Travel Tripod

For what its worth, and depending what you are sitting on the top. I travel a lot and have two setups. The first is a GITZO GT3542XLS set of legs which extend super tall are super stable and made of carbon fiber. I use a 75mm bowl adapter and recently have been taking my Sachtler video 14 head. This set up breaks down and fits in my checked bag along with some padding and my clothes. But I am seriously considering a Benro BV6 head and will do a weight comparison. The video 14 is just too heavy and set up for cameras up to 32+ pounds. Overkill and stiff.
For lighter work and smaller planes, I use a Fiesol Tournament class tripod also carbon fiber with 75mm adapter and a WEIFENG WF-717 head. This head though very inexpensive around $100.00 is remarkably good. I initially bought one for my slider without the half ball and tried it with the half ball adapter I bought for the Fiesol, loved it for simple interviews since it is so small and weighs so little. So I bought one with 75mm ball to use with the sticks. Much preferred this head over the Gitzo G2180 I had bought with the Fiesol and sold it to a birdwatcher. I use both of these setups with my PXW-Z150 and associated hardware as well as with my 6000 series cameras and lenses and cages.
 
BrianMurphy said:
For what its worth, and depending what you are sitting on the top. I travel a lot and have two setups. The first is a GITZO GT3542XLS set of legs which extend super tall are super stable and made of carbon fiber. I use a 75mm bowl adapter and recently have been taking my Sachtler video 14 head. This set up breaks down and fits in my checked bag along with some padding and my clothes. But I am seriously considering a Benro BV6 head and will do a weight comparison. The video 14 is just too heavy and set up for cameras up to 32+ pounds. Overkill and stiff.
For lighter work and smaller planes, I use a Fiesol Tournament class tripod also carbon fiber with 75mm adapter and a WEIFENG WF-717 head. This head though very inexpensive around $100.00 is remarkably good. I initially bought one for my slider without the half ball and tried it with the half ball adapter I bought for the Fiesol, loved it for simple interviews since it is so small and weighs so little. So I bought one with 75mm ball to use with the sticks. Much preferred this head over the Gitzo G2180 I had bought with the Fiesol and sold it to a birdwatcher. I use both of these setups with my PXW-Z150 and associated hardware as well as with my 6000 series cameras and lenses and cages.
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Think twice about Benro. For professional users, not very professional, about the same as Manfrotto. Coming from a Sachtler, you're going to be disappointed.
 
Thanks for the input on Benro, I am looking to try one out and have looked at the S6 and just didn't think it would work for me. But unfortunately the local dealer does not have a BV6 on display. I recently bought two Sachtler Ace Baseplates which are great for adding rails for a teleprompter or anything else and use a stadard manfrotto plate making it easy to have plates on everything. Maybe I should buy a new Ace head?
I have two Sachtler heads an older DV4 and my antique but like new Made in West Germany Video 14. The DV4 is....well a DV4 and was fine back in the day of my DVX100B but see duty as a lock off most of the time. The 14 is great with ENG cameras and when I had my FS100 rigged with Berkey this and that and had everything but my Smart car hanging off it. I was a head that is as smooth as baby-sh_t and weighs next to nothing. Airlines are annoying... need I say more.
 
Bern, after reading your impressions of the Sirui VH-10X Video Head you recently aquired, I went ahead and bought one. However I can't unscrew the brass anti rotation pin which I need to remove as it's fouling the 12-35 lens on my GH5. Can you advise?
 
Claire_B said:
Bern, after reading your impressions of the Sirui VH-10X Video Head you recently aquired, I went ahead and bought one. However I can't unscrew the brass anti rotation pin which I need to remove as it's fouling the 12-35 lens on my GH5. Can you advise?
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Just tried removing the brass pin too, but the brass retaining screw won’t budge. Imagine Sirui used thread-locking fluid, perhaps Loctite, to keep the screw from loosening. Once hardened some of these products require substantial heat to melt them, but I haven’t had a lot of experience with breaking Loctite seals so maybe other forum members can chime in on the best way to proceed. Worst case a local machine shop could make quick work of it, but might require drilling it out.

