Recommendations for tiny, light video tripod?

puredrifting

puredrifting

Major Contributor
Hi all:

I know what kind of tripods I like when using large camcorders. I am clueless about tiny, small and light tripods though.

I will be shooting a travel documentary this Spring. My main goal is to travel as small and lightly as possible. I will be using one of the new Canon Vixia HD camcorders. I need professional results though, I don't want to buy a piece of crap $59.00 tripod. OTOH, I need small, light, but with a halfway decent head. Camcorder weight will be under 3lbs even with larger battery and possibly a Bracket 1 and wireless receiver attached.

Don't want to spend a fortune either but don't want to get a no-name POS. The main criteria is that the tripod be 24" or less when folded. Don't need much height but 48" unfolded would be nice. Is there such a thing as a quality tiny light tripod?

Hit me with your best shot,

Dan
 
Dont know much about them, but the smaller libecs might be worth a look. I know I love my h38 head, but its a bit big for your uses. ls22 might be a good fit.
 
Hey Dan,

Sorry for being off topic but where are you traveling to? I love travel shows.
 
Leo Versola said:
Don't laugh but these work great: http://joby.com/products/gorillapod/

http://joby.com/products/gorillapod/focus/

http://joby.com/gallery/gorillapod/ --> check here for all kinds of examples :-)

They can be attached to almost anything. I've stuck mine with an HV20 attached to it in some of the weirdest places; street pole here, back of chair there, top of car seat, etc...

It might be a good complement to whatever other ultra-light tripod you end up getting...

Cheers,
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Leo:

Funny you mention, I thought the exact same thing the other day as I was making my equipment list. I always see the ads for these in the photography mags. These actually look pretty handy and with a little tiny 1.4 lb camera, this actually looks viable.

Great minds think alike.

Dan
 
ChipG said:
Hey Dan,

Sorry for being off topic but where are you traveling to? I love travel shows.
Click to expand...

Hiya Chip:

This will actually be a shoot for a long term doc that I recently started production on here. The subject will be making a pilgrimage of sorts to Europe. U.K. and France mainly, two week shoot with lots of cool locations. Surprisingly, the travel focus of it is limited in the scope and scale of the project, it is a personality driven doc and the subject is taking the trip. It won't be about the places, it will be about the subject's emotional journey.

There is no way I can haul my HPX170, laptop, tripod, batteries, etc. I need to travel light because we will be on the go almost constantly. I did a shoot like this in Scotland in 2007 for Paramount for the Braveheart Collectors Edition DVD that came out last year and it is tough to be truly mobile, even with an HVX200/170 and in Scotland, I had an assistant. Once you add the laptop, drives, batteries, a decent tripod, wireless mics, etc. it is a lot to lug around so I am going bare minimum. Limited crew on a couple of shoots there but mostly solo so I am buying a new Canon Vixia AVCHD camcorder that they introduced on Monday at CES, its the perfect camera for a project like this. I will start testing the camera and workflow in a few weeks.

A good friend of mine has the Canon Vixia HF11. The images are surprisingly good. Single 1/3" CMOS imager but at full 1920 x 1080 and they have Canon's version of 24p. No timelapse or VFR, which I will really miss, but the size and weight will work so much better.

Dan
 
Fun, Fun, Fun!

I have heard some really good buzz about that little camera. For my micro / pocket camera I shoot with a panny hsc-1u, it's now a couple years old but it looks really good for a camera that is the size of a red bull can.
 
Hi Dan.
I have plenty of experience with the small tripod woes. For my last two trips that I left the big tripod home (Focus head/Miller VJ legs), I have shot with a Benro tripod (http://www.benro.com/) and a Bogen 701rc2 head. I pop the head off and can fit it in a 22" carry on. I have actually shot using just my photography ball head (leaving the Bogen behind), knowing I was only using the tripod for interviews for video while shooting stills. The big issues are height at full extension (make sure if it only goes to your chest and is this okay?), leveling (I think Bogen makes a leveling plate, but then you have center column issues) and setting drag (no real drag settings, just how much friction you add from partially locking). Your camera is so small the 701rc2 might work fine (I used it with a XH-A1), but they did release a 701HDV head (a little bigger). I would think Bogen makes legs that would be fine. At that weight, twisting leg locks are not needed, so I would look for some on ebay. Carbon Fiber, of course, is very nice. My camera set-up is a little to much for the 701rc, so nice moves are a little hard to come by.
 
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Thanks John! I'll check those out. I looked at the Libecs, they are still just a bit longer and heavier than I would like, I will look at the Benro.

Dan
 
We have and are testing a gorillapod focus.

Actually have shot some footage with it and a 150 and 170. It solid and easily carried and set up.

Might not be what you are looking for but it is well constructed.
 
David S. said:
We have and are testing a gorillapod focus.

Actually have shot some footage with it and a 150 and 170. It solid and easily carried and set up.

Might not be what you are looking for but it is well constructed.
Click to expand...

I am thinking that I will pick up one of these, regardless of if I even end up taking a traditional tripod. Looks very useful for certain setups.

I am also thinking of the $79.00 Ikan copy of the CineSaddle. Seems like a good option to have as well.

Dan
 
I also have Ikan camera cradle and I think it should be a little smaller. It does not have the same feel as the cinesaddle. It is hard to justify the room it takes up if you are packing small. On the flip side it makes a great pillow if you are in the middle of nowhere.
 
I have also used a photography bean bag that screws on the bottom of the camera (when I had a DVX). They come in different sizes, but might work greta for a small camera. I can dig it out if you are interested in the model number.
 
When I checked out the pics on-line of the Ikan bag, yes, they showed it with an HVX200 and it looks pretty big. Guess it would probably swallow a Canon Vixia.

Dan
 
I've used a joby gorillapod combined with a bogen 701HDV fluid head and a gh1
while travelling in france last summer. Worked well for me.
 
i was looking at the same sort of thing. best solution i've found is a bogen 701hdv head with either bogen 190 sticks or gitzo sticks. they make carbon fiber versions of both. the gitzos are lighter, sturdier, and a little smaller, but they definitely cost more
 
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