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Tripod, what to buy

Miguel "Macgregor" De Olaso

Miguel "Macgregor" De Olaso

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Hello.
I need to buy a tripod soon. And i want to buy something that i can use with the Red One.
Right now i have a manfrotto 510 (i think the new version is called 518) which is quite nice if the camera weights less than 4 or 5 Kgs.

So any recommendations that you might have?

Note: i dont have the money for an O´connor 2575c :)
 
Hi Macgregor.
This type of question is probably better answered on any of the cine. forums.
Red one is different than other cameras that you might buy only in that it might be configured in a wider variety of weights. Tripos selection depends on use and budget. If you can't afford a 2575 and intend to configure the red in a large heavy way maybe you should consider the O'conner 100 which is the classic B camera head in low budget.
 
For anyone to give really helpful recommendations you probably should say how you intend to use the camera and what additional kit you will be using with it. With the RedOne you could be shooting wildlife for documentary with an S16 lens, or a feature film with a 35mm zoom and 6x6 mattebox. The RedOne will find uses across a wide range of applications and each is likely to have very different constraints.

M
 
We already had a big thread here on tripods.... There were a few suggestion, but the general consensus was that waiting until Red is delivered and configured would be best. It seemed that the O'Connor 1030 and 2060 heads were nominated for top honors. I'm seriously considering an O'Connor 1030, but I will wait and see how my Cartoni Focus head performs. I just had my Focus replaced under warranty after it started to fail under moderate use with an HVX200. So I'm a bit skeptical there... OTOH, even though my use was moderate, my usage conditions/environment are probably atpypical. Lots of cold weather use here (well below freezing), blowing snow, etc..

If you need a tripod right now, I would suggest looking around various sites for reviews and discussions. But it seems like O'Connor, Sachtler, Miller, Cartoni all keep getting recommended. Go look at a few and demo some. And I would make sure that whatever you buy will perform well with what you have now as well as any camera ranging from about 10lbs up to 25lbs. That should get you pretty close for RED. I wouldn't recommend buying a tripod system that's rated to hold up to the 25lbs or so - you'll be pushing its limits at some point and most fluid heads perform best with weight that falls comfortably below their limit.
 
What about Manfrotto's 519 fluid head, looks quite good at $860. It lists it as HD and can hold upto 22lbs. I would've thought the advantages of the lightweight of RedOne made it better for use with HD accessories rather than the expensive film equivilents such as O'Connor, Cartoni etc, seems a little overkill perhaps? In your opinions why would something such as the 519 be bad to use rather than spending 5 times as much on the O'Connor or Cartoni? What benefits do you get or lose from either one?

519 LINK at BH
 
Hi All,

I would wait till you have your Red camera & Lenses before choosing a tripod head. Once your camera is delivered go to your local dealer or rental house and play for a few hours. Only then will you really know.

Stephen
 
Hi Stephen, I'm not entirely convinced there are a great many places near where I live that either have or will allow me to spend a few hours testing all of their tripods and fluid heads. That's kind of why I was wondering what in the opinion of users that have used these before would they say the benefit was of spending 5 times the ammount on a product. Lets just say that if, in theory, the RedOne setup is less than the stated allowance on a tripod such as the Manfrotto 519 fluid head and 3190 Tripod at 22lbs, why would anyone choose to spend upward of $6000 on a system such as O'connor and Cartoni? What would make it worth that much more?

And is there not a topic to be discussed here in that the camera's size and weight is less than a loaded film camera and therefore perhaps doesn't necessarily require such hefty fluid heads or tripods to weild it sufficiently for desired effects?

As someone pointed out there are other threads about this but they do all seem to be wait and see rather than anyone giving the exact reasons for choosing an established professional name over something like the bogen/manfrotto setups.
 
PaulClements said:
Hi Stephen, I'm not entirely convinced there are a great many places near where I live that either have or will allow me to spend a few hours testing all of their tripods and fluid heads. That's kind of why I was wondering what in the opinion of users that have used these before would they say the benefit was of spending 5 times the ammount on a product. Lets just say that if, in theory, the RedOne setup is less than the stated allowance on a tripod such as the Manfrotto 519 fluid head and 3190 Tripod at 22lbs, why would anyone choose to spend upward of $6000 on a system such as O'connor and Cartoni? What would make it worth that much more?

And is there not a topic to be discussed here in that the camera's size and weight is less than a loaded film camera and therefore perhaps doesn't necessarily require such hefty fluid heads or tripods to weild it sufficiently for desired effects?

