Yes it does..............Originally Posted by DAE06
Yes it does..............
Wouldn't the M25 be overkill for a stock hv20?
What do you mean by overkill ??
Manfrotto, (for some reason folks at the other side of the pond call it Bogen) makes good basic stuff.
For video head, do not go lower than 128RC, which I guess would be less than 100$.
The next step is 701, maybe 20-40$ more.
For basic tripod, the 55 -series is ok, the 190 series is ok too, but lighter and not as sturdy. Choose one depending on what you plan to do.
The 501 is next if you still want to spend more. (I noticed Taky referred his 501 as a ballhead in the thread mentioned in the 2nd post. Don't get confused there, as all the previously mentioned are in fact pan&tilt -heads.)
For video use, do not get a ballhead. Ballheads are absolutely rock solid when locked and not “creep”, even when used with a heavy lens, and they are compact and faster to use and easier to transport than any 3-axis, pan-tilt type of tripod head, which makes them great for photo use, but not for video, where you need smooth movements. Even the best ballheads are not very suitable for that.
I have a 55-tripod, Arca Swiss B1 for photo use, and 128RC for video use, and I'm happy with them.
Last edited by askomiko; 2008 April 5th at 06:33.
Well, sometimes when you have a light camcorder(lets say stock hv20) mounted on a heavy duty tripod that is intended for heavier equipment, you dont get the full effect of the fluid head because not enough weight is being put on it. And so I was wondering if this was the case between the hv20 and the M25(tripod).
I haven't found that problem with the M25. My rig setup is the HV20,RVM & either TL-H43 or the WD-H43 attached when needed.
As Ive said before it is a great tripod for the price.....
http://www.videomaker.com/article/13346/
Great, Im considering this one as an upgrade. Thanks
This is exactly what I found when looking at the 701. It just felt too stiff. I think you would need some very stable legs and weight on it to keep it from wobbling.
Im looking for a tripod head to connect my hv20 to the poor mans steadycam, if I can buy the head and not the whole tripod, what should I get? Note that im a casual user so something basic is all I need...lol otherwise Id be getting a brand name steadycam
also this is the poor mans steadycam for reference.
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/
stateofmind,
Not sure why you'd need a head atop the steadicam; maybe all you need is a quick release?
I am thinking of purchasing the Libec LS22M2A to go with my HV20+Letus Mini+Rode VM rig. Anyone have experience with this tripod? Is there another Libec or other brand I should consider? I've heard Cullmann VideoMagic is pretty good as well.
Last edited by celeste808; 2008 April 18th at 00:51. Reason: correcting a spelling error and adding the exact name of the Cullmann tripod
I found some good info here: http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?t=8650. If you are just using a "stock" HV20 on a Matthews M25. You might consider taking out the springs for the counter balence. you can't beat 170 bucks when it comes to that Matthews M25.
Cheers!
Todd Israel
Quick question: Bogen 501HDV vs. 503HDV -- is the latter really worth the extra cash, in your experiences? Right now my rig will probably be the cam, an SGPro r3 with Follow Focus and rails, a Matteblox DV and a DXA-2S all sitting on the tripod. Now, what I want to know is, can the 501 operate with this rig (I'm talking fluid tilts/pans, steady shots, etc.) or will I absolutely need the 503?
EDIT - Oh, and I guess I should add that the whole thing will be sitting on a 351MVB set of legs.
The 501 is a GREAT head. I wouldn't spend the extra cash. If you were using a heavier camera I would say got for the 503. Over all great head, great sticks, great tripod. You really can't go wrong with a Bogen/manfrotto
Todd Israel
Yeah, having used the 501 recently I was thinking it was more than good enough, great to know I can save the extra cash (almost $200!) by going with it over the 503. Or I can save a whole bunch of cash and go with something cheaper, like the Impact VTR2500.
On second thought, though, I'm kinda loving the Bogen right now. I'll get some more time with it before I make a final decision, but the 501/351MVB kit is what I'm most leaning towards now.
Does anyone know if the 501HDV is able to (dutch, tilt) whatever film language you may speak. Planning on buy the head along with the 745B legs. I've tried searching for information on this.....no luck.
Thanks in advance
Based on what I've read here I bit the bullet and bought the Velbon DV-7000 (from B&H). Kinda sucks that it didn't come with a case; I had to pay another $20 for one. My price range was under $250; it seemed to me that for roughly half that amount I was getting 90% of what the rest of the under-$250 group had to offer.
In making my decision, I took into account my usage; an HV30 that weighs less than 2Kg, fully loaded with accessories (lens/mic).
I almost bought the Davis&Sanford ProVista18 (PROVISTA7518)...it came with a case and the "free" dolly. It appears to be a much more substantial piece of gear. But the additional shipping cost due to the weight of the "free" dolly brought the total price to $230. I figured I'm not really going to use the dolly...and how much worse could the Velbon DV-7000 be? The D&S is rated at 18lbs/8Kg...I'd never have that much weight on it.
