now they list for $106/each, which probably puts them in the $95-$100 range, I’m guessing.
 
Run&Gun said:
. Shot vs sand used to roughly be triple the price. Now, it’s even more. When I switched, the Advantage 25lb butterfly handle bags I bought were roughly $70-$75/each, I believe. Now they list for $106/each, which probably puts them in the $95-$100 range, I’m guessing.
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Isn't that partly because shot is ballistic and carries extra shipping costs?
 
Run&Gun said:
I went ‘all shot’ several years ago, mostly to “save space”. I can get more 25lb shot bags in a given space than 25lb sand bags. Important when you’re also the grip truck carrying most of the gear. Shot vs sand used to roughly be triple the price. Now, it’s even more. When I switched, the Advantage 25lb butterfly handle bags I bought were roughly $70-$75/each, I believe. Now they list for $106/each, which probably puts them in the $95-$100 range, I’m guessing.
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Wouldn't it be cheaper to fill your sandbags with gold instead? ;-)
 
This is why I "aspire" to have a small collection of shot bags. Every time I have some money to spend (rare in 2020), I always think, "Hmm, shot bags or a new LED COB light?"
Shot bags are like putting a new roof on your house. You know you need it, but you don't want to spend the money.

Good one Liam!
 
One important thing with shot bags is that older ones might be filled with lead shot, which is cheaper and heavier than steel shot, but a safety hazard. You do not want to be breathing in lead dust.

I have some Matthews BOA Bags which are real nice because the handle has a textured, sticky grip to it. Once you wrap it around something, it stays put.

I think these are the best price to performance 25 LB shot bags I've ran across: https://wakeballast.com/collections...shot-black-light-grip-photo-production-studio

They also make a 50 LB version which is only $64 (with free shipping) and if you buy 9 they'll give you a 10th one for free: https://wakeballast.com/collections...wakeballast-50lb-ballast-bag-steel-shot-black . (This one, unlike the 25 LB version, is only one pouch of shot, instead of two, though.) Advantage lists their 50 LB shot bags at $158.
 
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Run&Gun said:
What?
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Hmm maybe not. I heard once that shot is considered ammunition and incurs higher shipping fees. I see no indication of that now from a quick google

In any case, I've switched to using iridium bags because it saves so much more space than shot bags
 
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