<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><DIV>Hey Adam,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I don't know what you're using now, but I have found my old O'Connor 50 fluid head with their aluminum legs to be a really great bang for the buck. They can often be found cheaply ($3-400) on ebay and they are built to take a beating (100mm bowl mount). For me, it is a really great fit for the Konvas, not too big, not too small. If I strip a Kinor down to the minimum it even works welI supporting it on my jib arm. I haven't tried putting my little Canon video camera on it, but I suspect the old Mantrotto fluid head I bought for my S8 camera will do best with that. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I would agree with H.W. that a fluid head is not going to be the best thing for animation or time lapse. Also, the Quickset line does go really cheap on ebay, a tripod and geared head might be the way to go there for time lapse/animation.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I have found the cheaper video tripods just don't have sufficient steadiness for me, and they are not compatible with professional heads. The 100mm bowl tripod base seems to be the standard size needed for mid-sized camera like the Konvas or 16mm cameras. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As far as the fluid or geared head question-- are you talking about a geared head for time lapse/animation to hold a particular position, or one for motion, like a Worrall? Only the Worrall type head is going to be useable for fluid motion I believe. They are wonderful, heavy and expensive, and are going to mount only on a full sized Mitchell flat base. Two heads seems like the only way to go on that question.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As an aside concerning jib arms, I notice most of the inexpensive ones are made for lihtweight video cameras. I bought an EZFX arm because it is rated for a 50lb maximum camera weight. I have easily used a CP16 and my Konvas on it, and last week I tried the Kinor 35H weighing in at about 32lbs mounted on the O'Connor 50 head and it did quite well.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Good luck,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bruce Taylor</DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.Indi35.com">www.Indi35.com</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>--- On <B>Sat, 9/20/08, Adam Frey <I><thefirstrule@chainsawlinux.com></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid">From: Adam Frey <thefirstrule@chainsawlinux.com><BR>Subject: [Konvas] Decent Tripod/Support System for a Konvas?<BR>To: "Konvas Discussion List" <cinema@konvas.org><BR>Date: Saturday, September 20, 2008, 6:54 AM<BR><BR><PRE>I've been wanting to get a new (or used in decent condition) tripod/head
combo for quite a while now, but haven't gotten around to doing so for
several reasons, the biggest of which is, of course, related to a
slightly malnourished wallet.
The second reason is that there are so many to choose from, I want to
make sure that I get the right one.
The third reason is that, if I'm going to spend [insert: more than just
a little bit of] good cash on one, then I'd want to invest in a decent
system that can work with me as business expands and for the next
umpteen plus years. BUT, if there are decent tripods out there to be had
for under $500 that can also do a good job, then it might be worth
getting that instead and upgrading in the future.
I'd like to invest in something that can handle my needs, which include
EVERYTHING: from time-lapse (and stop-motion animation), to a fully
loaded Konvas 1M, to a basic HDV rig (currently my Sony Z1U). I'd like
it to be able to handle a jib arm as well (preferably, a jib arm that
can hold my fully loaded Konvas - is that *too* much to ask for?).
I also want a smooth head - I'm tired of using heads that do just
"okay". You know the heads I'm talking about - the ones that
allow you
to ever-so-slightly jerk it at some point during the pan (it's always
frustrating when I see that in my post-process).
So, basically, my ideal tripod would, preferably, be affordable and
could do everything under the Sun (btw: I'm also hoping that the
temperature in Hell hits 0 degrees Celcius and that Pigs will grow wings).
With all that said, I know Todd really loves his Oconnor, and I have to
say, looking at the load limits, Oconnor can handle some heavy rigs:
http://www.ocon.com/products/tripods.html
QuickSet tripods are also pretty heavy duty:
http://www.quickset.com/pages/ultra_stable_tripods/63.php
And, of course, there are quite a few other ENG/MoPic tripods to look at
as well, including:
Miller (http://millertripods.com)
Cartoni (http://cartoni.com)
Slik Daiwa (http://slikbroadcast.com)
Vinten (http://www.vinten.com)
I'd have included Bogen/Manfrotto (http://manfrotto.com), but I'm not
so
sure that they make one that can handle a fully loaded Konvas,
especially if I'm going to add a sound-proof Barney to it (and speaking
of Barneys, I've got some great pics from Pierre Sam that I'm going to
upload to the site sometime in the near future).
So, the question seems to be four-fold:
1) What tripods/tripod systems do you think can handle my needs?
2) What tripod/tripod system is the best bang for the buck?
3) What heads are recommended? (Geared or Fluid Head?)
4) Can I use a head from one manufacturer and a tripod from another, or
should I stick with one brand?
I have a few older wooden tripods that I've collected and used/abused
over the years, but they are (mostly) older and, by now, extremely well
used. At this point, I've started working on the wooden legs with some
really good glue and the heads are in need of some major TLC - should I
send them out for repairs or forget about them?
I've also had a few "cheaper" video tripods that have done okay
for the
lighter cameras, but are also showing wear and tear. I believe it's
getting to be time to start looking to move on to something better.
BTW: Can anyone think of other tripods that are geared toward the MoPic
industry? I plan on creating a page on Konvas.org for tripods, heads,
and supports, as they are a very big part of our work.
Thanks,
Adam Frey
Director/Cinematographer
Crimson Chain Productions
http://crimsonchain.com
Crimson Chain Productions
PO Box 35
Libertytown, MD 21762
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