Just tested a couple of types of 501PL plates I have sitting around. SmallRig’s is incompatible, but Manfrotto’s seems to work perfectly, & won’t inadvertently slide out as it requires depressing the safety catch to remove it from the head. My Manfrotto 501PL plates are older, but the brass pin is easily removed, & by the look of it (see pictures in link below) they’ve switched to a plastic pin that’s removable too, so my suggestion is to just replace the entire plate. These plates are available from numerous vendors, & imagine you could pick up a used one for a song.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/553892-REG/Manfrotto_501PL_501PL_Sliding_Quick_Release.html

PS: I’m using a additional quick release on top of the Sirui plate that compatible with my cage’s built-in Arca-Swiss plate so the brass pin hasn’t been an issue.

PSS: Welcome to DVXuser!
 
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puredrifting said:
I'm probably in a higher weight class than a GH4/GH5 but you could check out the Miller AIR head and the matching legs, available in either aluminum or carbon fibre.beast to travel with.
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My suggestions in this thread are for ultralight sticks that can support a mirrorless system, & be transported in carry-on luggage on most international flights. But even when using mirrorless I often rent beefier sticks at the destination as the lack of mass means surfaces like carpet can negatively effect the stability of ultralight sticks.
 
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Bern Caughey said:
Just tried removing the brass pin too, but the brass retaining screw won’t budge. Imagine Sirui used thread-locking fluid, perhaps Loctite, to keep the screw from loosening. Once hardened some of these products require substantial heat to melt them, but I haven’t had a lot of experience with breaking Loctite seals so maybe other forum members can chime in on the best way to proceed. Worst case a local machine shop could make quick work of it, but might require drilling it out.

Just tested a couple of types of 501PL plates I have sitting around. SmallRig’s is incompatible, but Manfrotto’s seems to work perfectly, & won’t inadvertently slide out as it requires depressing the safety catch to remove it from the head. My Manfrotto 501PL plates are older, but the brass pin is easily removed, & by the look of it (see pictures in link below) they’ve switched to a plastic pin that’s removable too, so my suggestion is to just replace the entire plate. These plates are available from numerous vendors, & imagine you could pick up a used one for a song.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/553892-REG/Manfrotto_501PL_501PL_Sliding_Quick_Release.html

PS: I’m using a additional quick release on top of the Sirui plate that compatible with my cage’s built-in Arca-Swiss plate so the brass pin hasn’t been an issue.

PSS: Welcome to DVXuser!
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Bern, I am most surprised the brass pin in your Sirui plate is also stuck! That's sort of funny except it's not if you know what I mean.

Well I won't be getting the pin drilled out as that could lose me the warranty, but since you say the 501PL plate fits the Sirui head I think I will go that route.

Thanks for the info, and for the welcome :)
 
Bern Caughey said:
Just tried removing the brass pin too, but the brass retaining screw won’t budge. Imagine Sirui used thread-locking fluid, perhaps Loctite, to keep the screw from loosening. Once hardened some of these products require substantial heat to melt them, but I haven’t had a lot of experience with breaking Loctite seals so maybe other forum members can chime in on the best way to proceed. Worst case a local machine shop could make quick work of it, but might require drilling it out.

Just tested a couple of types of 501PL plates I have sitting around. SmallRig’s is incompatible, but Manfrotto’s seems to work perfectly, & won’t inadvertently slide out as it requires depressing the safety catch to remove it from the head. My Manfrotto 501PL plates are older, but the brass pin is easily removed, & by the look of it (see pictures in link below) they’ve switched to a plastic pin that’s removable too, so my suggestion is to just replace the entire plate. These plates are available from numerous vendors, & imagine you could pick up a used one for a song.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/553892-REG/Manfrotto_501PL_501PL_Sliding_Quick_Release.html

PS: I’m using a additional quick release on top of the Sirui plate that compatible with my cage’s built-in Arca-Swiss plate so the brass pin hasn’t been an issue.

PSS: Welcome to DVXuser!
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I thought I would email the nearest Sirui suport center for the UK (which is Germany) for advice on this "stuck" screw. Here is their reply.

"The brass screw which you will loosen can only be loosen with a special tool, because brass is a very smooth material. When you have used a normal screwdriver I think you have destroyed the screw. In this case please send us the quick release plate, but first send us an image."

