Lightstand with a small base and wheels, yet stable? Is there any?

[Joel Arvidsson]

So if we take a look at the manfrotto 126bsu with wheels. This stand I like alot in terms of stability. But to move the stand around in tight spaces you have to collapse the lightstands base and then the wheels don't function so good due to a bad angle. I really like the size of c-stands and would love to leave the heavier stands in studio. But I im not impressed with the balance of c-stands. So is there any good options between c-stands and say a manfrotto 126bsu that you want to recommend. The stand needs to take 7-8kg at 3m height and be easy to move around even in tighter spaces like a corridor.



manfrotto 126bsu.
http://www.manfrotto.com/heavy-duty-black-stand

 

[Jason Comparetto]

What is wrong with a C-stand?

 

[Joel Arvidsson]

What is wrong with a C-stand?

If you have a 7-8kg light and want to lean it forward I dont have to much confers in them. With bigger stands you could bump in to it little without sending it to the floor. I really like c-stands for smaller lights or if there is no risk of people walking anywhere near. Perphaps I should just put on some more weights at the c-stand base.

 

[Ron Steinberg]

What is wrong with a C-stand?

C-stands are not meant to hold a light fixture. Only grip arms and flags/cutters/scrims. Of course you will find people mounting Babies onto them, but thats not what they're meant to do.

 

[Ron Steinberg]

So if we take a look at the manfrotto 126bsu with wheels. This stand I like alot in terms of stability. But to move the stand around in tight spaces you have to collapse the lightstands base and then the wheels don't function so good due to a bad angle. I really like the size of c-stands and would love to leave the heavier stands in studio. But I im not impressed with the balance of c-stands. So is there any good options between c-stands and say a manfrotto 126bsu that you want to recommend. The stand needs to take 7-8kg at 3m height and be easy to move around even in tighter spaces like a corridor.





manfrotto 126bsu.
http://www.manfrotto.com/heavy-duty-black-stand

Look at the Manfrotto 298B, 3M height, 100cm diameter base, wheels, 15kg max weight. That's 26cm smaller diameter than the 126bsu. Other option is the Avenger A5029, 2.9M height, 100cm diameter base with wheels, 12KG payload. But has a Baby pin, not a Junior receiver. Which do you require? That makes a big difference as well. Or how about the Avenger A5034, 3.4M, 75cm diameter, 20kg with both baby pin and junior receiver?

 

[Jason Comparetto]

C-stands are not meant to hold a light fixture. Only grip arms and flags/cutters/scrims. Of course you will find people mounting Babies onto them, but thats not what they're meant to do.

Are we talking about the same thing? An ordinary steel C-stand... 5/8" baby pin on the end of it, 3 legs on the bottom.... can't hold a light? I must have imagined the last 15 years of my life then.

 

[Ron Steinberg]

Are we talking about the same thing? An ordinary steel C-stand... 5/8" baby pin on the end of it, 3 legs on the bottom.... can't hold a light? I must have imagined the last 15 years of my life then.

I doubt you've been imagining the last 15 years of your life. And I did say that you will find people mounting small light fixtures onto a C-Stand. But I also said that's an inappropriate stand to mount a light onto. I've been doing this for a long time (first time I was on a film set was 1986), and currently I'm the product manager for Avenger in Canada, I sell to the major rental houses every day, and a very close personal friend of mine is the original designer of all the Avenger gear, all of it, designed it in Bassano Italy from 1984-1987. When a grip calls for a c-stand, they mean the stand, the grip/gobo head and the grip/gobo arm. Theres a reason for that, the c-stand is designed to hold flags, cutters, scrims, etc. Light modifying devices. Now have I mounted my Mini Mole on a c-stand? Of course. Would I mount my baby sola spot (1k fresnel) onto one? Not so much, unless I was only using the turtle base with a but plug.

The OP has already discovered that the c-stand is not stable enough for him, and that is due to 2 things: they have a very small diameter footprint, and the legs are not braced. And he also wants wheels, which you can't get on a c-stand. I've pointed out some good alternatives for him that will do the trick, have the height and payload capacity but with smaller diameter footprint than the manfrotto (although much bigger than a c-stand).

C-stands are great, you absolutely need them. But not to hold a light 3M in the air tilted down unless it's a wee little light and it's sandbagged to hell and back.

 

[Bob Gundu]

Ron, why is grip gear so darn expensive in Canada!!!????

Ok rant over...

 

[Ron Steinberg]

Ron, why is grip gear so darn expensive in Canada!!!????

Ok rant over...

That's a darn good question Bob, and one we struggle with every day of the week. There are a few reasons, none of which will make you as the end user happy. The first is that the US is 10 times the population of Canada, so they purchase at LEAST 10 times more product than we do, and consequently they probably get a better price from the factory. The truth is that it is much more than that, as the film industry is far healthier in the US than it is here. Second reason is that Canada is a sparsely populated country with only a few major film centres, and shipping grip gear is expensive, it's heavy stuff!! The third reason, and possibly the major factor, is that Canadian retailers work on a different margin structure than the US. US dealers work on very low margins, and can afford to do so because of the volume that they sell. B&H typically works on 6-10% margin. A Canadian retailer has to make over 20% margin just to stay in business, and often seeks higher margins than that (not necessarily on grip). Our taxes are higher, our wages are higher, our insurance is higher, fuel costs are higher here in Canada. That all adds up at the end of the day. And so grip gear is more expensive here in Canada. With Avenger we try to retail the product for close to what it would cost you to land the product in Canada from B&H. We take into consideration the shipping charges, the duties and brokerage fees, and the exchange rate, and target to be competitive with that price. And for the most part we are successful at it. But there is no denying that you can buy grip in the US for less than Canada. Sorry, but I told you you wouldn't be happy with my answer ;-)