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Titanium Rods!

J

Jake Wilganowski

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Hey everyone, a friend of mine just started a titanium rod company:
http://samsarods.com/SAMSARODS/SAMSA.html

I just found out so haven't used em yet, but how cool is this! Their site seems to explain why titanium would be a good choice for vs other rod types.
 
I know just what the website says at this point, but I'll try and find out
 
I was just coming to the forum to ask if anyone knew of extendable 19mm rods, black preferred but would take silver/metal finish. Maybe I can ask here without hijacking this thread or starting a new one, even though the samsarods website doesn't indicate that they make these.

The main thing is I'd like flexibility to screw in extensions for rare times when I might borrow or rent a huge lens and need the extra length without having to buy two sets in fixed lengths. Zacuto sells these kinds of rods but apparently only in 15mm, and I don't see anything at the usual places, like B&H, Abelcine, FilmTools, etc. Anyone ever seen what I'm looking for?
 
Would titanium rods enable heavier lenses on 15mm light weight support? With a titanium lens mount on top I would think you could. Most people I talk to max light weight support at about 6.5-7lbs.
 
They claim these Ti rods are as strong as carbon fiber rods. I couldn't image they are lighter. Anyone have info comparing Ti Vs CarbonFiber?
 
I think they will be here to give everyone more info shortly. These could be really cool.
 
Edit - tried to quote but didn't work.

Elizabeth,

You don't want to use screw in extensions on a heavy zoom, theat will compromise the amount of support they are providing.

If you rent, say, an optimo 24-290, it usually comes with long rods, a lens support, and possibly a zoom motor and micro force. So you don't need to own long rods if you are going to rent a bigger lens, as any decent rental company will have them with the lens.

Tim
 
My 24" titanium rods will be here soon, I'll test em out and report back here. Gonna put em up against cf and steel.
 
Tim Sutherland said:
Elizabeth,

You don't want to use screw in extensions on a heavy zoom, theat will compromise the amount of support they are providing.

If you rent, say, an optimo 24-290, it usually comes with long rods, a lens support, and possibly a zoom motor and micro force. So you don't need to own long rods if you are going to rent a bigger lens, as any decent rental company will have them with the lens.

Tim
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info and perspective, Tim. I didn't know that rental lenses are supplied with longer rods. I might quibble with you on the integrity issue, not that I don't appreciate that a screw joint will always be the weak point in that scenario, but if the screw end comprises the bulk of the diameter of the joint and if the threads are sufficiently long (like the 15 mm Zacuto rods) I seriously doubt that the joint would ever be weak enough to cause any concern with the size lenses I'm contemplating. I'm using Canon mount still lenses and would never rent except in the 400-600 mm range. Those lenses can get big, but they're nothing like these monstrosities that I've seen in cinelenses that look like they need a crane for support.:-)
 
"Would titanium rods enable heavier lenses on 15mm light weight support? With a titanium lens mount on top I would think you could. Most people I talk to max light weight support at about 6.5-7lbs."

The property you are referring to is the material's deflection (how much a tube will bend when one end is fixed as with a clamp, and weight is applied to the tip of the other end). All of the different rod materials currently on the market including Titanium will perform almost identically. For example, if you have 9 inches of rods exposed past a clamp as per the chrosziel mattebox light weight supports, and you apply 10 pounds to the end of the rods, stainless-steel, titanium, carbon fiber, and aluminum will all flex between 0.3mm and 0.5mm. All of these rods will actually perform much better than that in the field because a lens is not a free weight, and lens are supported near the middle of the exposed rods and the weight is not applied to the very tip of the rods.


The properties of carbon fiber can vary greatly, because it is a man-made material and the properties depend on the grade of the carbon fibers and the resin. High modulus carbon fiber as used on the new Boeing 787 is incredibly strong and lightweight, but very expensive. The grade of carbon fiber used in camera rods is certainly much lower. SAMSA Titanium rods are commercially pure titanium, so all the data is published online and the deflection and strength can be calculated.
 
I'd like to see a weight comparison between the different options. Looking mostly for light weight, so carbon fiber and titanium or Aluminum. Anyone research this already?

Jack_Samsa said:
"Would titanium rods enable heavier lenses on 15mm light weight support? With a titanium lens mount on top I would think you could. Most people I talk to max light weight support at about 6.5-7lbs."

The property you are referring to is the material's deflection (how much a tube will bend when one end is fixed as with a clamp, and weight is applied to the tip of the other end). All of the different rod materials currently on the market including Titanium will perform almost identically. For example, if you have 9 inches of rods exposed past a clamp as per the chrosziel mattebox light weight supports, and you apply 10 pounds to the end of the rods, stainless-steel, titanium, carbon fiber, and aluminum will all flex between 0.3mm and 0.5mm. All of these rods will actually perform much better than that in the field because a lens is not a free weight, and lens are supported near the middle of the exposed rods and the weight is not applied to the very tip of the rods.


The properties of carbon fiber can vary greatly, because it is a man-made material and the properties depend on the grade of the carbon fibers and the resin. High modulus carbon fiber as used on the new Boeing 787 is incredibly strong and lightweight, but very expensive. The grade of carbon fiber used in camera rods is certainly much lower. SAMSA Titanium rods are commercially pure titanium, so all the data is published online and the deflection and strength can be calculated.
Click to expand...
 
Will Keir said:
I'd like to see a weight comparison between the different options. Looking mostly for light weight, so carbon fiber and titanium or Aluminum. Anyone research this already?
Click to expand...



Well since you ask Will. We actually have all 3 materials in house and do experiments with them from time to time. All materials have their strengths and weaknesses, and are best suited for certain applications. But in terms of "light weight", Carbon Fiber is king at the moment.
 
Jason Comparetto said:
Well since you ask Will. We actually have all 3 materials in house and do experiments with them from time to time. All materials have their strengths and weaknesses, and are best suited for certain applications. But in terms of "light weight", Carbon Fiber is king at the moment.
Click to expand...

15mm Rod Weight Comparison:

Uni-Carbon Fiber Tube (Many Sellers) - Average 3.4g/in
Titanium (SAMSA) - 4.71g/in
Aluminum (Ikan Non-Threaded) - 6.88g/in
Uni-Carbon Fiber Solid (Cinevate) - 6.90g/in
Stainless Steel (Many Sellers) - Average 9.87g/in

1 gram is equal to the exact weight of a dollar bill. If your rig uses 2x 12" rods, the weight difference between Titanium and Uni-Carbon Fiber tubes will be about 31 grams. The EOS C300 with a lens weights approx. 3000 grams, so in a full rig the total weight difference between Titanium and Uni-Carbon Fiber is less than 1%. The truth is, the weight difference between most of these rod options in a rig is so marginal that it is not detectable by human perception, once you include the weight of the camera. So then it comes down to a question of value, durability, and personal preference.
 
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