Light Stand for Diva 400

traviswears

traviswears

Well-known member
Just picked up my first pro light, a Diva 400. I do a lot of one-man-band gigs, so the Diva is a good fit for me.

I usually rent them and have been putting them on beefy babies in the past but I'm interested in finding a lighter (yet still sturdy) solution. Most of what I use the Diva for is indoor interviews or run-n-gun type doc-u shooting.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks.
 
Usually I have used a C-stand for kino's but if you must use a light stand (for travel and what-not) I cannot recommend Impact stands highly enough. If I'm not mistaken, they are B&H's in-house brand and they are affordable, sturdy, lightweight and air-cushioned to protect your gear. They have a highly-reviewed heavy-duty stand but I've not used it. I would def bag it down solid if I had such a nice light on it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/253066-REG/Impact_LS_13HB_Heavy_Duty_Light_Stand.html
 
Matthew's Hollywood Beefy Baby Stands are my favorites for the Diva 400.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/139497-REG/Matthews_387031_Hollywood_Beefy_Baby_Steel.html

When out-of-town I usually just rent C-Stands, but if I need to air transport them I'll use Avenger's A0035B Baby Alu Stand 35 with fly-away sand bags.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/611468-REG/Avenger_A0035B_A0035B_Baby_Alu_Stand.html

Generally I avoid Avenger gear because I can't get it repaired on the West Coast, but prefer the longer baby-pin on top of their aluminum stands to the other brands'.

On another note, my preferred method of mounting Divas is to grab the lollipop near the baby receiver with a 2.5" grip head, much like it's done with the 4Banks. This allows greater tilt when the light is rigged vertically.

While my favorite grip heads are American's, the inexpensive Avenger's are my choice for Divas. They have a hole that perfectly fits the Diva's lollipop, & the baby receiver is threaded in two places which makes it easy to mount on cine, or photo, light stands, which often have different length baby-pins.

These are black, but mine are chromed.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3582-REG/Avenger_D200B_Black_Grip_Head.html
 
Bern Caughey said:
Matthew's Hollywood Beefy Baby Stands are my favorites for the Diva 400.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/139497-REG/Matthews_387031_Hollywood_Beefy_Baby_Steel.html

When out-of-town I usually just rent C-Stands, but if I need to air transport them I'll use Avenger's A0035B Baby Alu Stand 35 with fly-away sand bags.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/611468-REG/Avenger_A0035B_A0035B_Baby_Alu_Stand.html

Generally I avoid Avenger gear because I can't get it repaired on the West Coast, but prefer the longer baby-pin on top of their aluminum stands to the other brands'.

On another note, my preferred method of mounting Divas is to grab the lollipop near the baby receiver with a 2.5" grip head, much like it's done with the 4Banks. This allows greater tilt when the light is rigged vertically.

While my favorite grip heads are American's, the inexpensive Avenger's are my choice for Divas. They have a hole that perfectly fits the Diva's lollipop, & the baby receiver is threaded in two places which makes it easy to mount on cine, or photo, light stands, which often have different length baby-pins.

These are black, but mine are chromed.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3582-REG/Avenger_D200B_Black_Grip_Head.html
Click to expand...

This is really helpful thanks. I'm not 100% sure what you mean when you're describing mounting them though... You mean to grab the lollipop arm itself with the grip head, and not just pop it on the 5/8 top? I've done some light pro grip work but I'm mostly self-taught so I'm not totally familiar with all lighting methods.

I like mounting them on Beefy Baby's but don't always enjoy carting it all around.

Any idea on what lights to pair the 400 with, for a full interview setup? I was considering 2 Arri 300s. One for possible fill or background kicker and the other for the hair light. It would be nice to have a second Diva for 2-person interviews but I'm not quite there yet financially speaking. Open to suggestions for portable #2 & #3 lights that would compliment the Diva-key well.
 
When I go out on small gigs where I've got to get in and out with very little fuss, I assemble a small kit that fits in a rolling Pelican 1650. For the Diva, I pack in a Matthews Reverse stand (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/502683-REG/Matthews_B387486_Reverse_Stand_7.html). Its mechanics are similar to Lowel's lighter weight stuff but it's sturdy as hell. Much more stable than it looks and at a normal height for sit-down interviews, it's rock solid. At full height, I'd get a little worried, though.

Good luck.

~~Dave
 
Davdo said:
When I go out on small gigs where I've got to get in and out with very little fuss, I assemble a small kit that fits in a rolling Pelican 1650. For the Diva, I pack in a Matthews Reverse stand (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/502683-REG/Matthews_B387486_Reverse_Stand_7.html). Its mechanics are similar to Lowel's lighter weight stuff but it's sturdy as hell. Much more stable than it looks and at a normal height for sit-down interviews, it's rock solid. At full height, I'd get a little worried, though.

Good luck.

~~Dave
Click to expand...

Wow. That does LOOK a little unstable. I've used the Lowell stands before and there's no way I'd throw a Diva on one. Most of my stuff is basic, interior interviews so this might work for me. Plus, it does look portable.