As someone pointed out there are other threads about this but they do all seem to be wait and see rather than anyone giving the exact reasons for choosing an established professional name over something like the bogen/manfrotto setups.
Click to expand...


Hi Paul,

If you will have a light set up with Nikon lenses, then the Cartoni Focus (head only) $799 is hard to beat. Problem is the cost will soar from there and you could easily spend $6000 on a new head.

FWIW old Occonner 50 & 100 heads go very cheap on Ebay, if they are in good condition worth about $1000 IMHO.

Stephen
 
Hi Stephen,

Thanks for the reply. I edited my other thread but thought I'd repost because you probably missed this answering the last one:

Perhaps this would be a good one to begin with LINK
The fluid head can hold 30lbs, the legs can hold 66lbs and are suitable for jib arms and it costs $1700 for the head and tripod.

Possible weight of setup:

RedOne: 8lbs
Cine Lense: 10lbs
Battery: 6lbs
RedDrive: 2lbs
Rails: 4lbs

Total: 30lbs

The above weights are estimates based on existing products and are infact slightly generous in each case. The Cine Lense for example is quite heavy and was based on a Cooke 20-100mm (Big Lense) at 9.35lbs (Hopefully that is correct).

I understand why anyone would say use the best, but for those looking for a cheaper solution that wouldn't exactly hamper their creativity a great deal, why would this not be as useful as a 2nd hand old O'connor.

Thanks, Paul
 
Maybe a lighter, smaller, cheaper fluid head will do the trick with minimal accessories. But imagine you happened to be hired as DP for a big commercial or feature project. Your going to need the right lenses, follow focus, matte-box w/filters, on-camera monitor/LCD, power supply, Data-Storage, handheld setup etc.

This, or similiar set-ups could tend to get pretty heavy... I don't know like 25-30lbs or more.
 
PaulClements said:
Hi Stephen,

Thanks for the reply. I edited my other thread but thought I'd repost because you probably missed this answering the last one:

Perhaps this would be a good one to begin with LINK
The fluid head can hold 30lbs, the legs can hold 66lbs and are suitable for jib arms and it costs $1700 for the head and tripod.

Possible weight of setup:

RedOne: 8lbs
Cine Lense: 10lbs
Battery: 6lbs
RedDrive: 2lbs
Rails: 4lbs

Total: 30lbs

The above weights are estimates based on existing products and are infact slightly generous in each case. The Cine Lense for example is quite heavy and was based on a Cooke 20-100mm (Big Lense) at 9.35lbs (Hopefully that is correct).

I understand why anyone would say use the best, but for those looking for a cheaper solution that wouldn't exactly hamper their creativity a great deal, why would this not be as useful as a 2nd hand old O'connor.

Thanks, Paul
Click to expand...


Hi Paul,

As a rule of thumb work in the middle of the recomended range. For a 30 lbs load I would look for a head that is recomended at 40-45 lbs. I would recomend upto 22lbs for a head with a max of 30lbs.

I know the price sky rockets, that's where the O'conner 50 comes in.

Stephen
 
Billy.Summers said:
Maybe a lighter, smaller, cheaper fluid head will do the trick with minimal accessories. But imagine you happened to be hired as DP for a big commercial or feature project. Your going to need the right lenses, follow focus, matte-box w/filters, on-camera monitor/LCD, power supply, Data-Storage, handheld setup etc.

This, or similiar set-ups could tend to get pretty heavy... I don't know like 25-30lbs or more.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but in that scenario you're probably going to be making a trip to the rental house anyway (most owner-operators won't own everything they'd need for a major production), so just rent a more serious tripod head while you're there. Unless you're doing jobs like this all the time, or you need something that can support a heavy camera rig for your own everyday use of the camera, it probably doesn't make sense to buy.
 
Chris Kenny said:
Yeah, but in the scenario you're probably going to be making a trip to the rental house anyway (most owner-operators won't own everything they'd need for a major production), so just rent a more serious tripod head while you're there.
Click to expand...

Hi Chris,

I agree with you!:)

Stephen
 
Going back and looking again the manfrotto 526 is actually 35lbs with the tripod at 66lbs for $1700

LINK

The head bought alone is $1440 and the tripod alone is $620 so buying both together at $1700 looks like quite a good deal. How much more than 35lb do most people think is needed.

Thanks for the replies.

Paul
 
Stephen Williams said:
Hi All,

I would wait till you have your Red camera & Lenses before choosing a tripod head. Once your camera is delivered go to your local dealer or rental house and play for a few hours. Only then will you really know.

Stephen
Click to expand...

Stephen,

thanks,

the best advice.
 
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