F55: F55 Weight / OConnor 1030D or Sachtler 7+7

A

ArcherShot

Member
I'm about to purchase a head and sticks and could use a little guidance if you have a moment.

Currently my F55 rig is about 19 lbs...well under the 30lb max for the 1030D. Should I be concerned with eventually building it out to the point of bumping up against the 30lbs?

I'm not really interested in the 1030Ds due to the limited +/- 60 Range.

The 7+7 is a great head that I've used before, but everyone that has used the OConnor seems to swear by them.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
 
Definitely get more capacity then you need.
There's nothing more heartbreaking than seeing your camera slowly tilt over and crash due to under-capacity in the head OR the legs. Trust me, been there, done that.

If you ever run a big honkin' telephoto on a fully dressed camera on a windy day, you'll appreciate the extra stability. And don't forget, heads and legs slowly wear over time, reducing capacity even further.
I've been using Sachtlers for over two decades and much prefer them. That 7+7 looks nice.
 
Agreed with JCummings on everything, except the last sentence--I far prefer the O'Connors to the Sachtlers (same on the two decades' worth).

Generally speaking, Sachtlers are the weapon of choice for those coming from a broadcast background and O'Connor heads are the favorite of the film industry.

Both are quite capable.
 
I don't think you need worry about an F5 falling to the ground because you're using an O'connor 1030D. It's not going to break.

Cheers.
 
I would hate to carry sticks/head that are almost always too heavy for the typical jobs. If my camera was 19lbs, a 1030 is great (purchased my first one in 1997). I have also used/owned Sachtlers and have no complaints.

If you rent a big giant zoom periodically, rent a support package. That way you save yourself on the majority of your smaller jobs.
 
Busted. Yes Charles, I have a broadcast background.
From a CP16 on Peter Lisand wooden sticks and old O'Connor to carbon fibre, I've been abusing cameras and sticks for over 30 years.
 
90% of the jobs I do with my F5 and F3 before that, my Sachtler FSB 8 handled the payload just fine even when conservatively kitted out (no huge cine zooms). For those extra heavy days I simply rent a Video 20 for $60 bucks. Of course if your always shooting heavy your choices are two great one's.
 
JCummings, I picked up an O'Connor 50 that popped up on ebay a year or two ago with metal sticks for all of $350--it's in amazing condition (sat around a lot rather than used to death, apparently). Took me back to my first and only on-staff shooting job in the late 80's.

The important thing, Archershot, is that you buy a quality head (and it's good that you have narrowed down to O'Connor and Sachtler). A good head will last many, many years (imagine a camera doing that, these days). I bought my 1030 with a good number of hours on it already around 2001; it's still smooth as silk. My 2575 I bought new in 1998 and it has worked thousands of days on big sets. A little maintenance to the locks a few years ago; I had them check to see if anything else was needed and the answer was "nope".

What a lot of people who have never used a top quality head don't necessarily realize is that the actual act of panning and tilting is so effortless as to require no thought. Smooth starts and stops are not nearly so dependent on the operator's skill with the best heads, they just sort of "happen". A lesser head may tend to hitch a little, which of course shows up in the shot. And you can perfectly set the counterweight so that there is no kickback once you come to a landing, if you release pressure on the head.

It's a substantial enough purchase that it really is recommended to try whichever heads you are considering....well, head to head. I'm sure in Austin there are a couple of places that you can do so?
 
I was a Sachtler guy. And then around 2006 I really spent some quality time with OConnor and realized what the fuss was about.

Also, I find that Sachtlers don't age well, especially if they are abused. The drag disc selector mech can develop slop, which makes changing drags a drag. If you ever saw a Sachtler apart vs an OConnor, you'd understand why, there's more parts that rely on tight tolerances to keep it working as new.

That first half millimeter or millimeter of movement, necessary for unnoticeable headroom corrections and smooth long lens work, I find is always perfect and stiction free on an OConnor, where it may or may not be on a Sachtler, depending on maintenance or price level.

If you do lots of B-Roll where your shots are overt, big movement pans and tilts, or talking heads where you are used to locking down the head as a matter of style, you may not ever notice this. But if you do narrative work where you need to do lots of "corrections" as part of holding a frame as actors move, or counter-pans and tilts on dollies where lots of panning and tilting is happening but the audience is never supposed to notice it happening, then I find OConnor is often a better choice. Sometimes counterpanning on a dolly move is SO subtle that the tiniest flaw in a head will distract.

If that wasn't subjective enough, I'll throw in more: I feel OConnors that were built in Costa Mesa might have been slightly higher quality than the newer generation where they started painting them all black and started using lighter viscosity oil in the 1030s. This is really subjective, and I'm not sure anybody else feels the same as I do on this. I like the grey painted 1030Bs, 2060s, and 2575s, I think they represent a high point of OConnor engineering and manufacturing before they had to move their manufacturing out of the country to compete with the new wave of low cost Sachtlers. I don't feel their quality really went down, they just simply had to start doing some things differently to compete and they don't feel the same to me. I still prefer a new OConnor to any other make, but I know and realize there are some really good other makes out there (I keep seeing cheap Cartoni Maximas out there, and they are BEAUTIFUL heads, just nobody will ever ask to rent one). Your milage may vary!

To me, it's like talking guitars to somebody (but don't be fooled, I'm a terrible bass player). But as time goes on for me, it's a "feel" thing. Neck on a Fender vs. neck on a Gibson?
 
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Thanks All - I'm heading to the rental house this morning to check out the 1030D. You guys are great, and I deeply appreciate the experienced guidance!
 
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