Annual upgrading from Manfrotto thread.

[Victor Nguyen]

After cursing at Manfrotto for 2 years... I'm now able to upgrade to something better. I'm seriously thinking of Satchler FSB-4 or FSB-6.

I shoot mostly weddings on DSLR and being mobile with a small foot-prints is extremely important for me. Are there any sticks that I can raise and lower extremely quick and also take up a small area?

[James Kuhn]

Victor Nguyen...first, I suggest searching for and reading every thread you can find on the Sachtler SpeedLock 75 CF sticks. I have these sticks paired with a Sachtler FSB 8 Fluid Head.

After reviewing those threads, you'll notice that some folks, myself included feel the 'Speedlock 75 CF' legs are a little "twisty" when performing slow pans. There's a slight bit of bounce back. But, they are lightweight, quick to extend and quite sturdy for the design.

Here's the deal. You can have rock solid performance at the expense of weight or you can have lightweight, quick to set-up, but not as stable as a heavier, more substantial design. You can't have it both ways, 'Mother Physics' is cruel. : )

Regards,

J.

[Chris Soucy]

Good reply, James.

Victor actually mailed me direct with almost the same question on the 18th, my reply was thus:

"Good head, great bearings and very smooth, though, as you probably know, I'm not a great fan of the "stepped everything" on them.

The 75 CF's are certainly fast and light, though they're not very rigid, which can be a problem shooting HD, and there have been some worrying posts recently about the quality control of the build.

The Vinten Vision blue is a much better system overall but nowhere near as fast and certainly a lot heavier.

That said, the head quality (of the Sachtler) is so superior to a Manfrotto that it's probably worth being disappointed in the sticks, if, indeed, you are."

He obviously didn't think much of my response.

"You can please some of the people..........................."


CS

[Victor Nguyen]

Hello Chris. I did not receive that email. Thanks for re-posting it. I'm really considering the FSB-4 with the 75 CF since it is in my budget range. I shoot lots of weddings so moving fast is top priority for me.

There's a lot of chance I might be disappointed in this set up later on because of the weight limit. But hopefully by then I'll have the fund for a more proper set up.

[Mike Beckett]

Funny, I bought the old DV6SB head with the Speedlock CF75 legs thinking they'd be light. The bloody thing was a tonne weight, and no easier to carry round all day than my Vinten Vision Blue.

What they do have (the CF75) is the nice Speedlock design, where they're fast to put up and down with only a single lock per 2-section leg.

I'll say one thing. I paid £1500 for that Sachtler Tripod (equivalent to FSB-8), and my Vision Blue at half the price is a much better tripod for me.

[Victor Nguyen]

Yikes, sorry to hear that Mike. So James, I have read a few thread and yes, I heard some bad things about Speedlock CF legs. Can you guys recommend me some different sticks for my satchler FSB-4/FSB-6 head?

[James Kuhn]

Victor...unfortunately when you want 'lightweight (relatively)' and 'quick set-up', as far as I know, and others are welcome to chime-in, the Sachtler #4588, 75 CF sticks are the current best compromise. I have an old set of Gitzo G-1325 Mk II I used during my 'stills days'. I've adapted it to accept 75mm bowl with the Gitzo GS5320V75 Adapter. They're a very good set of sticks and lighter than the Sachtler by 1.2 lbs. But, they are discontinued, I think?

I don't know what "Miller" or "O'conner" have to offer because I can't afford those brands.

I hope others have more helpful information.

Good hunting.

J.

[Mike Beckett]

The CF75 _are_ lighter than the other sticks I used. I think it was 6kg for my Sachtler set-up versus 8kg for my Vinten. I find that 2kg didn't really make a lot of difference to me if I was carrying that tripod all day.

They are a bit lighter, but the thing I loved about the CF75 was the ease of set-up. If you want to go for something that doesn't have the same twist issues as the CF75, it will be heavier and less elegant. You can go lighter than the CF75 and get more rigidity issues, you can get heavier than the CF75 and have fewer issues. That's a balance that has to be struck.

I said before (somewhere!): if you buy the CF75 legs, you will not be unhappy - unless you do a lot of very long lens work.

[John Gerard]

Hi all,
I am looking around again for a recommendation on a new Tripod. About 1 year ago I upgraded from a cheep $40us tripod to a 501 boggon head and using it on an old Silk(spelling) tripod legs. The 501 head works pretty good but is very heavy. I would like to upgrade to something a little lighter and easier to carry around. New legs also needed. I would rather have a balance as to weight size and fluid panning movement. I shoot mostly Canon 60d 1080p video and I also have a Sony FX-7 HDv Camera. I am using almost exclusively the canon but I would like the tripod head to accommodate the Sony camera as well. But on the other hand if there is a real advantage in size and weight going with just a head that will fit my Canon Camera with a 28-200mm lense then I will probable go that way. The head and stick discussed here sounds like something I would rather not buy. Is there another option you guys could recommend? My criteria is as follows...
1) fluid head with not a lot of sping back, play, etc. that's probably the most important thing to me. If I can't capture nice fluid pans with ease then the tripod is not worth it to me. The 501 head I thought was pretty smooth but took some work to get it just right. And there is some sligh play in the head.
2) leveling, my current tripod takes a long time to get the level right. I usually use the level on the 501 head. I can only get close but never perfect. Half of the time I am filming on the dirt which is un-level ground.
3) quick setup of the legs etc is not so important to me.
P.S: I just ordered the CanRanger to connect my Ipad to my Canon camera. I am eventually going to post a review. A great review of the Camranger you should check out on Youtube is from Cameradinner.

Thank you for you comments,
John Gerard
Youtube channel: Sleepingdogphotovideo

QUOTE=Victor Nguyen;1804705]After cursing at Manfrotto for 2 years... I'm now able to upgrade to something better. I'm seriously thinking of Satchler FSB-4 or FSB-6.

I shoot mostly weddings on DSLR and being mobile with a small foot-prints is extremely important for me. Are there any sticks that I can raise and lower extremely quick and also take up a small area?[/QUOTE]

[John Gerard]

One other thing I just saw on B&h photo site a new head called manfrotto mh293d3-q2. Does anyone know anything about this one?

John Gerard