O'Connor 2560

I'm not much of a brand loyalist--I prefer to pick the best gear I can find and that can be a moving target. However I have been an O'Connor fan for some three decades now and have not seen reason to switch. A fluid head should balance the camera perfectly at any orientation and be invisible to the operator, really it should become an extension of themselves. The O'Connor line does all that.

I've have a 20 year old 2575, a 25 year old 1030B and a perhaps 40 year old 50 (the latter two heads bought used) and with thousands of cumulative hours on them, hardly any maintenance has been required.

I point all this out because inevitably when heads are discussed on message boards, someone will suggest that the O'Connor are overpriced, you are paying for the name, can't ever afford that etc. I maintain that making the appropriate investment into a fluid head is one of the most important ones to make when assembling a package, because the results will be directly translated into the quality of one's footage, and the right head will last through many generations of cameras. I have pictures of myself in variously younger incarnations with a Panaflex Gold on my 2575, a Canon XL1 on my 1030 and a Hitachi 3-tube broadcast camera on a 50 (that one nearly 30 years ago)...just as those cameras are outdated, so will be today's Alexas and A7s's but the heads will still be with me.

I wasn't happy to see Vitec acquire them and close down the original Costa Mesa factory, and I've heard from a few people that the newest heads seem to be lacking compared to the old. Steve Phillips, sounds like you feel otherwise?
 
CharlesPapert said:
I'm not much of a brand loyalist--I prefer to pick the best gear I can find and that can be a moving target. However I have been an O'Connor fan for some three decades now and have not seen reason to switch. A fluid head should balance the camera perfectly at any orientation and be invisible to the operator, really it should become an extension of themselves. The O'Connor line does all that.

I've have a 20 year old 2575, a 25 year old 1030B and a perhaps 40 year old 50 (the latter two heads bought used) and with thousands of cumulative hours on them, hardly any maintenance has been required.

I point all this out because inevitably when heads are discussed on message boards, someone will suggest that the O'Connor are overpriced, you are paying for the name, can't ever afford that etc. I maintain that making the appropriate investment into a fluid head is one of the most important ones to make when assembling a package, because the results will be directly translated into the quality of one's footage, and the right head will last through many generations of cameras. I have pictures of myself in variously younger incarnations with a Panaflex Gold on my 2575, a Canon XL1 on my 1030 and a Hitachi 3-tube broadcast camera on a 50 (that one nearly 30 years ago)...just as those cameras are outdated, so will be today's Alexas and A7s's but the heads will still be with me.

I wasn't happy to see Vitec acquire them and close down the original Costa Mesa factory, and I've heard from a few people that the newest heads seem to be lacking compared to the old. Steve Phillips, sounds like you feel otherwise?
Click to expand...

Took the words right out of my mouth with all of that.

As for the newer stuff vs old I'm not sure as I don't know where the 2060 and 2575 heads that I have used were made (I assume Costa Mesa, and certainly so for the older grey-coloured 2060s and the 1030B that I had). All I can say is that the 2560 I have is every bit as good in operation and as well made as the 2060s I have used - identical in every respect actually, except a few cosmetic changes. Like you Charles, I'm not going anywhere, not seen any reason to jump to another brand.

Steve
 
One of the re-occuring themes I've seen on the site is, and I'm paraphrasing ; ) , "What's the cheapest tripod I can buy?" "I spent $75K on a RED and some ultra cool "vintage" glass, so I only have $127 for a tripod". It seems like those of us that have come up through the ranks with professional equipment appreciate and understand the need better than those that have cut their teeth on DSLR's and "handycams". A good head could last you an entire career.
 
CharlesPapert said:
I'm not much of a brand loyalist--I prefer to pick the best gear I can find and that can be a moving target. However I have been an O'Connor fan for some three decades now and have not seen reason to switch. A fluid head should balance the camera perfectly at any orientation and be invisible to the operator, really it should become an extension of themselves. The O'Connor line does all that.

I've have a 20 year old 2575, a 25 year old 1030B and a perhaps 40 year old 50 (the latter two heads bought used) and with thousands of cumulative hours on them, hardly any maintenance has been required.

I point all this out because inevitably when heads are discussed on message boards, someone will suggest that the O'Connor are overpriced, you are paying for the name, can't ever afford that etc. I maintain that making the appropriate investment into a fluid head is one of the most important ones to make when assembling a package, because the results will be directly translated into the quality of one's footage, and the right head will last through many generations of cameras. I have pictures of myself in variously younger incarnations with a Panaflex Gold on my 2575, a Canon XL1 on my 1030 and a Hitachi 3-tube broadcast camera on a 50 (that one nearly 30 years ago)...just as those cameras are outdated, so will be today's Alexas and A7s's but the heads will still be with me.

I wasn't happy to see Vitec acquire them and close down the original Costa Mesa factory, and I've heard from a few people that the newest heads seem to be lacking compared to the old. Steve Phillips, sounds like you feel otherwise?
Click to expand...


The O'Connor 2650 is a great tripod head for anyone who doesn't much have to carry their own tripod and has the luxury of a Camera Grip to do that for them. :laugh:


2650 head + 60L legs = 25 lbs

upgrade to the Cine HD legs and you are at 45.2 lbs.



" A good head could last you an entire career."

