Sony NX70 (Tinycam) with Vinten Vision Blue

[Mike Beckett]

I'm in love with two pieces of equipment - my new Sony NX70 camcorder and my Vision Blue tripod. But the small size of the camera was a real worry for me, it wasn't likely to balance on the VB head.

I decided to do a bit of playing round, to see if I could get the camera to a minimum workable configuration for the Vision Blue, so here's my findings.

First, some ground rules. This is the camera with the large battery, XLR handle, stock Sony Mic and a Rycote mini windscreen with fur cover, and a Libec Lanc control. If I'm carrying the Vision Blue around, I'm not travelling light, so I assume a fully loaded camera will be OK. Fully loaded like this, the camera is around 1.5kg.

So here goes. As per the photos, I simply attached a Manfrotto MN577 quick release plate and adapter to the bottom of the camcorder. The Manfrotto plate was then attached to the standard Vinten sliding plate, the camera mounted on the tripod and tilt drag set to zero. Balance dial all the way to the left. The camera fell away backwards, so I shifted it forwarded a few inches... and Hey Tesco! Balance!

At that point I could've cried. My babies! My Vinten Blue and my NX70 would be friends after all!

It actually seems pretty good. There's a teeny, tiny bit of spring back visible at maximum tilt, 260mm full telephoto, but it's almost imperceptible. I reckon if you dialled in 1 or 2 steps of drag it'd be fine, or maybe just slide the plate forward a mm or two more.

In normal use, I keep the Manfrotto plate screwed to the bottom of the camera. This means I can use the Vinten setup as shown, and when I want to be really mobile I can grab the lightweight Manfrotto tripod and sacrifice performance for weight, or I can slip across to the slider with a 501HDV head on it without changing camera plates.

One day, Vinten will come up with a proper device for these tiny cams, but for now, this seems to be a "go-er".