So I asked if they could explain why the anti-rotation screw is made so it is not removable by the operator or if a "special tool" is required then why is one not supplied with the head? They replied "We do not have to point out something that interests anyone but you. You can not disassemble or modify many other parts of the head. It is your right to return the goods, if you do not like them just do it. You are the only one with this problem."

So in light of that and as I had not destroyed the screw and the head was brand new I returned it to Amazon UK for a refund.
 
Update:

I purchased the Sirui fluid head. Only used it on two shoots, but so far it's been great.

I paired it with Sirui's own leveling base rather than the Acratec. This thing is very nicely built. It adjusts with the smoothness you associate with a fluid head's pan.
Fits perfectly with the Sirui head.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1024717-REG/sirui_bsrle60_leveling_base.html?
ap=y&c3api=1876%2C%7Bcreative%7D%2C%7Bkeyword%7D&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5t7UBRDaARIsAOreQtiirHkj-g0Ci5Qt85GWkH2aGXrZ9XV3mKap5KoJMIY887Gi12yOkdgaAnLUEALw_wcB

I also purchased two different weight Sirui tripods:

VERY lightweight:
Sirui N-1205X Carbon Fiber Tripod

and a bit sturdier/heavier:
Sirui W-2204 Waterproof Carbon Fiber Tripod

I got very stable motorized interview shots with a GH5, speedbooster, and 70-200mm f2.8, on top of a benro S6 head, all on top of a Rhino slider screwed directly onto the W-2204 tripod. I was actually kinda shocked that it worked out so well with such a lightweight tripod.

I don't like using such lighweight sticks for critical work, but it definitely makes travel much more reasonable. In this case, I was trying to be both lightweight and still do 2 cameras with a panning slider shot on one cam. Definitely asking a lot at that point. But it worked. I'll be looking to replace the Benro S6 with a sub 1Lb ball head. That combined with the Sirui head will be my travel setup for now.
 
I also bought the Manfrotto Befree with the little fluid head,and as Bern described the tilt mechanism is not good,and I find the pan handle attachment really fragile. I am however keeping it, as my monopod is almost never used, except for the small head on a slider. The things I like about the Befree are that I can leave the camera on the little tripod(unlike the monopod), it folds up to 16 inches and weighs in at 3.9 lbs. All these factors are important when I'm carrying everything I'm using that day, so for me this tripod works. Having said that, this is not a piece gear I would ever hand of to an assistant or ever use on a production (except to pick up some shots when I'm alone)...it would get broken within a day, but for me alone, when traveling it works just fine.
 
fboonzaier said:
I also bought the Manfrotto Befree with the little fluid head,and as Bern described the tilt mechanism is not good,and I find the pan handle attachment really fragile.
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Ditto, except I bought the still-photo version of the Befree tripod and replaced the photo ball-head with the Benro S4 video head, which does a pretty good job for a low cost set-up.
 
My current travel tripod setup for video is a Really Right Stuff TQC-14 that I originally had for stills, and a Sirui VA-5 head. It's very nice and light but you definitely need a rubber band or a bongo tie for pans/tilts to get rid of some of the jerkiness.
 
For tripods, I really like the newer Manfrotto 055 carbon fiber tripods. I replace the center column with adjustable video ball head column. Being able to raise the center column is nice and you can attach a Manfrotto arm to the 3/8" tap on the top of the tripod for monitors or mixers. I also like the Manfrotto 500AH. It isn't adjustable at all, but it is the smoothest Manfrotto head that I've ever seen.
 
Bern Caughey said:
Just tested a couple of types of 501PL plates I have sitting around. SmallRig’s is incompatible, but Manfrotto’s seems to work perfectly, & won’t inadvertently slide out as it requires depressing the safety catch to remove it from the head. My Manfrotto 501PL plates are older, but the brass pin is easily removed, & by the look of it (see pictures in link below) they’ve switched to a plastic pin that’s removable too, so my suggestion is to just replace the entire plate. These plates are available from numerous vendors, & imagine you could pick up a used one for a song.
Click to expand...

Hey Bern, Thanks for your input on these products. I've been looking for a more compact head for travel and the Sirui VH10X looked promising. However, I have SmallRig 501 plates rigged on my cameras. These in particular: http://www.smallrig.com/smallrig-quick-release-plate-manfrotto-style-1647.html

Did you find that these SmallRig plates won't work with the Sirui head?

Thanks for the clarification!
 
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