Tripods

[Stephen Strangways]

You don't want to go cheap, but you don't want to go overkill, either. You want the best performing tripod that covers the weight range of your camera package.

The OP was looking for a tripod recommendation for the Scarlet, and the lightest and cheapest O'Connor package is unnecessarily heavy and expensive for that, not to mention the fact that the counterbalance will be too strong for just about any Scarlet configuration you could possibly build.

 

[J Davis]

Sorry to radically disagree but the thought of a $4750+ scarlet on a $160 bogen 701hdv is ridiculous. Even a 501 or a 503 is a stretch! IMO. if money was reaaaaallly tight and you have to resort to bogen then 516 would be a minimum.

 

[J Davis]

Jeff's words earlier in this thread ring true

Ideally, you want your camera rig to fit close to the middle of your tripod's weight capacity range. They state their capacity as the maximum weght you would want on there. And in that respect, they're usually rated about right. So for proper operation, you want a good bit of headroom on that capacity number.

 

[Stephen Strangways]

@ stephen
thanks for your opinion on cartoni vs miller ... then I read two post later that your are
advising bogen 701hdv?
what?!? ... sorry, but now I must take your first advice with skepticism.

Stephen Gentle wanted a suggestion on a cheap tripod for travel, and thought the 501 was too chunky, so I wanted tried to give him some suggestions for cheap and non-chunky options.

Quite a different application than what J Davis was looking for when he wanted to know the difference between the Miller and Cartoni.

It's all about what's the ideal solution for the application. O'Connor heads? I love 'em. Years ago I used to shoot Arri 16SR2s and 3s on O'Connor 2060s all the time. And now, I still rent one for shoots with a fully loaded RED ONE. But I'd never buy one to use with a Scarlet!

I guess my perspective on things could be considered somewhat unusual... 8 years ago I worked at a camera store (still photography only) and I still work the occasional day there when they need someone to fill in. Most of the customers there are looking at inexpensive tripods selling for $30-$50 from Slik. To them, a Manfrotto tripod that costs $100 is a "professional" tripod that is more than they need, and more than they want to spend.
At the same time, there are customers who swear by Manfrotto and love them, and consider an $900 Gitzo to be a luxury item.
I help out all those customers.

I'm holding onto a Manfrotto 501 and legs for second camera/backup, but wouldn't dream of using it as my primary tripod. It seemed okay during my DVX100 days, but now I wouldn't settle for less than a Vinten or Sachtler. For me, a $3,000 tripod for a Scarlet is completely reasonable. For others, it probably seems way too expensive.

I almost wish it was a joke, but last week, I was using a rented O'Connor 2060 (worth $10,000) on Thursday, a rented Cartoni Lambda (worth $13,500) on Friday, and selling $30 plastic tripods on Saturday. Then on Sunday I was back to online research trying to decide between a Vinten and a Sachtler to use with the upcoming Scarlet.

Horses for courses. (but really, please don't buy a photo tripod like that Bushnell to use for video!)

 

[Stephen Strangways]

Sorry to radically disagree but the thought of a $4750+ scarlet on a $160 bogen 701hdv is ridiculous. Even a 501 or a 503 is a stretch! IMO. if money was reaaaaallly tight and you have to resort to bogen then 516 would be a minimum.

To me, the thought of a Scarlet on anything less than a 526 would make me wince, and even then, it wouldn't be my first choice. I consider the 526 to be the only real proper fluid head in Manfrotto's lineup, anything less just uses "friction boost."

But, if Stephen Gentle wants something cheap that will fit in his backpack and he can travel with, the 701hdv is a much better choice than that Bushnell photo tripod!

 

[Stephen Strangways]

Jeff's words earlier in this thread ring true

You'll find that the high-end heads are specced a lot more thoroughly than just a maximum weight, and a proper counterbalanced head will also have a minimum weight.
Take a look at the counterbalance chart Vinten publishes for the Vision 3AS:

 

[J Davis]

To me, the thought of a Scarlet on anything less than a 526 would make me wince, and even then, it wouldn't be my first choice. I consider the 526 to be the only real proper fluid head in Manfrotto's lineup, anything less just uses "friction boost."

But, if Stephen Gentle wants something cheap that will fit in his backpack and he can travel with, the 701hdv is a much better choice than that Bushnell photo tripod!

Whew - your credibility is restored

And I hear you – I'm sure sometime in the near future we will be seeing a lot of cheaper bogen lashback in glorious mx 3k+ clarity

 

[J Davis]

and a proper counterbalanced head will also have a minimum weight.

... and it is for precisely this reason that I have held off on buying a DS20! The millers also have a bracketed weight thing going on. Switchable.
Which makes me lean more towards Cartoni F100.

I think there are many including myself who eagerly await accurate specs from RED on weight for all the modules.

 

[James Edwin Myers Jr.]

Is there a projected weight for the Scarlet brain? Curious if we're talking 15 lbs or more for a basic brain, battery, follow focus and lens?

 

[Dave Blackham]

Any recommendations for a good tripod for the Scarlet?

Should be able to support over 20 pounds? Is the popular 506 Manfrotto type recommended for it? And... What do you think will be better for all-purpose productions, ground or mid-level spreader?

Have anyone tried the Sachtler Soom? Any comments on this product?

