Miller head and flowtech legs?

[Justin Gum]

Hey guys, So I'm in the market for a good 100mm system. I've been doing a ton of research but the one thing I can't seem to find is specifically how well does the Flowtech 100 play with other 100mm fluid heads?

I saw one article on how Miller's CinX 3 head was too large for the flowtech 100's bowl. But I was looking specifically at their ArrowX 3 head. It seems, on paper, like a much better deal than Sachtler's DV12 and Video 15 heads and even rivals the Video 18 to some extent.

I'm pretty convinced I want to invest in the flowtech legs. But does anyone have any experience using the Miller ArrowX 3 heads with the flowtech legs?

Or is it just better to go with Sachtler to reduce the headache and also that it performs better than Miller's offerings in that general category of fluid heads?

Thanks in advance!

-Justin

 

[Luka Sanader]

Justin i work in wild life and i have split opinion on flowtech. i love the freedom and ease that they give you on a shoot. easy to setup move and adjust. you can go really low and after high with almost no hustle. also they seem well made and you can be confidant in them... however i still find them flimsy for critical work. mid spreader is a must IMO specially if you are going with longer lenses or bigger zooms

i have no experience ArrowX 3 but used them with biggest Sachtler 100mm heads. if flowtch can handle Sachtler 20III i dont see why would be an issue with Miler.
my only concern would be longevity of flowtech. if that top part starts having any free play that tripod can become useless and i dont have too much confidence in the clicking top spreader. i totally see why this can me a big problem if they would make 150mm based flowtech for bigger payloads. just my 2c

 

[Justin Gum]

Hey Luka! Thanks for the reply! Yea i planned on getting a mid level spreader. I tend to be on shoots where I need to make quick adjustments on the go because I do a lot of one man band stuff. In terms of “flimsiness” do you find it flimsy only when it doesn’t have a mid-level spreader?

Also yea, I figured most sachtler 100mm heads would work. I just noticed that the 100mm Miller head that was mentioned in the article didnt fit the legs, so that was what was concerning me. But either way, thanks for your input!

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

I was on Speedlocks for probably 12-13 years, until the Flowtech 100 dropped, then switched for my go-to set(still have several other Speedlocks set-ups). Now my ‘A’ set is the Flowtech 100’s and Vinten 100. The legs are solid. Very strong. No torsional twisting/pan backlash. Easy to carry on your shoulder or by hand(actually love the handle). They go down to almost hi-hat level, if you need that low shot. Spreader comes off and goes on in seconds. It was well thought out and designed.

Can’t really comment on the Miller head and I’m not a Sachtler head fan(smooth, but don’t like “non-variable”/indented drag). I use Vinten heads personally and really like O’Connor’s, but don’t own one.

If anyone doubts the sturdiness of the Flowtech 100’s, I had my Vinten 250 on them a few months ago doing some semi-long lens follow stuff(heavy drag, hard transition left/right panning). I never detected any backlash or twisting on the part of the legs. Even my heavy duty set of Speedlocks would have exhibited some.

 

[Phil Holland]

I've been on a journey with the Flowtech too. I'm an OConnor man, but I don't see any issue with putting a Miller ArrowX 3 up there.

Hardcore personal take, outside of the obvious benefit of having one lever to adjust all stages, if you've ever had to carry sticks at the side or slung over your shoulder, the Flowtech are much more comfortable in that regard as well. The carrying handle is really well thought out in position and balance. The legs themselves are flatter and even if I have it up on my shoulder crossing a river I can usually do that without it digging and cutting up my shoulder.

I've swapped all of my 100mm legs out for Flowtech sticks now. My 150 and Mitchell sticks area ll that are "normal". I imagine if they ever Flowtech those sizes I'll swap out in particular the 150mm ball sticks.

 

[Justin Gum]

I was on Speedlocks for probably 12-13 years, until the Flowtech 100 dropped, then switched for my go-to set(still have several other Speedlocks set-ups). Now my ‘A’ set is the Flowtech 100’s and Vinten 100. The legs are solid. Very strong. No torsional twisting/pan backlash. Easy to carry on your shoulder or by hand(actually love the handle). They go down to almost hi-hat level, if you need that low shot. Spreader comes off and goes on in seconds. It was well thought out and designed.

Can’t really comment on the Miller head and I’m not a Sachtler head fan(smooth, but don’t like “non-variable”/indented drag). I use Vinten heads personally and really like O’Connor’s, but don’t own one.

