C100: Tripod Advice

It's fairly easy to throw a lot of money at a big honking tripod that weighs in at 50+ pounds and get nice smooth movement. Where it gets trickier is when you, and I mean YOU have to carry it any further than ten feet. Anyone have a suggestion for a good lightweight tripod? So far the best I've been able to figure out is the Sachtler Ace head would work if you swapped the legs for lighter and more compact sticks.
 
BUMP

May be purchasing a MKII soon.

This Libec was recommended early in the thread. Price is right. Any other suggestions in the under 15 hundred range?
 
I have the Sachtler CineDSLR... which is basically just an FSB6 with a few tweaks. It's great... and balances a WIDE range of cameras perfectly. It's about perfect for the C100 and now the C100 Mark II. If I had the choice again, I'd buy it again.

Sticks are Sachtler's version of Manfrotto's 535 carbon fiber spreader-less sticks (I think they're the 75/2). After going spreader-less, I don't think I'd go back to any spreader at all. I do enough stuff in rough terrain that I appreciate the lack of the spreader getting in the way... and I've had no stability problems at all with the 75/2 sticks.
 
Thanks, j.

I don't see the CineDSLR via quick internet search (it seems to be discontinued or renamed?) but I do see the FSB6 which is nice. Regarding rough terrain, I agree, at least I can do w/o the bottom spreader. A mid spreader will work for me.
 
Yeah, the CineDSLR was a short-lived model. The FSB6 is almost identical from what I've seen. The CineDSLR is 2-11lbs. the FSB6 is 2.2-13 or something... it's a pretty minuscule difference.

I'm just over spreaders. Even the mid-level spreaders are fiddly... if you need the stability and will mostly always be setting up the legs at the same angle, a mid-spreader is probably good... if you're hitting rough terrain with any regularity, the spreader-less legs like the 535 and 75/2 are friggin awesome.
 
I bought the Sachtler DV6SB and the Miller Solo DV legs a decade ago. Still going strong. The weight capacity on the head is 19.8 pounds so it is fine with a fully rigged C100 or even a C300. It was about $3,000.00 then and has been one of the best investments I have made. Light enough to easily carry yet quality enough to provide true professional grade moves with most smaller cameras. We always rent something big and heavy when we rent the Amira or F55 but for smaller cameras, I think this Sachtler is superior to the newer FSBs and ACEs. The Miller CF legs are good, the twist locks are a bit time consuming but work well. I like Miller legs. Their heads, not as much.
 
I have a Cartoni Fluid HD and it is a terrific option, though a bit heavy. It is a 100mm bowl. Definitely not even close to 50 lbs though, more like 25. The big advantage is that is can do payloads from 5-30 lbs... Sounds absurd, but I've run camera packages across the gamut and it works extremely well with them all.

If you know that you need something smaller, and want a ball head, I would go with the FSB6. Your tripod head is not a place to cheap out, I don't think the Satchler Ace is worth the money at all, I'd get a 504HD before I'd spend that kind of coin on one. It is over priced.
 
I love my Manfrotto 536 legs. It's one of the few pieces of equipment that I own that I swear by. I also have a bunch of the little Manfrotto 701 and 500AH heads that I put on sliders and jibs and monopods, etc. They really aren't meant for the weight of a full size camera, but they are far smoother than any of the other Manfrotto heads available even under heavy loads.
 
I bought a old Miller II series - 3 section carbon legs + Fluid head for less than 500$ and was a huge step up from my manfrotto 501hdv.
That head its build like a tank
 
Matt Turner said:
I went with a Miller Air for my C100: light and not so many features as the higher end, but great for what I need, solo style legs though, and an Australian company!


Miller Air Carbon Fiber Tripod System
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1068901-REG/miller_3005_air_carbon_fibre_tripod.html


Miller Air Alloy Tripod System
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1068900-REG/miller_3001_air_alloy_tripod_system.html
Click to expand...

I have been contemplating purchasing a Miller Air Tripod but very little reviews or feedback. I did see a Philip Bloom review but no other user feedback. What do think of build quality? I will be using on a canon c100.
 
rjbrown7 said:
I have been contemplating purchasing a Miller Air Tripod but very little reviews or feedback. I did see a Philip Bloom review but no other user feedback. What do think of build quality? I will be using on a canon c100.
Click to expand...

would not buy anything based on PB review....
 
rjbrown7 said:
I have been contemplating purchasing a Miller Air Tripod but very little reviews or feedback. I did see a Philip Bloom review but no other user feedback. What do think of build quality? I will be using on a canon c100.
Click to expand...
Can't say I've used a huge variety of tripods as I now shoot my own stuff on my own equipment.
To me it's more solid than a Sachtler Ace, that felt plasticky to me, but the Ace has drag settings which the Miller Air does not.
I think the Air fits in well with the quality of the rest of the Miller line, it's definitely at the bottom end though, but it's worked great for my C100.
 
Scott F said:
BUMP

May be purchasing a MKII soon.

This Libec was recommended early in the thread. Price is right. Any other suggestions in the under 15 hundred range?
Click to expand...

I ended up going with the Libec RS-250RM. I am shooting for a non-profit so we had to keep costs down on gear purchases. First impressions are very good, to be honest. Pans & tilts are smooth.
Strong selling points are the fact that it is light AND it packs up very, very small. I do a lot of travel shoots, so I need to get my gear on & off planes with little hassle. My camera will not be super rigged-out, but I may mount my shoulder rig/monitor and I think this setup can handle the weight. It's great with just the c100 alone.

The head is nice and the sticks are easy to level out. No, this is not an O'Connor, but it will get the job done. If it turns out to be a piece of crap, I will report back.
 
If possible is there any chance you can get a pic of the C100 on the Libec 250? I only ask as I was looking at that or the 350 but there's no showroom to have a proper looksee
 
That's perfect mate and it's helped me decide, dont really need anything bigger than that, look smart! Cheers!
 
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