Best Video Head Tripod for Carrying Around.

[stearman65]

I've just completed my latest AV show, a mixture of still & video. 50% of the shots I used a standard monopod with a pan & tilt head the rest hand held. Frankly I am very disappointed with the video results. So I've decided to invest in a decent tripod. It has to be as light has possible & easy to use. We both use Panasonic Bridge cameras. What do you use & why?

 

[uncle dunc]

Because I'm cheap, I use a Magnus V-350. I got it because it goes up to 82" high, and it has a fluid head. The head moves a bit when you tighten the knobs to lock down a shot, but as long as you're aware of the issue, you can work around it.

 

[Leswick II]

I've just completed my latest AV show, a mixture of still & video. 50% of the shots I used a standard monopod with a pan & tilt head the rest hand held. Frankly I am very disappointed with the video results. So I've decided to invest in a decent tripod. It has to be as light has possible & easy to use. We both use Panasonic Bridge cameras. What do you use & why?

V. good and excellent video heads will give you superb results. The control and dampening within the head (you can dial in) will give smooth results. But, if the sticks are low-performing (read crapola), this sort of twisting or instability jitters, I mean even under good wind conditions, will directly transfer to the head = making the shot/s pretty much useless. If you use longer lenses, then even more so.

Sachtler, Libec, Miller, (there are more) will give you solid feel even with the lighter sticks. If you're not going far away from your vehicle, I'd suggest you get v. sturdy sticks...you'll never look back.

Haven't tried this for size, but perhaps as an alternative, you should consider (or at least test) obtaining a CF tripod w/o the mid column and using good vid head on it. Not trying to plug the manuf, but I did see Manfrotto (502 ?) used head on my local CL for around $200. Either way, good luck.

 

[uncle dunc]

I forgot to mention... it seems tripods come in two basic styles. One style has a center column with a locking ring for the leg braces, enabling you to not spread the legs out all the way. This is useful when you're in a tight spot. The other style expects you to spread the legs all the way, at which point they click into a locked position. I have one like that, but I hardly ever use it specifically because I don't want to be restricted to the huge footprint, especially if I've got the legs fully extended for maximum height. (This one also goes over 7 feet high.)

I have two other video heads, both significantly heavier than the Magnus. I use the heavy one - Manfrotto 502AH - on a slider, but I don't notice a lot of difference in performance between the heavier heads and the Magnus. I just used the Magnus the other day for a 3-hour shoot of live music, panning and zooming the entire time. The footage is smooth. A better tripod with counterweights would enable you to let go of the handle and it wouldn't move, but it wouldn't be light, and it wouldn't be cheap. The Manfrotto 502 is heavier by itself than the Magnus with video head.

 

[LingoDingo]

The problem is that light and inexpensive tripods aren't very steady and most low-cost video heads have poor or no counter-balance mechanism so they don't make for smooth movements.

The cheapest tripod I've owned that did an "ok" job for video work is the Benro S6 Head + Tripod Kit which costs about $310 and has a leveling joint below the video head to allow you obtain a perfectly level camera in a few seconds.

Up from this Benro tripod is the Sachtler ACE M Head + Tripod Kit which is more than double the price of the Benro S6 kit but the ACE head does a much better job of balancing your camera. Once properly balanced you can pretty much point your camera in any direction and then let go of the pan handle and your camera will stay pointing in the direction where you let it go without having to lock anything. This is what a proper video head is supposed to do, but it costs more for this feature.

Today I shoot with Sachtler FSB-4 and FSB-6 video heads which are double the price again, but they are very smooth and can balance almost any camera within their weight range.

 

[Sean Nelson]

For video you need a fluid head with adjustable drag, which tends to be heavier and bulkier than a conventional photo head. And then when you move the head, the drag exerts a force on the tripod itself, so you need a stiffer and more solid tripod as well. I use a Manfrotto 502AH video head on a Manfrotto 055xPROB tripod, and I do carry it (a bit), but it's probably close to the limit of what you'd want to haul around for any distance.

