tripod, manfrotto v the satchler

[taras]

hi all, i am having trouble deciding what tripod to buy. i've narrowd it down to the following:

a satchler 0372 fsb-4 aluminum tripod system for £530.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...um_Tripod.html

I hear good things about satchler albiet this is the cheapest ones they do.


Then i'm lookinjg at the manfrotto 503HDV tripod system for £430. Again seems good and looks like it's just as popular.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...d.html#reviews

Basically I want a tripod that is sturdy and that will allow me to do great smooth pans and tilts etc. The Satchler looks like you can set the speed of your pans or something, which is something i've never used before but am sure interested in. all advice is welcome.

Taras

[Jerry_R]

Those both look like decent tripods. I haven't used the new cheap Satchler line; but they seem to be competitive with the manfrotto. I some times think that Manfrotto makes all the tripods and the others just specify what they want and put their own labels on them. I have liked the Matthewes but have not used any of their new line like the M25 which seems to be a good deal.

They all have mid level spreaders which is important as the ground level ones are a pain to set and useless on uneven footing which is where you often need them.

Pretty much all video tripods let you set the pan speed by setting the drag; but the intent is not to set the speed so much as to insure a smooth pan. If you are going to obses about pan speed get a geared head

[Daniel Roberts]

A couple months ago I bought that Manfrotto combo. I've used a few different Satchler models, but like Jerry, never their low-end line.

The legs are legs, but I have been thrilled with the Manfrotto 503DV head. For the money it's impressive. I know this sounds corny, but the lighted bubble rocks. I'll probably upgrade to carbon fiber legs one day but am happy for now.

[Marc]

I use the Manfrotto with carbon fiber legs and I'm fairly happy. I also have a Satchler DV8 and it is outstanding, just three times the price. Please correct me if I'm wrong but aren't thes two made by the same people these days? Next time I'm at B&H I'll have to take a look and see how similar they are.
One place I have trouble with the Manfrotto is too much drag even at the lightest settings when you have a very small camera.

[Jerry_R]

Frankly I think that they are all made by Manfrotto just to different standards and feature sets.

[taras]

hey all thanks for the info. Sorry but what do you mean by too much drag? Do you mean its slow or sticky to pan?

[Marc]

Video heads provide some resistance (drag) when you aim the camera back and forth or up and down. Otherwise the camera would just flop around. Good camera heads provide lots of adjustment for the amount of drag from almost none to very great. This is because the heavier the camera, them more force is required to move it. The problem with the Manfrotto is that you can't reduce the drag enough for a small camera with the result that when you try to move the camera back and forth (this is a pan) then the whole tripod moves rather than just the camera.
FYI
Pan = point camera left/right
Tilt = point camera up/down
Dolly = move whole camera a tripod towards or away form subject
Truck = move whole camera and tripod left or right
pedestal = change the height of the camera relative to the ground
zoom = expand or contract angle of view with the lens
Good little article here: http://www.videomaker.com/article/14221/

[taras]

hey i bought the manfrotto 503hdv, seems great! Quick question i was wondering if anybody knew, when panning if i want it to have drag, obviously i set the drag level but should I have the tripod pan fix lock on to? As when i dont and then pan it all seems the same speed. However, I wanted to double check as i dont want to damage the lock or something. Thanks Taras

[Marc]

Depends on how heavy and unbalanced your camera is and it depends on your taste. Some folks like more resistance and some less. Really a matter of your comfort and practice.