Stand Confusion

bcheong

bcheong

Well-known member
A quick question about lighting stands. They seem to be defined by two types a 750 stand and 2K stand (and the variations, rollers, rocky mountain, etc). Up to what size light do you put on a 750 and up to what size do you put on a 2K??? Is it that defined by it's name? (anything up to a 750watt light can go a 750 stand?).
 
Re: Stand Confusion

There are thousands of stands of dozens of makes. Which stand you use depends on the situation.

First, I rarely use stands that come with smaller ENG style light kits. The KS stand used by Lowel and that sort is generally sways a bit when under a DP, the best Lowel field light and, with the omni and tota, what you will likely find in small field kits. Smaller instruments (babies) are traditionally put on C-Stands, which stand from 3-5 tall and loft in some models over ten, have a good leg arrangement that take sandbags well, and store very compactly. Very, very small instruments can loft on Hollywood arms, but this is rarely worth the effort and the arms were designed for flags and dots, not luminaires.

The C-Stand is outmatched by larger instruments such as juniors, so you move to the junior stand or the combo. Not as flexible as the C-stand, they are very sturdy.
 
Re: Stand Confusion

Thanks. I think the 750 stand is also known as a junior stand if I'm not mistaken. What's defines a combo stand?

So for example if I had a 1200 HMI fresnel would a 750 roller be good? or would I have to move to a 2K roller?
 
Re: Stand Confusion

There are two types of mounts: the "baby" and the "junior". The "baby" mount is a 5/8" diameter male stud that sticks out of the top of the light stand, and is by far the more common type of connector, and most smaller light instruments (less than 2k's) work with a baby stand.

The "junior" connector is a 1 1/8" female socket, and heavy light instruments (like 575 or 1200w HMI's, or 2K "junior" lights) have a junior pin on them.

Combo stands have both a junior socket and a retractable male baby pin.
 
Re: Stand Confusion

To add...a rocky-mountain legged stand has one adjustable leg so that it can be leveled on an uneven surface.
 
Re: Stand Confusion

[quote author=J_Barnes link=board=lighting;num=1090159546;start=0#5 date=07/19/04 at 07:52:24]To add...a rocky-mountain legged stand has one adjustable leg so that it can be leveled on an uneven surface.[/quote]

And are worth their weight in gold.

Also remember -- any stand can be adapted to any stud size.
 
Re: Stand Confusion

Good point -- I have some junior-to-baby adapters, and I've seen baby-to-junior adapters, although that seems a little dodgy to me... in general, a junior stand is typically designed to accomodate more weight than a baby stand is.  Junior pins are used on heavier light units, so junior stands are usually more heavy-duty.

However, for videographers, junior fixtures are fairly uncommon.  I've got a 575w HMI and some fluorescent fixtures that have junior pins on 'em, but the center of the pin is hollow and would accomodate a baby stud if necessary.  On the bigger lights (1200w HMI, 2K tungsten, etc) I think the pins are solid, so they wouldn't accomodate a baby stud.

Most of your stands will probably be baby stands, although if you get some junior stands, a $15 adapter will turn 'em into optional baby stands as well.

With junior stands you usually want a rolling base -- if you're using such a large and heavy fixture that the manufacturer felt it needed to use a junior pin, then you likely don't want to be picking it up and carrying it while it's mounted on a stand -- that could be dangerous (as well as heavy)!  So many junior stands are wheeled (or at least should be).

As far as rocky-mountain legs, very very handy.  I've got some junior stands with 'em, and even a couple of mini-base C-stands with sliding legs.

If you're shopping for c-stands, consider getting some small-base, 20" riser stands.  I reach for those way more frequently than I do the big 40" riser stands -- they're much lighter, allow for a lower minimum light height, and with a maximum height of almost 6' they're appropriate for most general-purpose situations.  Plus they're a lot less!
 
Re: Stand Confusion

Hey, anyone know if historically there was ever a "senior" mount stand, perhaps in the Klieg days?