So that's that.
well, I just ordered a Matthews M25
http://www.dvcreators.net/matthews-m25-tripod/
BHPhoto wanted $38.00 for Postal shipping... are they kidding?
So I bought it from above link.
Welbon was out... considered it for a while, but I like the way Matthews legs are and adjusting.
Great choice of tripod kruzer, you will not be disappointed.......
I received my Velbon DV-7000 yesterday and am very impressed with it. This is my first "real" tripod (i.e. flulid head, tension controls for pan/tilt), so I've got no experiences with any other "real" tripods to compare it to.
It's construction is pretty heavy-duty and it's got the weight to match; but that's OK as I prefer things that are overbuilt anyway. Everything is solid metal except the head which is roughy 75% plastic, but hard, tough plastic and is well-made. All controls are smooth and solid feeling.
After reading comments about how the fluid inside can leak out if you unscrew the controls too much, I was a little scared of actually using the darn thing. But so far so good. When you loosen the pan and tilt lock knobs, you can clearly see that there is what appears to be grease on the threads. Is that normal?
I'm assuming that it's NOT the fluid from inside the head. There is nothing leaking, dripping or anything like that. I guess I'm just paranoid now b/c of what I've read. I'm sure everything will be fine.
The panning/tilting is smoooooooth as buttah (butter) and I've noticed very little backlash...nothing I'm concerned about anyway. The tension knobs make it easy to balance the ease of the pan/tilt with the weight of your setp. As compared to my $40 Davis & Sanford cheapie, the 1mm of gentle backlash (not a "snap back" but more of a "gentle bump") at the end of the pan is more than offset by the smoothness of the pan itself. My D&S is a little bit jerky...it binds a little as it pans. But the Velbon just glides. Once you stop panning, the head does not move if you let go of the panning handle, which is nice.
Speaking of handles, one thing I immediately missed is an actual carrying handle on the tripod itself. My D&S cheapie has one and it makes it so much easier to extend the legs and to collapse it when finished shooting.
And speaking of legs, the Velbon DV-7000's legs can be splayed WAY OPEN. The legs are all attached to the center column at a common ring that slides up/down the center column. The ring can go all the way down and lock. At that point the legs literally are almost parallel to the ground! The circle they form is easily 8 feet in diameter! I don't see me ever needing to do this, but it's nice to know I could. The legs have thick rubber feet on the bottom and the leg locks feel very solid.
The quick release plate actually snaps back into position, which is new to me to. There's a spring loaded pin underneath it. When you release the locking lever, "BOING!" Kinda scared me a little when I turned the release lever and the thing popped 6" up in the air! LOL!
The Vidpro TC35 padded case I bought for it is honestly too big for it, but I can take up the extra space with towels stuffed in either end of the case. The case is a steal for $20! It's heavily padded, has a heavy-duty zipper, an outside pocket as well as shoulder AND hand carry straps. Like I said, a steal at twenty bucks. It will protect the tripod well and I gues that's the point.
The DV-7000 is certainly more tripod than I need right now and it feels/looks like it will last a long time. So far, I'm very happy with it.
Last edited by moya; 2008 May 3rd at 13:17.
I have the Manfrotto 700RC2 fluid head mounted on top of my Bogen 3033 leg set. It works excellent with the HV20 and it mounts perfectly into my DIY dolly rig. The 700 requires a little time spent setting it up so that the knobs don't interfere with the camera, but it is built with fine tuneable knobs for exactly that reason.
I received mine on Friday.
I have played around with it a bit, and even though I have no comparison to other more expensive tripods, I can definitely say that there is hardly any other tripod available that allows you to pan so smoothly.
The only thing I would wish is a tilt leverage balancer. I don't know how it is called exactly, but if you tilt your camera, you alter the leverage, so that the feedback force of the lever changes. As you move against the feedback force and release the lever, the cam will tilt a little bit back, because the net leverage rises from zero to a slightly positive or negative value... But the tripod can't be fully blamed for that, it's pure physics and static. A balancing tool would be nice.
For horizontal moves, the backlash is indeed minimal. During my tests, I went to the extreme and used 200x digital zoom on my HV30 plus focus assistant (which magnifies the image to 400x) and worked on techniques how to minimize shakes...
Overall a good tripod.
Got the M-25 the other day.
It's the BEST tripod !
Everything I need in a tripod and more.
I have several Welbons and it don't even come close to this one.
No 'backlash" in vert or horiz pans...and it has a spring built in for a very smooth vertical pans and adjustable plate for camera weight distribution.
Thanks for recommending it guys
I used the Libec LS22 system at a previous job. It has a fluid head that moves like butter. Had a GL2 on it so the HV20/30 should be no problem.
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