Varizoom Stealth LX vs. Canon ZR-1000. Which one is better??? at DVinfo.net

Marcos Perez · January 25th, 2005, 01:13 PM

Hello everyone, i'm looking to buy a lanc remote and after a bit of research i only can afford the Canon ZR-1000 and the Varizoom Stealth LX. Both are around 140-150 pounds, i have tried the ZR-1000 but i have not been able to find a store in London that has a Stealth Lx to try it out, and they seem to be quite different. I have seen good and not so good reviews of both, so can anyone tell me their impressions of both, advantages and disadvantages etc,?

Any other suggestions within that price range?

Thanks in advance.

Jeff Toogood · January 25th, 2005, 02:26 PM

Have you thought about those cheap Sony tripods with the built-in LANC remote handles?
I bought the cheapest one they make off ebay for $35 and ripped the handle off it and retrofit it to my Manfrotto 501 head.
It doesn't offer a lot of controls, but for the price, you can't beat it.

Lamar Lamb · January 26th, 2005, 07:15 PM

Hehehehe... I thought I was the only one cheesy enough to do that. I mount it to the pan bar of my 501 with lots of rubberbands. I have a Varizoom VZ-PRO-L pro but to be honest I like the Sony remote's feel better. The Sony tripod makes a nice quasi Steadicam too.

Jeff Toogood · January 27th, 2005, 07:29 AM

Here is my rigged up sony handle on my Manfrotto 501, looks pretty good, I think.

http://www.digitaliso.ca/remote1.jpg

http://www.digitaliso.ca/remote2.jpg

Lamar Lamb · January 27th, 2005, 09:32 PM

Wow! It looks factory. I wanted to pull mine off the Sony panbar and do something like that but I was; (1) afraid of screwing it up and (2) still needing it to work on the Sony panbar for when I use that tripod. Mine is a little different from yours. It's off a VCT-870RM. I'll have to look at it again to see if mine will work like that. Very nice work there.

Tom Hardwick · January 28th, 2005, 06:00 AM

I did the same thing, pulling the Sony LANC pan handle off a Sony tripod and binning the weedy legs. But the remote isn't all it looks to be and it wouldn't even access the VX2k's slowest zoom speed, so I gave up on it.

I tested a couple of the Varizoom LANC remotes for Computer Video magazine and feel you should order the back issue before you splash out.

tom.

Marcos Perez · January 28th, 2005, 10:38 AM

Thanks for your replies guys, by the way tom, this magazine is available in Uk right?

By the way i'm quite restricted to these two models (or something cheaper, but from what i know the cheaper ones are crap) because of my budget, i know there are some other models with better features, but the price difference would be more that what i can afford, so anyone else who has used both (or any) of them and has any comments?? Specially things like if the slowest prefixed speed in the Zr-1000 corresponds with the slowest speed that you can get from the rocker...
the same thing for the Stealth lx, is possible to achieve all the speeds of the camera? and is easy to mantain a constant zoom with this remote or is very sensible??

If anyone knows this kind of data (specially for the Stealth Lx) i would appreciate it if he/she could share some of it

Thanks again for your time.

Wayne Orr · January 28th, 2005, 08:08 PM

Basically, Marcos, ya gets what ya pays for. Just like your camera.
No, they don't access all the available speeds.
If someone put I gun to my head and forced me to choose, I would pick the Canon ZR1000. That throttle design on the Stealth was a bad concept from day one. As I remember, the Canon offers more functions, for what it's worth. But there will come a day when you want to do a nice zoom with a smooth start, and it just won't happen. That's the day you'll wish you had saved up for a better controller, just like you waited till you could afford the camera you wanted.

Wayne Orr, SOC

Mike Rehmus · January 28th, 2005, 08:29 PM

No matter how good the controller, the smooth start capabilty just isn't build into the 150/170. So far, for Sony cameras, only the Pro cameras with removable lens have a good, smooth start..

My experience with another Stealth model is that they break a lot. I've had mine back to VariZoom 3 times for the same problem. They've replaced everything but the shell and still it has problems.

It is not recommended for Sony cameras in my book.

