I am looking for a compact / light-weight / good quality tripod for travelling / hiking purposes. I am going to travel around Italy by train for 3 weeks this summer, and am in need for a good video tripod. The problem is that I do not want to carry around 10kg on my bag all-day. So I am looking for a high-quality tripod that is light-weight and compact.

My budget is anything up to $500. I am also looking at a monopod, but do not think that it is the best option for me. I also have a Spiderbrace II shoulder mount which might be useful for some shots. But at the end, I just want a good tripod for which I can carry on my back all-day conveniently. I have a Lowepro Nature Trekker AW II backpack with tripod holder, to which I would like to attach this tripod to during my travels.

At this moment, I have a Sony HDR-HC1 camera which is rather compact but shoots great footage. I am planning to upgrade to a more sophisticated (and bigger) video camera in one or two years. This camera will probarbly be a HVX-200 or something similair to that in size. I want to buy a tripod that will work with my future video camera as well. So please consider that type of camera when recommending a tripod.

Thanks for your feedback. I really like this community!

The DVJuniorRig was developed just for what you need. It is a combination of a monpod, Support, Tripod head.

I can not see you hiking with neither a spiderbrace nor with a good tripod.

Is there anyone who uses this DV Rig Junior product? If so, can you provide me with feedback / small review about this product?

yuli21st of May 2005 (Sat), 07:00 AM
Got the JuniorRig yesterday and just came back from testing it in a real job, Shooting non professional young models.

It took me 15 minutes to understand what it is all about and adapt to the new style. The rest of the day was all fun.

The main advantage was that the camera was supported at my eye level and I was actually shooting like with a video camera, Keeping the image and framing constantly, All the time. This way it was very easy to capture the moment and capture great poses and moments as they accrue.

I almost didn't stop a model and didn't ask much to "hold a position" Since the camera was always in the correct framing, I managed to click instantly and most of the on the fly shoots are good. and very natural !

Changing positions from Standing, to leaning, to kneeling and back, was very easy and straight forward, no need to adjust and lock any thing, The spring loaded pod is working very well and adapts it's length constantly while maintaining support for the camera.

The camera head has a fluid resistance that makes it very easy to tilt and roll and get and keep the frame steady without even locking it.

Another simple and helpful thing is the Safety strap. For lenses changing I just locked the head, and let off the camera, I than had two free hands when kneeling

to my bag unzipping it, taking the lens out put it back in the bag take another one, mount it and zip back my bag. The fastest lens change ever.

It is a cool and helpful concept that brings a video shooting techniques to the photography world.

Do you have a price indication for the DV Multirig? I like the modularity of it and how compact it is. I am looking forward to your response.

The DVMultiRig will be in the 250-400 range according to configuration.

We will announce a price list in 2 weeks.

Danny.

The DVMultiRig will be in the 250-400 range according to configuration.

We will announce a price list in 2 weeks.

Danny.

I was wondering, would it be possible to release a hot-shoe adapter that can be attached to the DV MultiRig? Many camera's in the consumer category do not have a hot shoe while many microphone mounts are hot shoe based. I use a Bescor adapter now, but it look slike your rig could easily allow a hot shoe attachment to one of the handles? Would be great.

Yes, The MultiRig will have an 1/4" acc. thread on each grip end (2 on each grip) we will have a 1/4", 3/8" and hot show acc. holders available.

Danny.

I am looking for a good tripod for my upcoming documentary productions. I have been looking at the following tripods. This summer I go on holiday to Italy and I want to take a tripod with me. However, I am not sure if a good tripod for documentary productions is comfortable/light enough to carry. So I might need two different tripods (that's why I included the Velbon's with the travel purpose in mind, as they are dirt cheap). Maybe this legs/head combinations are not good at all, then please tell me which other legs and heads I should be looking at. Brand does not really matter.

I am using a Sony HDR-HC1 with Rode NTG-2 at this moment, so a fairly light setup. However, it is expected that I will be using something like a HVX-200 or XL-H1 in one or two years from now. Please keep that in mind.

Manfrotto/Bogen 755B (67cm folded, 163cm extended, 2.8kg)

http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/cache...lsf=73&child=5

Manfrotto/Bogen 756B (59cm folded, 143cm extended, 2.2kg)

http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/cache...lsf=73&child=5

The fluid heads I am considering are:

Manfrotto/Bogen 503 (8kg load)
http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/cache...d=80|86&idx=87

Manfrotto/Bogen 701RC2 (4kg load)
http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/cache...d=80|86&idx=87

Finally, I might consider one of these:

Velbon DV-7000
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

Velbon CX-570
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

The last two might be for travel purposes only. As the CX-570 only costs $40, it could be the perfect travelling tripod. For my production, I can then purchase a more expensive and sturdy Bogen/Manfrotto tripod with 503 video head like the 755B/503 combination.