Attaching a LANC controller

[Ed Roo]

Q1 - I just received my Vinten Vison Blue system and set it up to test everything out. The only problem I have is mounting the Canon LANC zoom controller. The screws and fitting are designed for a smaller diameter pan bar. Any suggestions/recommendations as to the best solution to mount the controller on the thicker pan bar?

Q2 - This is the first tripod I have used with an adjustable mid-leg spreader. This spreader has two positions: flat and "tented". Flat I understand. Is the "tented" position to be used in a confined space when you do not have sufficient space to spread the legs farther apart?

Thanks in advance for your responses!

[Mike Beckett]

Ed,

Can't comment on #1, I haven't seen that controller. My Libec fits my Vision Blue pan handle well. There's probably a Home Depot solution! That Canon must have pretty short screws on it.

#2 - the "tented" position is intended for either confined spaces, as you say, but also if you just need that little bit extra height.

My preference is to use the VB with the spreader in normal, flat mode wherever possible, it just gives that little bit extra stability.

[Ed Roo]

Thanks Mike. It took me a little bit of futzing around to figure out how to get the center attach fixture to rotate from the tented position to the flat position. Nothing in the instructions about it! :-))

A little more information...
I have the Canon ZR-2000 LANC Zoom Remote Controller.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/410314-REG/Canon_0973B002_ZR_2000_Zoom_Remote_Control.html

[Chris Soucy]

Hi, Ed............

Yeah, the screws on the Canon Lanc Controllers are bloody short.

I ended up buying a set of roofing screws from a hardware store (store? Warehouse more like it) in the UK.

Don't ask me why they were called roofing screws, as I cannot, for the life of me, see in what capacity they could work with any roof I've ever been aquainted with, but there you go.

They're a good inch longer than the stock Canon ones but exactly the same thread.

Best bet is to take one of the screws with you and find what nut fits them and get a description of the nut, then find the corresponding screw.

I think I ended up with a pack of ten, so I've got spares tucked away everywhere, which I just know I'll never find again if I lose one, cest la vie.

Don't use the VB sticks with the spreader in the "tented" position unless absolutely necessary for the height.

It's throwing a heap of rigidity and stability away for no gain whatsoever, and the entire feature is akin to bolting an ash tray to a motorcycle, though it was never designed for the VB sticks, but the Pro Touch series, which is a different kettle of fish altogether and not really up to Vinten standards.


CS

[Ed Roo]

Thanks Chris.
I'll poke around at the local hardware supply stores and try to locate something suitable.
Longer screws was my original idea, but I thought I would post here first to see if there was any other solutions.