Don't shoot me for asking this..............

Jay Rodriguez

Jay Rodriguez

Coffee Member
Bought a crane but can't find the right info regarding a decent tripod and head to support the weight.

Yes I searched.

So, what should I buy to support the weight? I read something along the line that the heavy weight of a crane can destroy a tripod head.

I don't have a "good" tripod let alone a head yet.
 
Ideally you shouldn't be putting the crane on a tripod head anyway. Most cheap cranes I've used are designed to mount to a 3/8" bolt right on the legs, or on a half-bowl. Normally you'd take the head off the tripod and put the crane straight on the tripod legs, then mount the head on the front of the crane to sit the camera on.
 
My Cobra 2 crane mounts on the tripod and it's been an issue. The crane is great, but it destroyed my Provista head...the tripod is fine, but twice it's stripped out the friction screws. I have yet to use it with my 503, but unless i'm doing something wrong the Cobra is meant to mount this way, which is why you can tilt it from the tripod head.

I have no experience with other cranes, however.
 
That seems just so... not right. The EZ/FX, the GlideCam CamCrane, basically all of them that I know of mount to the legs and not to the head. I would expect that any of these cranes (plus camera weight) would exceed the weight limit of most heads.
 
It's almost as if we need our own "not newbie" section for asking all these questions isn't it? :)

I've done both.

I sometimes mount my homebuilt jib (that only holds piddly little cameras) on a tripod head that's designed for broadcast cameras - but I mount it at a 90* angle, so that the jib won't tilt the head.
- That also allows for oen other trick, I can actually unlock the tilt and use it to 'roll' (Dutch tilt) the whole jib from side to side. If I have the amera mounted at 90* on the end (non moving camera mount) This will actually allow me to tilt the camera.
It's a little unconventional, but it's worked for some good shots in a pinch.

- Mikko
 
To me it sounds totally insane to mount that much extra weight and leverage onto a tripod head... the point of a fluid head is smooth, frictionless control of a specific weight. That sounds incredibly bizarre to me to even think of trying this. Even with a totally balanced crane you still have a lot of torque at the fulcrum (tripod head). It isn't just you starting and stopping the crane... the tendency to move is also in the friction plates of the tripod head and you've got a massive (albeit well balanced) advantage of leverage compared to the 18" long handle that you normally use.

Barry is right. Mount the crane to the legs after removing the head... I'd modify the crane to fit the top plate or bowl before I'd toast another head.
 
Yeah, let me add on to what I said with:

By all means, don't put it on the head unless you HAVE to.

I was very carefull with this light camera and a super oversized head to not damage it. And even then it's a bad idea.

- Mikko
 
coffee said:
So, for $400-500 what kind of tripod am I looking at?
Click to expand...

Coffee, What's with the big secret? You still haven't bothered to disclose what "crane" you purchased. Why don't you tell us so we know what equipment we're talking about here?
 
I have the EZFX Jib as well and bought the Jib Pod from EZFX to safely and securely support the weight of the jib. It works great.

Chris
 
MattinSTL said:
Planning for a crane I'd get THIS ONE RIGHT HERE
Click to expand...
Supports 33lbs! I'm not sure what jib you are using either but you will probably have at least 33lbs in counter-balance weights! I wouldn't trust this one.

46730381.Jib04.jpg


30' Cammate jib with 265lbs to counter-balance it.....
 
Well these guys were talking about stripping out friction plates in heads like the Bogen 503... which is rated at 17 lbs... so I thought I was on the same page with them in suggesting a pod which could cross over.

In fact... I don't know of too many tripod heads that can support 265 lbs.

Sorry I misunderstood and thought he was asking for a "heavy duty" version of a regular pod... I wasn't qualified to participate in this thread. My bad. :lipsrseal
 
MattinSTL said:
Well these guys were talking about stripping... friction... heads ...17 lbs... so I thought I... could cross over.

Quoting me out of context makes me sound like a goofball. :huh:
Click to expand...

Yeah, don't you know that Matt speaks his mind at the time that he types and, therefore, cannot be quoted out of context?! Just messin' with ya, Matt. :)

firstspaghetti2.jpg


I have no idea why I posted this pic or whose kid is in it. I suspect Luis will have the most fun with it, however.:thumbsup:
 
Ehy, ehy! Do not save too much for a jib tripod! And do not trust too much home built tripod. We are speaking of the very base of a very complicated structure. No matters how it seems simple (as a pantograph table light) even the smallest jib develops several forces in several directions. Everything is fine when the fulcrum is well stabilized but if something goesw wrong you could really get trouble. If it's a small jib you may have the camera crash on the ground (even without any breaks). If the jib is a longer one you could create sever damage to people and things around.

I have a GITZO heavy duty tripod. It works fine for my self built crane. It's the base and you should not save in money or strenght when speaking of cfranes.

Even a good Manfrotto HDuty shld work fine.

I have to say that some tripod out there seem to me too weak and unstable. If we speak of good manufacturer they do use good materials. But some go himitating those shape and fall too much below safety, just becos they saw a tiny tripod holding a crane with a Betacam on the top....
 
Sorry, didn't realize that I didn't mention the crane. I bought the Kessler 12 foot crane and I believe it weighs 30 pounds. Then I have to add the camera plus counter weights so the tripod needs to support about 45 - 50 pounds in total right?

MattinSTL, the one you posted supports 26 pounds.... Might not be strong enough for this crane.
 
The first one I suggested was for 33 lbs... I was saying that the one I use has similar features in a smaller pod (stating why I like the Gitzo pods.)

Why would any of you guys think you could mount these weights and leverages on top of any fluid head and not break it?

I'm tryin' to go with the flow here, but I do speak my mind at the time that I type.
 
Matt, you're way off base. I started this thread basically asking what's trhe proper way of using a crane regarding a tripod as I've read all sorts of stuff saying to use a head, use a bowl and use nothing.

I've only operated a crane a handful of times, never assembled one, never owned one.

I'm still trying to get a foot hold here to know what to buy as my crane will arrive today but I still don't have legs for my shoot this weekend.
 
coffee said:
Bought a crane but can't find the right info regarding a decent tripod and head to support the weight.
Click to expand...

insanityfw said:
My Cobra 2 crane mounts on the tripod and it's been an issue. The crane is great, but it destroyed my Provista head...the tripod is fine, but twice it's stripped out the friction screws. I have yet to use it with my 503, but unless i'm doing something wrong the Cobra is meant to mount this way, which is why you can tilt it from the tripod head.
Click to expand...


Sorry for the misunderstanding guys... I thought I was replying to the opening post and the follow up posts... I must be reading stuff from another dimension.:grin:
 
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