New tripod and fluid head from SmallRig

https://www.smallrig.com/SmallRig-FreeBlazer-Heavy-Duty-Carbon-Fiber-Tripod-Kit-3989.html
It is designed for videography, but it looks to be a good choice for still photography as well especially with self-footed telephotos.

These are the specs I think most of us will be interested in

Weight: 5kg / 11lbs
Max height: 197cm / 77.6 inches

Min height: 94cm / 37 inches

For work outdoors, dual spikes at the bottom of each leg are uncovered by removing the standard flat feet.

Load Capacity of fluid damped head: 10kg/ 22lbs with 8kg counterbalance force

Fore/aft Pitch angle range: +90 /-60

built-in 75mm leveling bowl (no center column) with a flat platform with 3/8"-16 threaded stud

The plate receiver for the head works with both standard Mantrotto video plates or DJI R2/ RS 3 /RS 3 plates. (the latter means you won't have to remount the camera on a new plate when moving a camera from being tripod mounted to those DJI R2/ RS 3 /RS 3 handheld gimbals

Price for head and tripod: USD $399.00
I have owned other SmallRig components and havent been disappointed so if this tripod performs in the field does indeed matc its spec'd performanc, this could be an ideal tripod for all but the most heavy-duty demands. What will be looking for is how smooth the tilts and pans are.

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Ellis Vener
To see my work, please visit http://www.ellisvener.com
I am on Instagram @EllisVenerStudio
“It's not about the f-stop." -Jay Maisel
"If art is the destination, craft is how you get there." - Robert Fripp

Is the head included at that price? I didn't see a mention of that. Just the head would be worth a chunk of the final price. Assuming you don't mind the combined weight.

The other thing. It's a heavy duty head. How light of a camera can it balance? Some heads don't do well if you're below a certain weight or more obviously above the load rating.

Nick, those are good questions!

My read is that the head is included because that is how they are promoting it.

I have no idea about the minimum load, I suspect an iPhone or Pixel phone or an action camera like a GoPro will be too light, so I will test that

--
Ellis Vener
To see my work, please visit http://www.ellisvener.com
I am on Instagram @EllisVenerStudio
“It's not about the f-stop." -Jay Maisel
"If art is the destination, craft is how you get there." - Robert Fripp

On Youtube CineD's video $399 legs,head and carrying bag.

Just the Manfrotto 608 is more than that. If the reviews turn out positive I might ignoring the weight and order.

Seems like a nice price for the package but I need a rig that has variable counterbalance force, not fixed at 8 kg, ideally continuous or with at least 8 steps of counterbalance. Thanks for sharing.

It doesn't seem fixed.

NickZ2016 said:

It doesn't seem fixed.

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Hi Nick. I could be wrong, but I really believe its fixed because the specs only state one weight (Counterbalance: 8.0kg). Typically, when the counterbalance is variable the spec will state the counterbalance weight range. Additionally, at this price point, a fixed counterbalance is common.

The videos on YT have mentioned tension adjustment. I agree for the price but $400 just for the head is already cheap.

NickZ2016 said:

Is the head included at that price? I didn't see a mention of that.

Click to expand...

The tripod alone looks to cost $249: https://www.smallrig.com/SmallRig-FreeBlazer-Heavy-Duty-Carbon-Fiber-Tripod-4167.html

The head alone looks to cost $159: https://www.smallrig.com/SmallRig-FreeBlazer-Heavy-Duty-Carbon-Fiber-Tripod-4167.html

In my email in box this morning I found the following offer from SmallRig: use new15 for a 15% discount between now and April 29.

This lowers the price from $399.95 to $339.15
--
Ellis Vener
To see my work, please visit http://www.ellisvener.com
I am on Instagram @EllisVenerStudio
“It's not about the f-stop." -Jay Maisel
"If art is the destination, craft is how you get there." - Robert Fripp

From the photos it looks like to has independent drag adjustments for the pan and tilt. This looks like a real video head, but for that price.....? Needs to be tested to find out.

But not adjustable counter balance…

afoton said:

But not adjustable counter balance…

Click to expand...

Yes, upon further inspection, that does appear be the case. Too bad, but for the crazy low price, you are still getting a good deal provided that it is a true fluid head. Be interesting to hear from users on that issue.