-Not true. Because now they make "Digital" and "HD" tripod heads. Soon they will have "4k" tripod heads. :cheesy:
 
In researching for a new tripod better suited for the FS7 than my Sachtler FSB6 (which I have no complaints about), I read many comments on here and over at the other forum I'm on. There are no reviews on B&H for the OConnor 1030D. Based on the input of guys like Mr. Papert and seeing that Doug Jensen uses a 1030D, I placed an order for the 1030D. I don't understand how anybody doing video for a living could skimp on the tripod. I'm an enthusiast and find that when I shoot with poor pans and tilts, most of that footage never sees the light of day. There's little point in buying good cameras and lenses and going through the expense and hassle of getting to a location and getting some video if the tripod is going to make the footage unsatisfactory. Good equipment is enjoyable to work with. The cost will be forgotten after a dozen or so good shooting experiences.
 
I think I paid some 6k+ for my OConnor 1030HDs. We spend some 6k in a camera which depreciates in 3-4 years. However, the OConnor or a good fluid head lasts for decades. So the cost per year is even less than 500 usd. So investing in a quality fluid head and tripod financially make sense.
 
Mark Watson said:
Good equipment is enjoyable to work with. The cost will be forgotten after a dozen or so good shooting experiences.
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Agree entirely, and having something enjoyable to work with improves your overall performance. As Charles said, the O'Connors feel "invisible" in that there is no effort to pan or tilt you just guide (or think!) them where you want them to go - sounds a bit Zen but it's true!

As for the cost, yeah, they are expensive - though after watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKZ6gJucy84&t=4s the cost seemed to make more sense and be a little more justifiable! Also, I hope that threads like this are informative not just for those who want and can afford to buy this kind of kit but also for those who hire kit, perhaps as a way to suggest that their hire companies that they look into getting them as a higher-performing alternative to other tripods that they may have. Certainly in Europe O'Connor hasn't traditionally been a hugely well-used brand, there have always been more Sachtlers, Vintens and Ronford Bakers, but from my experience, once people get a chance to see them in action they're sold on them.

Steve
 
Being an American, the only thing that bums me out a bit is that we can no longer, "Buy an O'Connor, they are made in America, just about two hours from where I live."
 
You guys are lucky. Most times when old loved companies are bought up by multinationals, the first thing they do is make it cheaper so they can make more money from it.

Turns out that is what happened to my favorite beer. Slowly it got worse and worse, then finally it disappeared from the shelves. Not surprising, because by that time you could buy something better for $4 a six pack, while it was $10. Just found out that the company was bought by a multinational in 2009. I gave up on it about 2012. It disappeared about 2014. Grolsch, for anyone interested.

I have seen the same thing happen to many products over the years. Once in a great moon a company gets bought up and the new owners actually improve the products, but that is not the norm.

Just to keep this somewhat on topic, my video tripod is one of those that was not improved by being bought out by another company.
 
One of my biggest mistakes was giving up my 2060.

Many of the camera setups I use now are lighter, so my 1030 handles them fine. But, and here is my question for you Steve....

Any chance that a head in the future can be made of some composit material that would be super strong, but drop the weight way down?

Our sticks are now carbon fiber and very light, but these heavy heads almost seem counterintuitive when mounted to them.

All he best!

Dave
 
David W. Jones said:
One of my biggest mistakes was giving up my 2060.

Many of the camera setups I use now are lighter, so my 1030 handles them fine. But, and here is my question for you Steve....

Any chance that a head in the future can be made of some composit material that would be super strong, but drop the weight way down?

Our sticks are now carbon fiber and very light, but these heavy heads almost seem counterintuitive when mounted to them.

All he best!

Dave
Click to expand...


Hi Dave,

Good question!

Obviously physics dictates there is a limit to how much lighter you can make the components & materials before they cannot safely take the very large amount of energy stored in the springs to negate the potential energy in the payload.

Are we at this limit? The answer is certainly 'no' but further reductions using different materials and processes come at cost and we felt after talking to customers and after exploring some of these avenues and felt we had made the correct compromises. We certainly didn't go out of the way to 'add' weight, we realise that light weight products give us an advantage.

Of course there are people who would pay a lot more for the head if we could make a modest reduction to weight but many also that feel that OConnor heads are already expensive.

In terms of continuous counterbalance heads, the 2560 is easily best in class in this regard with a payload (at 6" GoG above platform) to weight ratio of 4.1X and this is significantly better than any competing continuous counterbalance heads in this payload category.

It is achieved by using magnesium alloys rather than aluminium and heavily heat treated castings with cores to remove mass in key areas. If you need something lighter and can forgo the perfect balance and infinitely adjustable drag you could go for something like the Sachtler Cine 30 that is a half kilo lighter and so can take 4.5X its weight.

We will certainly continue to explore way's of saving our customers from unnecessary back strain :-) Manufacturing technologies are improving all the time and there are technologies available now that may mean the next iterations of OConnor heads could be lighter still.

Any more questions just ask.

Kindest Regards,

Steve
 
The OConnor 2560 is an absolute beautiful piece of kit. I purchased two and am thinking of selling one. Shoot me a message if you're interested in me posting in the marketplace. If you're local to North Hollywood you're than welcome to pickup.

Also, you're more than welcome to just ask questions. hope I can help :-)

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