Tripod for Sony A7s

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dollsfoto

New member
Hi!

Because of the revolution in camera size and weight it is pretty difficult to find a good tripod. I would like to buy a tripod suited for Sony A7s. No huge rigging planned - just lens (Nikon 70-200 f4), photoflex adapter, smallhd ac7 monitor, that`s it.

I was searching quite a bit and found a bunch of great reviews on Vinten Vision Blue, which seems to be the "best" price/performance tripod with pretty small load capacity. But I think it still needs more weight, than this setup. Maybe adding a Vision Blue Bridge can help, but I am not sure it is great idea.

So, what are you using with the A7s when you need really smooth pan/tilt = high qualityhead for video? As I said, it is pretty problematic to find a good quality tripod with such a small load capacity, because usually pro tripods are rated much higher. If your advice will be something cheaper as the Vision Blue, I really do not mind ;)
 
Best fluid head I've used in a long time is the Miller Compass 15. Works with Light hybrids and C300/FS700 and even the F55. Awesome head. Benro and Induro make some very nice tripods at half the price.
 
I'm looking at the Benro S8 to replace my giant Libec, Benro's new video lineup has a lot of great features and are very affordable.
 
photochris said:
I'm looking at the Benro S8 to replace my giant Libec, Benro's new video lineup has a lot of great features and are very affordable.
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I just finished shooting my hands on review of the H8 and C3770T Carbon Tripod. It will be posted on Thursday.
 
These are all relatively large tripods being mentioned for a 1 lb camera. I have a Cartoni with Miller VJ legs but the weight and size (although probably best in class) is absurd for this camera. I was looking to something like a mefoto with a leveling add on, or maybe a feisol and picking up a small 75mm ball head.
 
I highly recommend and of the Sachtler FSB tripods, especially as their camera counter-balance range is much higher than their competitors. The FSB counter-balance range starts at a 2lb camera package and goes all the way up to 20lbs, so you can easily balance a DSLR with a small lens or a much larger camera package. The Sachtler ACE tripods are good value, but the FSB heads are better built if they can fit within your budget.
 
Stu Siegal said:
Check out the Sachtler ace, very nice performance for the price.
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Yeah, I heard that the Sachtler ACE heads are fantastic, but the legs are crappy.

Erik Naso said:
Best fluid head I've used in a long time is the Miller Compass 15. Works with Light hybrids and C300/FS700 and even the F55. Awesome head. Benro and Induro make some very nice tripods at half the price.
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I forgot about Miller Compass series, thanks for reminder :) However they are a bit out of the budget. But looking forward to see the Benro S8 review.

TheDingo said:
I highly recommend and of the Sachtler FSB tripods, especially as their camera counter-balance range is much higher than their competitors. The FSB counter-balance range starts at a 2lb camera package and goes all the way up to 20lbs, so you can easily balance a DSLR with a small lens or a much larger camera package. The Sachtler ACE tripods are good value, but the FSB heads are better built if they can fit within your budget.
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I do not plan to buy heavy cameras for some time, the A7s will be my "workhorse". I see a lot of direct comparison between FSB and Vinten Vision. I am able to buy the Vinten Vision Blue for pretty good price, but bit worried about the minimum load capacity. Have you directly compared them?
 
TheDingo said:
I highly recommend and of the Sachtler FSB tripods, especially as their camera counter-balance range is much higher than their competitors. The FSB counter-balance range starts at a 2lb camera package and goes all the way up to 20lbs, so you can easily balance a DSLR with a small lens or a much larger camera package. The Sachtler ACE tripods are good value, but the FSB heads are better built if they can fit within your budget.
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Those are great, but with smaller cams and some of these heads you have to rig them up and such to get the weight within the counterbalance spec. With the A7s and FE lenses or smaller primes, many good video heads are complete overkill.
 
The H8 is not going to work with the A7s. The counter balance is to strong. The minimum camera would be a C100 or FS700 type camera. I put the GH4 with 35-100 on the H8 in counterbalance 1 and it backlashed.

counterbalance settings for the H8
0 lb. (0 Kg)
5.5 lb. (2.5 Kg)
9.9 lb. (4.5 Kg)
14.3 lb. (6.5 Kg)
17.6 lb. (8.0 Kg)

I've used the GH4 and A7s on the Miller Compass 15 and it balances perfect. It's a very impressive versatile fluid head and at 1500 it's a bargain. I know people complain a lot about how much tripods cost but if you do long lens shots or detail tights with some movement you need a solid set of sticks and a fluid head that can be counterbalanced to the weight of the camera. If all you shoot is lockdown then a solid tripod is all you need.
 
dollsfoto said:
I see a lot of direct comparison between FSB and Vinten Vision. I am able to buy the Vinten Vision Blue for pretty good price, but bit worried about the minimum load capacity. Have you directly compared them?
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I haven't compared it with the Vinten Vision Blue head, but I have a Libec RH-25R head which has a similar counter-balance range as the Vision Blue, and I find it does not work well with camera packages weighing less than 5 lbs. With my Sachtler FSB-4 head, I can easily balance small cameras weighing as little as 1 lb. ( the FSB-4 is good up to 9 lbs, while the FSB-6 and FSB-8 heads can handle more weight )
 
photochris said:
Those are great, but with smaller cams and some of these heads you have to rig them up and such to get the weight within the counterbalance spec
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The Sachtler FSB-4 / FSB-6 / FSB-8 / DV-10 SB video heads all have a minimum counter-balance weight range of 2 lbs, and I find they still work well with cameras weighing as little as 1 lb, so their counter-balance range is far beyond most of their competition.
 
TheDingo said:
The Sachtler FSB-4 / FSB-6 / FSB-8 / DV-10 SB video heads all have a minimum counter-balance weight range of 2 lbs, and I find they still work well with cameras weighing as little as 1 lb, so their counter-balance range is far beyond most of their competition.
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That's good to know. With the A7S, a high performance head at the lower end of the weigh range is all that many, including myself, need. Thanks.
 
Try the Sachtler Ace L. Decent load capacity, smooth and carbon fiber. Good lightweight tripod for the money. (I paid $900). Hard to know where to go above that price.
 
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While there is a time and a place for a $2000 triopd, the light weight of this camera lets one get away with a lot less. I had a Giottos VH-6011D head ($100) laying around, and I gave it a try on some carbon fiber legs (Feisol, around $250). No backlash at all in the pans, and as long as the tilts are within reason there's no backlash with that move either. And the whole thing, with camera and 24-70mm lens weighs in at 7.6 lbs! My back and shoulders are smiling.
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I got Sachtler Ace M for my A7s. Loving the head, low weight and low price. No problems with legs.
 
I'm also looking for a tripod that could accommodate an A7S all the way up to a FS7 (which weighs in at 4.5 kg with 28-135 lens). Would the Sachtler System FSB 6T/2 Medium be good? It's rated at 1.5 kg - 8 kg. Or would the Ace L MS CF be better (0-6 kg)? I want to have great performance without having to spend too much, so I'm open to suggestions of other brands (Benro, Induro, Velbon etc.) However, I don't want to sacrifice performance to save a few dollars, either. Thanks so much!
 
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