sachtler dv 12 counter balance fighting

C

chrisxtharp

Well-known member
i recently purchased a sachtler dv 12 (non speed balance ) and its supposed to be able to work with cameras from 2-30. its a little older the counter balance set to 1 (there is no zero) has alot of bounce back what (to me is surprisingly alot). is there a problem with the head or is there a way to modify it so the spring doesnt pull it forward or backward. currently its got alot of bounce with my rig that ways 5 pounds.
 
i cranked up the tilt drag and it bounces up to level. i tried to slide the camera (5lbs) so its front heavy and it still bounces back to level.
 
If the counterbalance is working properly than you shouldn't need any drag. Tripod head loads are figured with the center of gravity of the load at a certain distance up from the top of the plate I believe. A camera with a really low center of gravity could act a lot lighter than it is.
I spent a lot of time rebuilding an O'Connor model 30 fluid head to work with my DVX100 and HVX200. The original springs were set to handle a 10 to 30 lb load, far to much spring pressure. Lucky for me the springs are two set's of two springs inside of each other, the outer spring being very stiff and the inner spring being much softer. I checked the springs on an automotive valve spring checker and found that by using the two inner springs I could get an adjustment rate of 3 lb's to 10lb's. Since it's variable I can get the camera balanced perfectly with zero springback.
I would contact Sachtler and see if a set of springs for there smaller heads can be substituted. If not, maybe you could find something at a well stocked hardware store. Or search online at a spring manufactures website. There you will find all the important info on spring design to help you select a good match. Than get a few of them in different sizes to experiment with.
Sachtler makes a good head I'm told so it would be worth your while to get it dialed in.

BillWojo
 
Like BillWojo said, if you have a small 5 lb camera, with a low center of gravity, it might react like a sub-2 lb load on the head. I know my Vinten head is rated at 125mm center of gravity, so even though it goes down to 9.9lbs, if that 9.9lbs has a COG lower than 125mm, it's going to spring back.
 
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