Just to offer a dissenting opinion, I hate roller stands with a passion because I feel like they’re an encumbrance in the field. Even if you put them in the cupped bowl blocks, they still seem to be unstable on anything other then a poured concrete slab. Also, perhaps it was just the nazi-like discipline of my lighting teacher, but we would never have been permitted to roll heavy lights around a location while on the stand.

It just ends up being much safer to tear down the light, roll the stand where ever and put the light back up. You never know when something could catch one of the wheels and topple the light over on itself, or Meg Ryan.

Of course, I’m offering that opinion with the assumption that no one on this board is really going to be using instruments over 2k. The heavier the light is, the more a roller stand makes sense (and the weight makes it far more stable also).

I just feel like anything in the 0-70lbs range doesn’t offer enough downward weight to counter a shift in the center of gravity. It’s easier to balance a sledge on the end of its handle then it is a ball-peen hammer.
 
Re: Stand Confusion

Actually I don't know if there was such a thing as a senior stand. A 5K light is called a senior, but that has a junior pin for mounting.

As for rolling the lights -- heck, we do it all the time. Not for crossing a 60-foot stage, no -- for that you'd break it down and carry it. But for small repositioning, it's way more convenient than trying to lift a non-wheeled stand and carry it. But you're right, most on this board would never be using an instrument larger than a 2k anyway, if for no other reason than the power requirements!
 
Re: Stand Confusion

Just think of the army of beginner film technicians that will never know the joy of muscling a Tenor 30 feet up a manual crankovator.

I think the heaviest light I had to put up in the past 7 years was a Ruby, and at the time I was able to fly it up by myself on a combo.

Nostalgia isn’t enough for me to give up kinos though!
 
Re: Stand Confusion

Historically how did it come to be defined as 750 (baby) and 2K (junior) respectively? Or is 750/2K just what certain rental houses call them?...I know at Whites they call them that and most technicians seem to call them by that as well...
 
Re: Stand Confusion

I don't know who first started it, but Mole Richardson names their lights, and they named the 2K a "junior", and their 1k a "baby". I don't know if the names correspond to the mounting fixtures or not...
 
Re: Stand Confusion

I think Mole originated most of the lighting terms in the industry, and Matthews filled in everything else as far as stands and grip equipment. Mole tried to introduce their own names for things every once in a while (like calling their version of the Matthews "beefy baby" stand a "husky baby", their version of the Matthews "high high roller" became the "sky high roller"), but the accepted names are always determined by the crews using the equipment rather then the company's marketing (example - Matthews doesn't really want to list a "butt plug" in their catalogue)

I'm not sure if the baby spud was named for the baby light, or if the baby light was named for the baby spud, but the names of the lights are progressive (baby, junior, senior) leading me to believe that the baby light was probably just named to follow the pattern. I'd also suspect that the junior pin was named for the light it served, whether or not the baby pin was named in the same way is a mystery to me.

As far as the accepted nicknames for equipment, most grip trucks have traditionally carried mole lights and Matthews grip, so stands go by Matthews nicknames and lights go by mole nicknames.

The most common mole lights/nicknames:

225 amp fresnel arclight - baby brute
20k watt fresnel - Big Mo
10k watt fresnel - big eye tenor (24" lens)
10k watt fresnel - tenor (20" lens)
5k watt fresnel - senior
2k watt fresnel - junior or baby junior (junior light with baby receiver)
2k watt softlight - 2k zip
1k watt fresnel - baby (with 6" lens) or baby-baby (with 4" lens)
650 watt fresnel - tweenie
300 watt fresnel – betweenie or inbetweenie
100 watt fresnel - inky
 
Re: Stand Confusion

Thanks guys!

That's wierd..up here in Toronto I don't really see a lot of Mole stuff coming off our package truck. A lot off Arri lights.
 
Re: Stand Confusion

I said traditionally...Mole isn't really a standard these days.

Arri stuff really didn't start to get popular until the 80's I think, so as lighting equipment almost never needs to be replaced, newer companies carry a lot more arri stuff and older companies have a large compliment of mole stuff. So I think the age of the rental or lighting company really determines the kind of equipment kept onboard the trucks.

Also, I think Mole really lost ground with HMI's...as arri and LTM became preferred in the industry for whatever reason.
 
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