What fluid head do you use or recommend?

Deuceofspades

Deuceofspades

Veteran
I want to upgrade from my current Bogen 503. 503 good for the price, but I am now ready to spend some more $$ and upgrade. Want to keep under or near $1000. Fluid head, smooth. Prefer one with numbers so you can tell where you are at friction wise, in both axis.

What are you guys using with your HVX200 and how much did it cost and how do you like it (how smooth are your pans , is there lag/play i the head, any noticeable recoil at the end of the pan? etc..)

Note that I will be using a 35mm adapter with my HVX, some or most of the time.

Thank you for your input.
 
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Reply

Hi Faith:

Unfortunately it doesn't fall within your budget but I have been using the Sachtler DV-6SB and absolutely love it, it is a superbly smooth and precise and has the numbered tilt and pan drag settings you speak of.

For $1,000.00, you are probably looking at something like a Cartoni Focus or a higher end Bogen. Perhaps Miller makes something in that price range?

Best of luck,

Dan
 
I am using the Manfrotto 519 and like it quite well. It has two springs for counterbalancing and it balances my heavy HVX setup (Brevis, Nikons, external monitor, follow focus, rails system, mattebox, handles, and shoulder support) quite well. It's very smooth, but I can't say how well it works compared to similarly priced units.

Stephen Pruitt
 
I think Dan was waiting for this post....fluid heads are his passion - LOL!!!!

Seriously - He said it right. I use a Bogen 516. It is about a $600 head. It does not have markings of any kind. I like it, and it's smooth and capable. It's load capacity is 22 pounds - adequate for the heaviest of HVXs.

What is the difference between a high end Sachtler and a Bogen 516? Quite a bit, but you have to ask yourself whether you need it. The Sachtler DV6SB that Dan has is a very good head, but on the lower end of the Sachtler line. You can spend $10K on a fluid head with them.

However, it has a bunch of features that set it apart from a 516. For the extra $1K you don't get any load bearing capability - as a matter of fact, it can carry 2 punds less. It does have a dynamic counterbalancing capabilty, which is adjustable through a dial on the front. The 516 uses a non adjustable spring to accomplish this. Obviously the sachtler is better in this regard.

Tilt and Pan drag is done through knobs on the 516, whereas the satchler has dials with numbers for more repeatable results. Other gimmicks are things like illuminated bubbles in the satchler which would be nice in low light situations.

I think the most telling spec is the weight. The 516 is something like a 4 pound head. The Satchler is about a 12 pound head. It weighs 3 times as much because it's made of all metal and very robust. It weighs 3 times what the 516 does, and cost 3 times as much.

You get exactly what you pay for.

Where the rubber meets the road, I can probably pull off 99% of the shots that the Satchler can. Why? Because the HVX is light even with all the crap on it compared to big cameras, and the 516 is good enough to handle it.

Where expensive fluid heads start to really shine is in the 35-40 pound range. In that category and up, you need the best money can buy or your shots will look like ****. Satchler makes heads than can carry 250+ pounds for the big toys.

If I were you, I'd buy a 516 because in this low range of weight, it is adequate for the bulk of your shots. It has pan and tilt drag as well as locks, a spirit level, a great baseplate system with a one button release, and is made mostly of metal. You decide if you need more.
 
Cartoni Focus. If you're just talking about the head, you can get it for under $1000. I got a two stage system out the door for about $1299.
 
I also use a Sachtler DV-6SB and I love it. Absolutely worth it's price and remember it's a piece of gear you probably going to use for a long time... I mean you will probably replace your camera a couple times before you have to replace your tripod...
 
Eloquent

Eloquent

Hi Adam:

Couldn't have said it better myself. Good advice and true!

Dan



taormina said:
I think Dan was waiting for this post....fluid heads are his passion - LOL!!!!

Seriously - He said it right. I use a Bogen 516. It is about a $600 head. It does not have markings of any kind. I like it, and it's smooth and capable. It's load capacity is 22 pounds - adequate for the heaviest of HVXs.

What is the difference between a high end Sachtler and a Bogen 516? Quite a bit, but you have to ask yourself whether you need it. The Sachtler DV6SB that Dan has is a very good head, but on the lower end of the Sachtler line. You can spend $10K on a fluid head with them.

However, it has a bunch of features that set it apart from a 516. For the extra $1K you don't get any load bearing capability - as a matter of fact, it can carry 2 punds less. It does have a dynamic counterbalancing capabilty, which is adjustable through a dial on the front. The 516 uses a non adjustable spring to accomplish this. Obviously the sachtler is better in this regard.

Tilt and Pan drag is done through knobs on the 516, whereas the satchler has dials with numbers for more repeatable results. Other gimmicks are things like illuminated bubbles in the satchler which would be nice in low light situations.

