Best Boomploe For Under $500?

[Carey Lee Coffey]

What do you guys reccommend?

 

[Christopher Mills]

a 12 foot lightwave gt10 has a list price of $282.. I think retail of under $250
it is internally cabled with coiled cable and bottom exit xlr plug
It is not the lightest pole I own, but it does NOT FLEX!... and it is easy to maintain, and the collars still work as well as when I bought it over 4 years ago..

otherwise, I think both K-Tek and PSC have lots of choices...
Consider aluminum if you are willing to work a little harder.

and for just a little over $500, the Wilcox Sound Robopoles are extremely good value in a 14 footer..
If you just want to buy one and be done with it, buy an Ambient QP series.. it costs a little more, but is just so darn good, you will be very happy to have spent the money.

VDB has both good and bad ones... don't buy theirs used unless you can try it out in person first..
(for that matter, I think you should only buy a used one if you try it out first)

I have tried and disliked Gitzo, LTM, and Manfroto poles.. I have also been handed many 'no name' cheapo carbon fiber ebay special poles and the all have bad flexing or bad collar or rattling internal cable issues

I have not tried a RODE one, but I find their other products to be well made and good value, though heavier than most other manufacturers.

Sheesh,,, I just about wrote a book on this...
Are you doing documentary work, or narrative dialog? if narrative, get one that reaches 14 feet or more.. 16 is more like it..
if man in street interviews, a 7-12 foot one is perfect.. shorter will fit into more carry on situations..

If you cant actually reach the manufacturer's hq on the phone, don't buy their boom.. they are not created equal.. and if you are new at booming, an internally cabled one will be much easier to use.. a side exit one *may* be easier for the beginner to keep from being damaged..

drop me a line if you want even more brand by brand critique..

 

[Carey Lee Coffey]

Thanks Christopher! This would be for an indie feature with very few actors = easy to boom. I've been looking at this Ktek: K-Tek Boompole - $460.13

What do you think?

I know it's not that long but I'm really looking for something super light weight.

 

[Carey Lee Coffey]

I found this one too. It's longer (12' VS 9') and carbon fiber so it's light too. It's slightly more expensive at $700 though.

 

[Brian Iannone]

I love Gitzo.

I personally use a different one, but here's one under $500: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/475913-REG/Gitzo_GB3560_3560_Six_Section_Carbon.html

Unfortunately, cabling with Gitzo boompoles isn't as convenient as just running a cable inside some of the K-Tek ones, but the quality is fantastic.

 

[Marc Wielage]

and for just a little over $500, the Wilcox Sound Robopoles are extremely good value in a 14 footer...

I believe they stopped making those about 7 or 8 years ago. I think Blake at Wilcox does still have spare parts for most of them.

PSC (http://www.professionalsound.com/) and K-Tek (http://www.mklemme.com/pole/home.html) still have excellent boom poles at a wide variety of price ranges. The carbon-fiber models are typically the best and lightest-weight, but also cost more. VDB has been problematic in terms of getting parts here in America, but they're very popular in Europe (http://www.vdbaudio.com/), made in Paris.

This would be for an indie feature with very few actors = easy to boom.

Don't assume that just because a scene has few actors that it's easy to boom. Overlapping dialog, actor movement, type of walls, size of rooms, lighting, and camera angles all have an effect on how boomable a shot is. And now that many inexperienced directors routinely do 10- or 15-minute takes, holding a boom steady for long periods of time can be really exhausting and technically challenging. I have great respect for people who boom for a living -- they often make the key difference between usable sound and mediocre sound, just in where they're able to position the microphone.

Read Mark Ulano's excellent article "The Art of Zen-Boom":

http://www.perchman.com/dossiers/artzenboom/en/artzenboom_en_1.php

This might give you more respect for what appears on the surface to be an easy job, but is actually one of the most difficult in all of filmmaking (IMHO).

 

[Carey Lee Coffey]

I didn't mean easy as in booming is an easy job - I know for a fact that booming is the most labor intensive job on set. What I meant was that it will be easy to plan and execute with only two actors in a scene at any given time.

 

[Christopher Mills]

I think that for drama, the 9 footer will let you down a lot!.. you'll have trouble in wide shots... which are hard enough as it is..
so... good boom, just not the right one..

I have used the more K-Tek 152ccr both with an without an optional 4 foot extension k-tek provides and it is a lovely boom to use.. it will also hold a high resale value..
I think either it, or an Ambient
http://www.pro-sound.com/Merchant2/...=PSS&Product_Code=SAMBQP4140&Category_Code=AM
plus the internal cable kit for another $180 or so, will be a boompole you use happily for the next decade or more..



Marc, I know Wilcox quit making those.. just thought they might still have a couple around..
I have an old VDB one as a back up.. but I wish I could get one of the collars rebuilt...
I do have another spare I might sell.. PM me..