If anyone doubts the sturdiness of the Flowtech 100’s, I had my Vinten 250 on them a few months ago doing some semi-long lens follow stuff(heavy drag, hard transition left/right panning). I never detected any backlash or twisting on the part of the legs. Even my heavy duty set of Speedlocks would have exhibited some.

Good to know. Thanks for reassuring on its sturdiness! That was one of the big issues I had with the speedlocks (at least for me) was that there was torsional twisting. Granted I was mostly using the 75mm sticks, but also still experienced it on the 100mm version as well, so Thank you for that!

 

[Justin Gum]

I've been on a journey with the Flowtech too. I'm an OConnor man, but I don't see any issue with putting a Miller ArrowX 3 up there.

Hardcore personal take, outside of the obvious benefit of having one lever to adjust all stages, if you've ever had to carry sticks at the side or slung over your shoulder, the Flowtech are much more comfortable in that regard as well. The carrying handle is really well thought out in position and balance. The legs themselves are flatter and even if I have it up on my shoulder crossing a river I can usually do that without it digging and cutting up my shoulder.

I've swapped all of my 100mm legs out for Flowtech sticks now. My 150 and Mitchell sticks area ll that are "normal". I imagine if they ever Flowtech those sizes I'll swap out in particular the 150mm ball sticks.

I would love to get the 1040, it is just way out of my price range. Seeing the Miller ArrowX 3 has a higher payload and other features than both the Sachtler DV12SB and Video 15, I was very interested in the idea of combing the flowtech and this head. Hopefully I won't run in any compatibility issues! And thanks for sharing your experience with the flowtech! I love your work so I'm glad you stand by the sticks as well.

Im not sure if you guys done a lot hands on comparisons, but would you say Miller and Sachtler are pretty comparable with regard to build, reliability, etc?

 

[Phil Holland]

Cheers Justin.

Miller makes great gear, so argument there. I tend to prefer the balance freedom of an OConnor. If I was more ENG driven or just using zooms more often I think Sachtler represents a decent choice.

If you are curious, I use mid spreaders on my Flowtech and the handle is always mounted on. I generally use mid spreaders over floor, but that's certainly not for everybody.

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

Good to know. Thanks for reassuring on its sturdiness! That was one of the big issues I had with the speedlocks (at least for me) was that there was torsional twisting. Granted I was mostly using the 75mm sticks, but also still experienced it on the 100mm version as well, so Thank you for that!

I would love to get the 1040, it is just way out of my price range. Seeing the Miller ArrowX 3 has a higher payload and other features than both the Sachtler DV12SB and Video 15, I was very interested in the idea of combing the flowtech and this head. Hopefully I won't run in any compatibility issues! And thanks for sharing your experience with the flowtech! I love your work so I'm glad you stand by the sticks as well.

Im not sure if you guys done a lot hands on comparisons, but would you say Miller and Sachtler are pretty comparable with regard to build, reliability, etc?

All of my Speedlocks are 100mm(2x 100mm normal sets and 1x 100mm Heavy Duty set), but you could get twisting even with the heavy duty version.

Have you considered going the used route for a head? There are always good deals/finds on eBay. I got my 250 with a pedestal(didn't need it, but was part of the package) off of eBay late last year. $3K for a $9K head and $6K pedestal. Crazy... There's a Vinten Vision 100(what I use- I have three) with a mini pedestal for $1750 on eBay, right now(looks like it was babied in a studio). Stupid good deal if it goes for that price. It's a $6K+ head. You can probably turn around and re-sell the ped for the asking price or even more. If I needed another head, I would snatch that up in a heartbeat.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTEN-Vision-100-Pan-Tilt-Head-Ped-Plus-Studio-Pedestal-Tripod-V3955-Dolly/324062461476?hash=item4b73a0be24:g:gL0AAOSwvW9d~nXk

 

[Justin Gum]

Cheers Justin.

Miller makes great gear, so argument there. I tend to prefer the balance freedom of an OConnor. If I was more ENG driven or just using zooms more often I think Sachtler represents a decent choice.

If you are curious, I use mid spreaders on my Flowtech and the handle is always mounted on. I generally use mid spreaders over floor, but that's certainly not for everybody.

