Can anyone recommend good tripod legs with a 100mm ball mount, that can function well both indoors and out? Are the Miller Solo Eng legs any good or is their lack of a spreader a problem? Is carbon fiber worth the extra cost, or are there some really good aluminum legs available at cheap prices?
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Tripod Leg Recommendations?
- Thread starter Mark B.
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Mark Phelan
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What are you looking for from the legs? Are you wanting a lightweight setup like the carbon fiber Oconnor 25L? Or do you need something stout for tons of weight, like the aluminum Cartoni K706? How much do you want to spend? Carbon fiber is great, lightweight and strong, great for indoor and out, good weather and bad. But there's nothing wrong with aluminum either. I use both of the above and they're for different purposes, and both come with the option for the 100mm ball mount. Both are great sets of sticks, for their intended use.
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40% indoor use (carpets, hardwoods, concrete).
60% outdoors, often carried over rough terrain, near salt water spray and in rainy weather.
I have a fairly light kit, under 30lbs, so I think 50lbs load capacity would be enough for my gear. I'm mostly interested in keeping things light so that I can backpack with it. I'm usually a one-man crew. Also, the terrain might not always be soft and friendly. Can carbon fiber withstand an occasional impact against a hard surface? If I set my gear down and the tripod hits a rock, is it likely to shatter?
I've seen the Miller Solo selling for US$900, that's about as much as I can afford to spend at this point. It's somewhat amazing how fast video gear can drain a bank account.
60% outdoors, often carried over rough terrain, near salt water spray and in rainy weather.
I have a fairly light kit, under 30lbs, so I think 50lbs load capacity would be enough for my gear. I'm mostly interested in keeping things light so that I can backpack with it. I'm usually a one-man crew. Also, the terrain might not always be soft and friendly. Can carbon fiber withstand an occasional impact against a hard surface? If I set my gear down and the tripod hits a rock, is it likely to shatter?
I've seen the Miller Solo selling for US$900, that's about as much as I can afford to spend at this point. It's somewhat amazing how fast video gear can drain a bank account.
Steve Gibby
Red Savant
Mark B,
I've used the Miller Solo 1505 CF legs extensively with my Miller 55 head. They're versatile enough that I rarely change them out for the 2-stage CF or aluminum legs I also have.
For indoor or soft surfaces you simply screw down the little rubber doughnuts on the tip of each leg. For dirt or or surfaces where you need a bite, you screw the rubber doughnuts all the way up on the legs end, which exposes a hardened steel pointed end.
The combination of the Solo 1505 CF legs and Miller 55 head weighs only 13.8 pounds - an easy load to hike long distances with. Miller offers a simply shoulder strap for that use.
CF won't shatter unless you seriously smash it - as with a hammer. My Solo legs get pretty well beat up when we do fast paced adventure travel and alternative sports productions. I've had zero problems with them.
The lack of a spreader is no problem at all. when you open up the CF legs, you open them all the way, lift up the little tab at the top of the each leg, then slowly close the leg until you feel a click - then do that with each leg. I've had 55 pound head loads on top of my Miller 55/Solo 1505 CF leg setup, and it handled the load perfectly.
I've attached a recent photo of one of my Miller 55/Solo 1505 CF setups in action with a Nikon 80-200 setup - a fairly light load, but like I said, I've had up to 55 pounds on the head/solo setup and it handled it perfectly.
Hope this helps...
I've used the Miller Solo 1505 CF legs extensively with my Miller 55 head. They're versatile enough that I rarely change them out for the 2-stage CF or aluminum legs I also have.
For indoor or soft surfaces you simply screw down the little rubber doughnuts on the tip of each leg. For dirt or or surfaces where you need a bite, you screw the rubber doughnuts all the way up on the legs end, which exposes a hardened steel pointed end.
The combination of the Solo 1505 CF legs and Miller 55 head weighs only 13.8 pounds - an easy load to hike long distances with. Miller offers a simply shoulder strap for that use.
CF won't shatter unless you seriously smash it - as with a hammer. My Solo legs get pretty well beat up when we do fast paced adventure travel and alternative sports productions. I've had zero problems with them.
The lack of a spreader is no problem at all. when you open up the CF legs, you open them all the way, lift up the little tab at the top of the each leg, then slowly close the leg until you feel a click - then do that with each leg. I've had 55 pound head loads on top of my Miller 55/Solo 1505 CF leg setup, and it handled the load perfectly.
I've attached a recent photo of one of my Miller 55/Solo 1505 CF setups in action with a Nikon 80-200 setup - a fairly light load, but like I said, I've had up to 55 pounds on the head/solo setup and it handled it perfectly.
Hope this helps...
Mitch Gross
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As Steve mentions, for run & gun the Miller Solos are great. I show them to people in our showroom all the time and I've yet to find someone not interested. They are not your standard studio rig and it is tough to hang a weight to lower their center of gravity, unlike throwing a sandbag on a set of spreaders. But for running around outin the wild the are top notch. They alo pack very small so there's the advantage of sticking head & sticks into a baby legs case for transport.
Stephen Lovett
Well-known member
Another Miller option
Another Miller option
I have the 100mm CF Sprinter II's and just love them.
They are rock solid, super fast to deploy, and weigh in at about six pounds and support 99 lbs.
I played with everything at Able before I selected these, and have the big solo's on my add to kit list because those are very nice too, but I'm really happy I got the Sprinters as my primary sticks.
Downside... they are a LOT bulkier than the solo sticks
Steve
Another Miller option
I have the 100mm CF Sprinter II's and just love them.
They are rock solid, super fast to deploy, and weigh in at about six pounds and support 99 lbs.
I played with everything at Able before I selected these, and have the big solo's on my add to kit list because those are very nice too, but I'm really happy I got the Sprinters as my primary sticks.
Downside... they are a LOT bulkier than the solo sticks
Steve
Steve Gibby
Red Savant
Besides the Solo CF, I also have the Sprinter II, and also the 1-stage aluminum legs that came originally with the package. I second what Stephen posted - the Sprinter II is light, strong, and easy to use. When I'm not using my Solo legs, I'm usually using the Sprinter legs. I now use the aluminum legs with a short jib I have - and they work well for that.
I second what Mitch has posted about the Solo. The theory behind the Solo is mobility, so for any application where you need a high degree of mobility they are a good way to go. If you need to hang a sand bag on them for some reason, there is a small hook on the bottom of some Miller heads (and other manufacturers), directly under the 100mm bowl twist knob, that you could hand a sand bag on if you wanted.
If you need very low angle shooting, the Solo legs will spread way out, so that the bottom of the head is just 8" above the ground. That gives you those on-the-ground perspectives without getting your camera down in the grime and dirt. Very cool for travel, sports, certain doc shots, mobile commercials, etc.
I have absolutely no connection to Miller - I just happen to use their products, like them, and don't mind telling people about it.
I second what Mitch has posted about the Solo. The theory behind the Solo is mobility, so for any application where you need a high degree of mobility they are a good way to go. If you need to hang a sand bag on them for some reason, there is a small hook on the bottom of some Miller heads (and other manufacturers), directly under the 100mm bowl twist knob, that you could hand a sand bag on if you wanted.
If you need very low angle shooting, the Solo legs will spread way out, so that the bottom of the head is just 8" above the ground. That gives you those on-the-ground perspectives without getting your camera down in the grime and dirt. Very cool for travel, sports, certain doc shots, mobile commercials, etc.
I have absolutely no connection to Miller - I just happen to use their products, like them, and don't mind telling people about it.