 

[Joe Lynch]

Perhaps consider an iFootage aluminum tripod and video head? That would be in the $300 range and would allow a lot of flexibility in a light package. I use a $50 plastic Velbon and an inexpensive tripod more often than my heavier one with the Manfrotto 502 head. But I have to level by adjusting the leg length, thus my interest in the iFootage design, which would be much quicker to set up in the field. With your small cameras, you can get maybe 90% of the benefit of a tripod over a monopod without having a heavy rig. Heavy is better, of course, but even an inexpensive tripod and pan/tilt head may work for you. My Velbon has worked much better than I ever expected it to, and it is light.

Joe

 

[stearman65]

After lots of faffing around I finally decided on the Manfrotto Befree Live Twist Aluminium Kit - Black from Wex UK at £149.00

https://wexphotovideo.com/manfrotto-befree-live-twist-aluminium-kit-black-1643101/

I did at first order the Manfrotto 290 Light Tripod with Befree Live Fluid Head at £109.00

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/manfrotto-290-light-tripod-with-befree-live-fluid-head-1607915/ which although has a fluid head, doesn't have the ball adjustment.

So another for £40 I got a fluid head & a ball adjustment.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

 

[Leswick II]

After lots of faffing around I finally decided on the Manfrotto Befree Live Twist Aluminium Kit - Black from Wex UK at £149.00

https://wexphotovideo.com/manfrotto-befree-live-twist-aluminium-kit-black-1643101/

I did at first order the Manfrotto 290 Light Tripod with Befree Live Fluid Head at £109.00

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/manfrotto-290-light-tripod-with-befree-live-fluid-head-1607915/ which although has a fluid head, doesn't have the ball adjustment.

So another for £40 I got a fluid head & a ball adjustment.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Would you pls post after your next shooting gig and tell us how things went....so we can all learn from this. Thanks.

 

[stearman65]

Hi Leswick

The tripod arrived this morning, fantastic service from Wex.

Unpacked & examined it, because of it's compact size when fold, it felt heavier than I expected. Assembled it & was quite impressed at the quality in comparison to what I paid. Tried my Wife's camera on it & took some rough video, not perfect but I was panning much faster than normal.



May get to use it in anger later this week.







--
stearman65

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=stearman65

https://vimeo.com/home/myvideos

 

[Joe Lynch]

Video may be smoother if you don't shoot it in anger. :-D

 

[stearman65]

Whose angry?:-O

 

[LingoDingo]

Whose angry?:-O

Check your previous post, specifically your caption just before the photo...

 

[stearman65]

OK, maybe that could be misconstrued, I meant in a live situation, OK?

 

[Joe Lynch]

Your post says "May get to use it in anger later this week." Obviously a typographical error. Perhaps tell us where it is you are going when you intend to use the new tripod for the first time. And, we all hope it works well for you.

Joe

 

[Sean Nelson]

Your post says "May get to use it in anger later this week."

Maybe he meant "use it in Angar "?

 

[stearman65]

Hi Joe

No it wasn't a typo, use in anger is an anacronym for actually using it for its correct purpose. If you check my YouTube channel there is an AV show called Merseyside Meanderings, which has some shaky video, we will be going back at dusk hopefully to take some evening /night shots along the waterfront. However, having checked the tide & sunset times it may now be early next week.

 

[stearman65]

Hi Sean

I sure did cause some confusion, my reply to Joe was "No it wasn't a typo, use in anger is an anacronym for actually using it for its correct purpose. If you check my YouTube channel there is an AV show called Merseyside Meanderings, which has some shaky video, we will be going back at dusk hopefully to take some evening /night shots along the waterfront. However, having checked the tide & sunset times it may now be early next week.

 

[Joe Lynch]

OK, thanks. I just couldn't find the meaning you intended so I thought it was a typo. Learn something new every day.

Joe

 

[John Koch]

Might you please explain:

1. The subject of whatever resulted in disappointing results. Sports action, perhaps?
2. The point of a pan tilt head atop a monopod, which (by its nature) can tilt and pan by hand anyway.
3. What subject entails enough panning and tilting to warrant further investment.
4. Whether 80% or more of your problem might be solved by a camera with five-axis IBIS or the Sony BOSS (internal gimbal).

Meanwhile, one can obtain very good stabilization of action shots, plus the ability to pan or crop in post, with devices like the Insta360 One X. The results can be quite adequate for video of close subjects in motion. Here is a testimony by a guy that, at first, had no interest whatever in such cameras.