Thanks

3 stage Ronford Lightweight tripod and 2004 Head.

 

[Stephen Gentle]

But, if Stephen Gentle wants something cheap that will fit in his backpack and he can travel with, the 701hdv is a much better choice than that Bushnell photo tripod!

Haha, yeah, I wasn't seriously considering the photo one, but I have used a photo tripod in a stretch and it works as long as you don't touch the tripod at all while you shoot.

 

[Stephen Strangways]

Is there a projected weight for the Scarlet brain? Curious if we're talking 15 lbs or more for a basic brain, battery, follow focus and lens?

I've heard "under 10 lbs" for a brain and side handle basic config thrown around, but nothing official that I know of.

Some of the people who held the fixed-lens Scarlet prototype at RED Day (and bear in mind, it's probably missing some pieces inside!) reported that it seemed to weigh less than an HVX, and that weighs 5 pounds.

The real trick will be figuring out weight for the interchangeable lens versions. A Canon still lens and a Cooke or Zeiss cine lens are worlds apart in weight!

 

[J Davis]

Roberto picked up the 2/3 fixed here are the quotes from this thread
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?p=553156#post553156

It was about 1/3 the weight of an HVX, but it was definitely missing boards. It won't be that light. But that said I'd guess it might end up about 1.5 to 2 pounds lighter than an HVX once it is packed with their alien tech.

Travis was making the touch screen LCDs and face recognition software sound like it was pure insanity. Now I can't wait to see what those will do.

Once you add the batteries a handle and an EVF I'd say it might be about 0.5 to 1 pound lighter. BTW, Travis didn't make it sound like hype either. He looked very genuinely amazed about the touch screens.

A few more pics I snapped hastily. Was too busy checking out the gorgeous M-X footage on two Rocket enabled Cine-X stations, on a Panny 11 and a Panny 12 series plasmas. Un-FREAGGIN' believably clean.

 

[Ethan Lane]

That's a photo tripod. The head is not a fluid head in the least, so you really wouldn't want to use it for video, it's not meant for smooth panning or tilting.

i'm sorry it was just a joke. I couldn't help myself

 

[Ethan Lane]

Seriously though, is someone in the market for a $4,750 Scarlet really stuck with a tripod budget of under $100?

lol that was the joke

 

[Allan Black]

Hey guys, I've been running a Miller Compass 15 from the 2nd production run for .. 6months now with a Canon XH-A1 (sorry Over the past 10yrs I've gone up from the 701,501,503 .. Miller DS10 to the Compass on the Solo Carbon Fibre sticks.

I have a special? requirement now for steady 130pans following aircraft on take off and landings and the Compass does it every time. There's nothing lacking on the Compass that I could ask for except a good hard carry case.

The Miller case is too costly for me, I looked at making one from plumbers PVC pipe but the size and weight defeated me.

Looking back I should have bought the Compass first off, (if it had been available) I'd actually have saved the Compass cost but that's how most folk do it .. work up.

I like this adage .. remember camera bodies come and go but a great tripod lasts a lifetime.
Cheers.

 

[Lee Saxon]

Anybody used the Gitzo G1380? Something in the G1380 / Compass15 price range is probably the absolute most I could justify spending on a head.

 

[Aaron Newsome]

Looking back I should have bought the Compass first off, (if it had been available) I'd actually have saved the Compass cost but that's how most folk do it .. work up.

This is what I was trying to help some people avoid. I do this too often with gear, where I buy something and end up buying it 3 times over since the flimsy stuff is never good enough.

I'm wishing I hadn't bought my current head, since now I have to buy a better one anyway. Would have been cheaper just to get a decent head to begin with.

 

[James Edwin Myers Jr.]

I've heard "under 10 lbs" for a brain and side handle basic config thrown around, but nothing official that I know of.

Some of the people who held the fixed-lens Scarlet prototype at RED Day (and bear in mind, it's probably missing some pieces inside!) reported that it seemed to weigh less than an HVX, and that weighs 5 pounds.

The real trick will be figuring out weight for the interchangeable lens versions. A Canon still lens and a Cooke or Zeiss cine lens are worlds apart in weight!

Yeah, I was half hoping my FSB-6 would come in just right with the brain, battery and most cine primes. The Zeiss Master primes weigh in at between 2.2 and 4 pounds (the 150mm). No wiggle room for a monitor or anything else. Seems like I'll be headed toward an upgrade.

 

[David Rasberry]

I've heard "under 10 lbs" for a brain and side handle basic config thrown around, but nothing official that I know of.

Some of the people who held the fixed-lens Scarlet prototype at RED Day (and bear in mind, it's probably missing some pieces inside!) reported that it seemed to weigh less than an HVX, and that weighs 5 pounds.

The real trick will be figuring out weight for the interchangeable lens versions. A Canon still lens and a Cooke or Zeiss cine lens are worlds apart in weight!

The heaviest lens I have for Scarlet 2/3" cinema is an Angenieux 12-240. About 4.5 lbs. Cooke 9-50 is a bit less. I'm expecting the full up rig with the EVF, large battery module,base I/O module, lens support, servo zoom and matte box, maybe Red gunner too, to run in the 12-15lb range total. Hope it will be a bit less though. Long zooms for S35 can weigh more than this by themselves.