gitzo boom poles?

[watson]

alright i'm in the market for a boom pole. Lucky for me i'm a student and can get student discounts on bogen stuff. I'm looking at a few boom poles from gitzo like this one 4 SECTION MICROPHONE BOOM POLE http://www.bogenimaging.us/product/templates/templates.php3?sectionid=21&itemid=1024 keep in mind i can get it for a fair amont below the list price they have. Anyway i'm just looking for some feedback on these. The length of that one should be pretty good. Does anyone use this one? any other good ones out there for cheaper then that? also will one of those cheaper shock mounts that B&H sells fit on it? as you can probably tell i dont know to much about boom poles. thanks for any info.

andrew

 

[MattinSTL]

Re: gitzo boom poles?

Do a quick search... there's been a fair bit about boom poles including a really long thread by me... if you feel like doing some reading.

The summary is this. I personally LOVE internally cabled poles... the more I use 'em the more I love 'em. It's a convenience that you can't appreciate until you spend a couple days working with one.

I think the best internally cabled pole for the money is the K-Tek Avalon in aluminum... $225 at Coffey Sound. Neutrik connector on the top... slotted top... coiled cable inside... Switchcraft jack on the bottom... all precision machined aluminum with EXCELLENT locking collars and (drum-roll please)... they're almost as light as the competition's CARBON FIBER poles... but they're STRONGER aluminum. So if you want the best 9 footer at the lowest price... and you're the type of person who appreciates EASE OF USE... this is it.

If you insist on the Gitzo... I'm sure they're acceptable... I've got some Gitzo stuff and I intend to buy their 13' pole... because ANYTHING is heavy at that length and it will be for short shots only... so anyway, if I WAS going to go with the Gitzo 9'... I'd get the CF model and get it from Adorama for $150... Bargain.

Still... for as good a deal as that is. The K-Tek Aluminum Avalon is a bullet-proof pole that's beautiful, professional, exact... AND coil cabled. The CC alone is worth at least $75 in REAL dollars. Try to turn an uncabled pole into a cabled one... you can't do it for less then that.