Thanks Phil! Yea I was looking at the handle and mid spreader bundle which is something I have not had on a tripod ever, so super excited

 

[Justin Gum]

All of my Speedlocks are 100mm(2x 100mm normal sets and 1x 100mm Heavy Duty set), but you could get twisting even with the heavy duty version.

Have you considered going the used route for a head? There are always good deals/finds on eBay. I got my 250 with a pedestal(didn't need it, but was part of the package) off of eBay late last year. $3K for a $9K head and $6K pedestal. Crazy... There's a Vinten Vision 100(what I use- I have three) with a mini pedestal for $1750 on eBay, right now(looks like it was babied in a studio). Stupid good deal if it goes for that price. It's a $6K+ head. You can probably turn around and re-sell the ped for the asking price or even more. If I needed another head, I would snatch that up in a heartbeat.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTEN-Vision-100-Pan-Tilt-Head-Ped-Plus-Studio-Pedestal-Tripod-V3955-Dolly/324062461476?hash=item4b73a0be24:g:gL0AAOSwvW9d~nXk

Thanks Chris for this! I'll consider it. The only thing for me is I did have some bad experience purchasing a fluid head from eBay. I did that for my last one and had to spend almost another grand to fix it. It was a 2500+ head at the time so I ended saving money. But I was looking to get a new head just to kind of have a fresh start because most of my tripod acquisitions have all been used.But I'll still consider it! Thanks man!

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

Thanks Chris for this! I'll consider it. The only thing for me is I did have some bad experience purchasing a fluid head from eBay. I did that for my last one and had to spend almost another grand to fix it. It was a 2500+ head at the time so I ended saving money. But I was looking to get a new head just to kind of have a fresh start because most of my tripod acquisitions have all been used.But I'll still consider it! Thanks man!

That's always a possibility with used gear, but with something like a head/tripod, if there's a problem with it, it's going to probably be immediately apparent and you'd discover it when you gave it an initial shakedown upon receiving it.

 

[Luka Sanader]

Justine all Flows i used ware new or next to new so there ware no back clash what so ever. Using them with longer lenses (as i normally do) mid spreader is a must. BTW 1040 is worth every penny

 

[tim ottowitz]

I have aMiller Arrow 55 for sale right now for 1400 USD. PM for details. Cheers

 

[Mark A. Jaeger]

I use an Arrow3X and Miller MI925 Tripod with MI993 mid-spreader with my Monstro. The fluid head balances well and moves smoothly. The tripod is robust. Once the Monstro is in place, it is not light, at all. In the "would I do it again department" - fluid head = Yes. Tripod = maybe not. Sometimes I use the Arrow head on Gitzo Series 5 tripod with a 75-100mm adapter. I don't find it quite as robust as the Miller but its convenient to wear on my back for walking to the shoot assembled (one leg back, two legs front - no spreader). It may look funky but my arms and shoulders don't ache when I get there.

 

[Peter Strietmann]

I love the flowtech 100. Use it with Sachtler FSB 10 head around 90% of the time. Very simple and functional and light weight. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...tml/?msclkid=87974bf9ed481f6c3c9215544c2e0f68

 

[Joel Voelker]

I have a Miller Arrow X 7 and O’Connor 30L I’ll sell you... Both are like new

 

[Dillon Deaton]

Update

Update

Hey Justin. Did you ever get to test this combination out? I am considering the Miller CX14 and Sachtler Flowtech 100 combo myself. Would love to hear your thoughts if so.

 

[Mark A. Jaeger]

Justin,
Until recently I had an ArrowX 3 head and liked its operation. The drag settings are easy. to adjust in nice steps and the balance function always worked even with big loads and long lenses (600mm Nikon with a Monstro). I like the backlit bubble level as I often setup in the pre-dawn darkness. I used it with Gitzo Series 5 sticks and it was fine but later upgraded to even more robust Miller sticks with mid-spreader. Again, the super-telephoto is a demanding wench as IS on the Nikon lenses is maddenly incompatible with DSMC2. I won't rant at this time.
My only lament with the ArrowX3 was that with a long/heavy load the locking mechanism (shoe on bottom of camera to fluid head sliding plate) had a tiny bit of play that would sometimes show up with the super-telephoto. For other than the super-telephoto the ArrowX3 was great as the normal lens weight wouldn't incite the play in the attachment.
IMO robust tripods are no fun to carry but they do significantly assist in the production of quality end-product.
I hope this helps.