January 25th, 2005, 01:13 PM	#1
Marcos Perez Tourist Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 2	Varizoom Stealth LX vs. Canon ZR-1000. Which one is better??? Hello everyone, i'm looking to buy a lanc remote and after a bit of research i only can afford the Canon ZR-1000 and the Varizoom Stealth LX. Both are around 140-150 pounds, i have tried the ZR-1000 but i have not been able to find a store in London that has a Stealth Lx to try it out, and they seem to be quite different. I have seen good and not so good reviews of both, so can anyone tell me their impressions of both, advantages and disadvantages etc,? Any other suggestions within that price range? Thanks in advance.

January 25th, 2005, 02:26 PM	#2
Jeff Toogood Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: St.Thomas, Ontario, CANADA Posts: 428	Have you thought about those cheap Sony tripods with the built-in LANC remote handles? I bought the cheapest one they make off ebay for $35 and ripped the handle off it and retrofit it to my Manfrotto 501 head. It doesn't offer a lot of controls, but for the price, you can't beat it. __________________ Toogood Studios

January 26th, 2005, 07:15 PM	#3
Lamar Lamb Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Baxley, Georgia Posts: 103	Hehehehe... I thought I was the only one cheesy enough to do that. I mount it to the pan bar of my 501 with lots of rubberbands. I have a Varizoom VZ-PRO-L pro but to be honest I like the Sony remote's feel better. The Sony tripod makes a nice quasi Steadicam too. __________________ Lamar

January 27th, 2005, 07:29 AM	#4
Jeff Toogood Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: St.Thomas, Ontario, CANADA Posts: 428	Here is my rigged up sony handle on my Manfrotto 501, looks pretty good, I think. http://www.digitaliso.ca/remote1.jpg http://www.digitaliso.ca/remote2.jpg __________________ Toogood Studios

January 27th, 2005, 09:32 PM	#5
Lamar Lamb Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Baxley, Georgia Posts: 103	Wow! It looks factory. I wanted to pull mine off the Sony panbar and do something like that but I was; (1) afraid of screwing it up and (2) still needing it to work on the Sony panbar for when I use that tripod. Mine is a little different from yours. It's off a VCT-870RM. I'll have to look at it again to see if mine will work like that. Very nice work there. __________________ Lamar

January 28th, 2005, 06:00 AM	#6
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	I did the same thing, pulling the Sony LANC pan handle off a Sony tripod and binning the weedy legs. But the remote isn't all it looks to be and it wouldn't even access the VX2k's slowest zoom speed, so I gave up on it. I tested a couple of the Varizoom LANC remotes for Computer Video magazine and feel you should order the back issue before you splash out. tom.

January 28th, 2005, 10:38 AM	#7
Marcos Perez Tourist Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 2	Thanks for your replies guys, by the way tom, this magazine is available in Uk right? By the way i'm quite restricted to these two models (or something cheaper, but from what i know the cheaper ones are crap) because of my budget, i know there are some other models with better features, but the price difference would be more that what i can afford, so anyone else who has used both (or any) of them and has any comments?? Specially things like if the slowest prefixed speed in the Zr-1000 corresponds with the slowest speed that you can get from the rocker... the same thing for the Stealth lx, is possible to achieve all the speeds of the camera? and is easy to mantain a constant zoom with this remote or is very sensible?? If anyone knows this kind of data (specially for the Stealth Lx) i would appreciate it if he/she could share some of it Thanks again for your time.

January 28th, 2005, 08:08 PM	#8
Wayne Orr Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Northridge Ca Posts: 734	Basically, Marcos, ya gets what ya pays for. Just like your camera. No, they don't access all the available speeds. If someone put I gun to my head and forced me to choose, I would pick the Canon ZR1000. That throttle design on the Stealth was a bad concept from day one. As I remember, the Canon offers more functions, for what it's worth. But there will come a day when you want to do a nice zoom with a smooth start, and it just won't happen. That's the day you'll wish you had saved up for a better controller, just like you waited till you could afford the camera you wanted. Wayne Orr, SOC

January 28th, 2005, 08:29 PM	#9
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	No matter how good the controller, the smooth start capabilty just isn't build into the 150/170. So far, for Sony cameras, only the Pro cameras with removable lens have a good, smooth start.. My experience with another Stealth model is that they break a lot. I've had mine back to VariZoom 3 times for the same problem. They've replaced everything but the shell and still it has problems. It is not recommended for Sony cameras in my book. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!