A. Clint Litton
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I may be incorrect, but I believe what you've listed regarding the Sachtler Cine 30 HD only includes the head and sticks, but no spreader, etc.
I currently use the Sachtler Video 25, which as others here have mentioned, is a solid head for heavier camera setups without incurring the bulk and heft of the O'Connors. That said, my current lens is a Cooke 20-100mm, which is significantly larger than both the Red 18-50 and 50-150. The fluid head handles this setup splendidly (has also supported the camera in studio setups with the Angie 25-250 HR, no issues).
What I would personally NOT recommend from Sachtler is their floor spreader (the kind I have seen most often with Sachtler setups that don't use the mid-level spreader...it's a rubbery material that is flexible, and the extension pieces are red). It's a pain to work with, and takes away a good portion of the pleasure of working with this tripod. For that reason, I'd recommend going with the CF-HD 2-stage tripod with feet and a mid-level spreader, which I think will get you moving faster and more easily. Otherwise, why not just go for the standard Ronford Baker with metal floor spreaders?
Note: I think there may be a new heavy-duty floor spreader out there that Sachtler is offering, but I haven't seen it in person, so I can't comment on its build quality. If it's anything like the O'Connor floor spreader that I've seen with their Heavy Duty sticks, it should be pretty solid and good to work with...
If you have $7k to put towards it, you may be over-extending yourself buying new (at least insofar as the Cine 30 is concerned...that said, it's a beautiful head, and if you like Sachtler and their step-drag system, it's pretty sweet). The Video 20 setup you originally mentioned sounds pretty good, though as others have said, it may be a bit small if you're using larger lenses, and it would be great if it was a little less expensive.
Are there any rental houses nearby? You could possibly get by using the 20 on 90% of your work, and anything that requires bigger setups could be compensated for by renting an O'Connor head/sticks (or similar).
Re: the Gearnex, I haven't used it personally, but there is something special about geared-head operation. You won't want to show up to a shoot without giving yourself some time to work with it first, but if you put in a few days of practice, you may be able to pull it off. Pretty soon it becomes second nature...
I currently use the Sachtler Video 25, which as others here have mentioned, is a solid head for heavier camera setups without incurring the bulk and heft of the O'Connors. That said, my current lens is a Cooke 20-100mm, which is significantly larger than both the Red 18-50 and 50-150. The fluid head handles this setup splendidly (has also supported the camera in studio setups with the Angie 25-250 HR, no issues).
What I would personally NOT recommend from Sachtler is their floor spreader (the kind I have seen most often with Sachtler setups that don't use the mid-level spreader...it's a rubbery material that is flexible, and the extension pieces are red). It's a pain to work with, and takes away a good portion of the pleasure of working with this tripod. For that reason, I'd recommend going with the CF-HD 2-stage tripod with feet and a mid-level spreader, which I think will get you moving faster and more easily. Otherwise, why not just go for the standard Ronford Baker with metal floor spreaders?
Note: I think there may be a new heavy-duty floor spreader out there that Sachtler is offering, but I haven't seen it in person, so I can't comment on its build quality. If it's anything like the O'Connor floor spreader that I've seen with their Heavy Duty sticks, it should be pretty solid and good to work with...
If you have $7k to put towards it, you may be over-extending yourself buying new (at least insofar as the Cine 30 is concerned...that said, it's a beautiful head, and if you like Sachtler and their step-drag system, it's pretty sweet). The Video 20 setup you originally mentioned sounds pretty good, though as others have said, it may be a bit small if you're using larger lenses, and it would be great if it was a little less expensive.
Are there any rental houses nearby? You could possibly get by using the 20 on 90% of your work, and anything that requires bigger setups could be compensated for by renting an O'Connor head/sticks (or similar).
Re: the Gearnex, I haven't used it personally, but there is something special about geared-head operation. You won't want to show up to a shoot without giving yourself some time to work with it first, but if you put in a few days of practice, you may be able to pull it off. Pretty soon it becomes second nature...