I think the most telling spec is the weight. The 516 is something like a 4 pound head. The Satchler is about a 12 pound head. It weighs 3 times as much because it's made of all metal and very robust. It weighs 3 times what the 516 does, and cost 3 times as much.

You get exactly what you pay for.

Where the rubber meets the road, I can probably pull off 99% of the shots that the Satchler can. Why? Because the HVX is light even with all the crap on it compared to big cameras, and the 516 is good enough to handle it.

Where expensive fluid heads start to really shine is in the 35-40 pound range. In that category and up, you need the best money can buy or your shots will look like shi*. Satchler makes heads than can carry 250+ pounds for the big toys.

If I were you, I'd buy a 516 because in this low range of weight, it is adequate for the bulk of your shots. It has pan and tilt drag as well as locks, a spirit level, a great baseplate system with a one button release, and is made mostly of metal. You decide if you need more.
Click to expand...
 
Ted Spencer said:
I second that. I have the same model. Love it.
Click to expand...

I wanted that head, but regretably it will not fit my tripod and I really really love my tripod and don't want to change it. The cartoni ball is larger and also the screw at bottom is too lareg and the tripod cannot close when I pack it.
 
DC said:
I have a 519 and love it.
Click to expand...

Well the problem with the Mannfrottos is I don't like their dial to adjust friction. there are no numbers so you have no idea where you are at. This becomes a bit of a pain when trying to perform diagonal pans. In that case you want both axis to have the same drag. It helps to have numbers. Also I hate the location of dial under plate. So I would rather not stay with Manfrotto.

I tried a nice head friday, around $1000 but can't remember the name of brand. It was grey and was not a cartoni. It did fit my tripod sticks :). Will find out what it was and post here, see if you guys have feedback on it.
 
But I think the DV-6SB is not future proof if you want to step up to the HPX500. Than you need a Sachtler Video 15 SB (more expensive but a depth investment).



cordvision said:
I also use a Sachtler DV-6SB and I love it. Absolutely worth it's price and remember it's a piece of gear you probably going to use for a long time... I mean you will probably replace your camera a couple times before you have to replace your tripod...
Click to expand...
 
Definitely, the DV-6SB only is rated to 20lbs. I shot with a fully cinema prepped Varicam last month, it weighed in at almost 50lbs. Always get the biggest and best you can afford because it's true, when you do trade up, trading up everything is a lot more expensive.

If the head was gray, sounds like Vinten (beware, the low-end Vintens ARE Bogens), Miller or a Libec.

Dan
 
If you're trying to future proof, I wonder if there is a disadvantage to getting a heavy duty head and using a really light camera.
 
Hi Adam:

Yes, there is a distinct disadvantage. Many heavy duty heads will not function properly with a featherlight 6lb camera. Their counterbalance system is not setup for such light loads on at least some models. Guess if you get one of those, you need a Letus, rods and rod base, mattebox, etc., right ;-)

Dan
 
Hi Faith:

Yes, Vinten has been popular for years and years. The same parent company that owns Bogen and Sachtler, now owns Vinten. Unfortunately one of the side products of this corporate lineage is that the accountants begin to "value engineer" which means that essentially the low end Vintens have become Bogens. If you look at the Bogen 501 and Vinten Vision 3, you can see several shared main body components. I am not saying that the Vision 3 or 6 are the same as a Bogen 501 or 503, but they do share many of the same components. You would have to compare the Bogen and Vinten side by side to determine if the Vintens have the same shortcomings as the Bogens. I would suspect that Vintens are better but are they worth the money? You would have to determine that.

Other "value engineering" results are that all of the low end Sachtlers are now assembled in Costa Rica, rather than Germany, like they used to be.

It's just a fact of life, we run into this now with cars, homes, everything...

Dan
 
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The upgrade thing is weighing on me since I am buying a RED. I know I'll need new a head but don't want to do it until when the camera will ship since I want to avoid using a big head on the HVX for the counterbalancing issue.
 
Hey guys, some good stuff here, but could I ask you all a question about tripods so I can figure something out here?

Basically, let's say we are renting out our two HVX200s, and we want to have nice tripods that professionals wouldn't complain about, what would you suggest? Do we need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars or can we get away with something like a $600 to $1,500 tripod? I just am curious what people expect when renting an HVX200. I will spend $10,000 on a tripod for my RED One when it comes, because I understand that's a highly professional camera and people renting it don't want some prosumer tripod for a very expensive camera, especially when you have top-notch lenses, etc. But I was hoping not to spend that kind of money on a high-end prosumer camera like the HVX200. It's a great camera but I was thinking that we get along just find using a $600 Manfrotto tripod, but I don't know what other productions are using or want to use. Any help would be great! Thanks
 
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