No smooth stops when panning with Miller SOLO VJ legs? at DVinfo.net

Toenis Liivamaegi · December 17th, 2007, 08:13 AM

Hi, just after receiving my mighty set of Solo VJ legs I noticed that all the talk about the Miller DS heads not stopping well at the end of the pan (ie bounce back) is just caused by the legs, no matter what head is used it`s just caused by the legs itself.
So what would one do about that, any special techniques?
Or maybe Solo is not intended for smooth stops at all :(...
... maybe that`s the case with all spreaderless one-tube-per-leg type of tripods.
Only excuse would be that no bounce back tripods are used by crews and not some solo freaks trying to get perfect pans or are the fluid heads I tried just too stiff for that action on VJ legs. But I really cant imagine a fluid head without resistance.

Thanks in advance,
T

Chris Soucy · December 17th, 2007, 03:29 PM

Looks like you've hit the nail on the head - the design of the Millers is almost a guarantee that they will "wind up" during a pan.

As you said - single tube, circular cross section, no spreader and looong as well.

As to how to get a smooth pan at any drag level, knowing they will wind up every time, at a rate determine by the drag setting and the pan speed?

I guess you may, with a shed load of practice, get to know how they will behave under any given circumstance and take the "pedal off the metal" at a controlled rate towards the end of the pan.

Going to take a heck of a load of parctice but it can be done.

I know, I used a set of Manfrotto 520's with a 503 head for years, never did get it quite right due to the unpredictable "stiction" of the head, but at least the sticks did, consistantly, wind up then wind down again.

I suppose throwing a decent head into the mix will make it easier, at least it will be consistant.

CS

Toenis Liivamaegi · December 18th, 2007, 06:13 AM

Now, after 24hours of receiving those legs I`ve come to a conclusion that the windup is only visible from 300mm and upwards focal lengths and can be controlled like it can be with cheaper heads, just slowly releasing pressure from the bar at the end of the pan. Libec`s H38 head (from the LS38 combo) didn`t require that on it`s original legs and the new 501HDV head from Manfotto is much better in the regard of not winding up the legs laterally but it isn`t rated for the loads I´m using so it can not be used in my applications.
Well got to sell all my heads I guess. As much as I know even the Catoni Focus isn`t better than the H38 for payloads in the 3-4kg range so I don`t know if it can improve anything.

T

December 17th, 2007, 08:13 AM	#1
Toenis Liivamaegi Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tartu, Estonia Posts: 579	No smooth stops when panning with Miller SOLO VJ legs? Hi, just after receiving my mighty set of Solo VJ legs I noticed that all the talk about the Miller DS heads not stopping well at the end of the pan (ie bounce back) is just caused by the legs, no matter what head is used it`s just caused by the legs itself. So what would one do about that, any special techniques? Or maybe Solo is not intended for smooth stops at all :(... ... maybe that`s the case with all spreaderless one-tube-per-leg type of tripods. Only excuse would be that no bounce back tripods are used by crews and not some solo freaks trying to get perfect pans or are the fluid heads I tried just too stiff for that action on VJ legs. But I really cant imagine a fluid head without resistance. Thanks in advance, T

December 17th, 2007, 03:29 PM	#2
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Hi Toenis........... Looks like you've hit the nail on the head - the design of the Millers is almost a guarantee that they will "wind up" during a pan. As you said - single tube, circular cross section, no spreader and looong as well. As to how to get a smooth pan at any drag level, knowing they will wind up every time, at a rate determine by the drag setting and the pan speed? I guess you may, with a shed load of practice, get to know how they will behave under any given circumstance and take the "pedal off the metal" at a controlled rate towards the end of the pan. Going to take a heck of a load of parctice but it can be done. I know, I used a set of Manfrotto 520's with a 503 head for years, never did get it quite right due to the unpredictable "stiction" of the head, but at least the sticks did, consistantly, wind up then wind down again. I suppose throwing a decent head into the mix will make it easier, at least it will be consistant. CS

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December 18th, 2007, 06:13 AM	#3
Toenis Liivamaegi Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tartu, Estonia Posts: 579	Now, after 24hours of receiving those legs I`ve come to a conclusion that the windup is only visible from 300mm and upwards focal lengths and can be controlled like it can be with cheaper heads, just slowly releasing pressure from the bar at the end of the pan. Libec`s H38 head (from the LS38 combo) didn`t require that on it`s original legs and the new 501HDV head from Manfotto is much better in the regard of not winding up the legs laterally but it isn`t rated for the loads I´m using so it can not be used in my applications. Well got to sell all my heads I guess. As much as I know even the Catoni Focus isn`t better than the H38 for payloads in the 3-4kg range so I don`t know if it can improve anything. T