Sony's Remote Control Tripods
an article by Don Palomaki

As a matter of general interest, I tried the zoom control on a Sony VCT-870RM tripod with a Canon XL1. The VCT-870RM is a full size consumer tripod. It is mostly plastic and aluminum, suitable for home and hobby use with handicam size camcorders. I consider it marginal at best for an XL1, and suspect that most professionals would find it lacking in sturdiness.

Of interest was the remote control built into the handle, which probably can be removed for use with another tripod. It is light weight, a plus if doing the one-man-band thing lugging equipment about.

Standby/Lock worked with the XL1 much like the Standby button on the XL1. The Pause/Unpause button worked to start/pause recording The Photo button did NOT work with the XL1 (The XL1 does not implement a photo LANC command).

The zoom rocker worked to provide about five or six different zoom speeds with the XL1. The fastest zoom stop-to-stop was about 2 seconds and the slowest was about 60 seconds. The VCT-870RM controller connects to the LANC jack.

I've also briefly tried a Sony model VCT-670RM camcorder tripod with a Canon XL1. It has a remote control on the handle that plugs into the LANC connector on the camcorder.

The remote control has a zoom rocker switch. It provides two zoom speeds in, and two speeds out (medium and high, but not the highest or lowest available zoom speeds on the XL1). There are no more speeds options available on the remote. I could feel detents in the zoom rocker that corresponded to switch positions for each zoom speeds/directions. Of course, the camcorder has to support two zoom speeds in and out via the LANC connector for this to work.

It has the usual Sony lock/standby switch. On the XL1 it turns the camcorder on/off provided that the XL1's mode selector wheel is in an ON position.  It does not appear to correspond to the 'Standby' mode of the XL1.

The tripod also has a 'photo' button, which I did not try (no tape in the camcorder at the time). Apparently this can be used to do photo mode pictures with some camcorders; however, the XL1 service documentation implies that 'photo' is not supported in the XL1's implementation of LANC.

The tripod itself was what I would consider a medium weight consumer model for handicam sized camcorders. It is not adequate for an XL1, and probably not for camcorders in the VX1000 or larger class, or for anything beyond home consumer use (it's not sturdy enough).

MSRP is somewhere around US$120 to US$150, with street prices as low as perhaps US$65 or so. The copyright date on the documentation was 1998, made in China.  Instructions are printed in many languages.

The remote control is built into the handle, but could be cannibalized for use with a better tripod with a bit of duct tape, Velcro, and chewing gum. But the lower cost VCT-550RM might be a more economical approach if 2 zoom speeds are all you need (however, I've not yet had hands on the VCT-550RM to confirm this.)

I've read posted reports that the Sony VCT-R630RM offers more than 2 zoom speeds, but I have not found one to test.

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Thrown together by Chris Hurd