What other lights do you use in conjunction with the Diva for interviews?
 
traviswears said:
You mean to grab the lollipop arm itself with the grip head, and not just pop it on the 5/8 top?
Click to expand...

I'm not Bern, obviously, but I think I can say with a fair amount of confidence that that's exactly what he means; it seems to be a relatively standard mounting technique. This way you get the flexibility of the lollipop combined with the flexibility of the grip head. With this combination you can put that light at just about any conceivable angle.
 
traviswears said:
Wow. That does LOOK a little unstable. I've used the Lowell stands before and there's no way I'd throw a Diva on one. Most of my stuff is basic, interior interviews so this might work for me. Plus, it does look portable.

What other lights do you use in conjunction with the Diva for interviews?
Click to expand...

It really is quite sturdy.

My bare bones, no fuss kit has a Diva, a Lowel Tota with XS (16"x22") Chimera, a Lowel Pro Light and a 5-in-1 Flexfill. All of that plus a gel roll, small grip and electric stuff gets packed into the 1650 along with the Reverse Stand, 3 Lowel Uni stands (ultra lightweight) and a little throwaway 6 footer (also very lightweight). It's not a whole lot of stuff but for talking heads, it does a good job and I don't have to use service entrances (a real timesaver for short or low-key shoots).

~~Dave
 
Davdo said:
My bare bones, no fuss kit has a Diva, a Lowel Tota with XS (16"x22") Chimera, a Lowel Pro Light and a 5-in-1 Flexfill. All of that plus a gel roll, small grip and electric stuff gets packed into the 1650 along with the Reverse Stand, 3 Lowel Uni stands (ultra lightweight) and a little throwaway 6 footer (also very lightweight). It's not a whole lot of stuff but for talking heads, it does a good job and I don't have to use service entrances (a real timesaver for short or low-key shoots).
Click to expand...

I'm definitely considering this stand now. I'm thinking I should pick up a 2nd Diva and either 2 Lowel Pro lights or some LTM Peppers and throw the hair/kicker lights into a 1650 case along with some stingers and misc grip gear. In that case, I could pick up several of these stands to go in the case as well. I don't currently have a 1650 case. Would it be reasonable to fit those smaller lights along with 3 or 4 Matthews Reverse stands in the 1650 w/some additional grip kit?

I need at least 1 c stand with a turtle base as well. I drive a Saab 9-5 and don't like laying the c stands across my backseat leather. They come in handy for holding my boom pole though.
 
Davdo said:
Much more stable than it looks and at a normal height for sit-down interviews, it's rock solid. At full height, I'd get a little worried, though.
Click to expand...

The Matthews Reverse Stand's max height is a 7', at which point it supports 11 lb.

A Diva 400 weighs 14 lb.
 
I own 3 Diva's. Not only are they awesome lights (BUT don't leave the egg crate in with the diaper on... I made that mistake day one), but they balance perfectly on the black ARRI light stands that came with my ARRI kit. Never had a problem with them whatsoever and the light stands fit in my stick bag for transport.
 
Respectfully, I've never been around a 400 that weighed that much. They're in the 9-10 lb range with bulbs and an eggrate. Having used the Diva on a Reverse stand on at least 100 occasions now, I can tell you without doubt the combination is solid. As I mentioned, I don't spend a lot of time with the thing at full height, but the occasional times I have, it's been very stable.

~~Dave
 
I can't believe I'm playing along...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/258600-REG/Kino_Flo_DIV_400_120U_Diva_Lite_400_Universal_Fluorescent.html#Specification

For what it's worth, I just weighed mine using a luggage scale and it came in at 10 on the mark.

The original poster asked about a lightweight and safe solution for supporting a Diva in talking head interview situations and the Reverse Stand is just that. I've used it on many shoots in just this way (around 5 1/2') and it has been rock solid. I've also used it safely at full extension on a number of occasions. That said, I never leave it alone at full height since it's close to max load.

Take away what you will.

~~Dave
 
Dave,

I'm definitely not trying to be antagonistic. Interesting you weighed the Diva at 10 lbs. Wonder why Kino Flo's specs are so far off (while I never trust B&H's)?

I'll buy that you find the stand sturdy enough. I'm a safety fanatic, & always try to build-in some wiggle room. Even with the heavier, & larger footprint, Beefy Baby I still use a shot bag.

Best,
Bern
 
Last edited:
Hi Bern.

I'm totally with you on safety. I go WAY overboard on trick line and safety cables when I'm doing rigging work or anything like that.

Let me stress again to the OP and anyone else that's following this thread, I do not recommend using the Reverse stand with a Diva at full height in the middle of a room with a lot of traffic and nobody keeping an eye on it. Know its limitations and it'll serve you well. Any taller than 6 feet, and forget your compact kit and go with, as Bern suggests, a Beefy Baby or at least something like a Matthews or Avenger kit stand with a max load of at least 20 lb.

Good luck and be safe.

~~Dave
 
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