Vinten, Sachtler, Libec, Miller, Manfrotto Shootout

[John McCully]

Oh my God; Soucy's woman is a smacka!

Don't you know that's now against the law in New Zealand old chap? She might get arrested and then where would you be? (Don't answer that)

[Chris Hurd]

No no, the smack landed on him. She knows the score.

[John McCully]

I know, but he's just a kid, at heart, and according to my bush lawyer friend a smack is a smack no matter who's on the receiving end. And it's no good pretending she was only joking and that really it was just a friendly pat (right on the nose). No, no; she's in trouble...

Chris and Chris, this might delay the results a few weeks, do you think?

[Chris Soucy]

Originally Posted by John McCully

She might get arrested and then where would you be?

Geez, John, you've been "off air" for so long I kinda thought, given your advanced state of decrepitude, you'd either done the decent thing and shuffled off this mortal coil (and me having only got half way through the Eulogy too, you inconsiderate sod. I've even got a bit in about the largest, privately owned OB van in the South Island, aka "the Bus") or had checked into an exclusive Mexican Old Folks Home staffed with nothing but nubile PYT's to keep your Zimmer frame skills up to snuff.

What do you do?

Fetch up in some far flung corner of NZ, alive and, presumably, kicking.

So far and so flung indeed, I still have absolutely no idea where it is!

I taught the missus (steady!) a long time ago not to take any cr*p from anyone.

She thought about that lesson for quite some time, then, with a particularly feminine piece of twisted logic, decided she'd start by not taking any from me.

"Be carefull what you wish for" pretty well sums it up.

Good to hear you're still extant.

I can return that Eulogy to the back burner, along with myriad reviews, mountains of stats and the occasional sandwich.

Oh, and those damn kids.


CS

[John McCully]

Under my name on the left of the page you are reading you will note I’m in Duvauchelle, Banks Peninsula. ‘Google Earth’ it; I’m living in an extinct (I hope) volcano, and loving it. The landscapes are as varied as they are beautiful, the wildlife plentiful and willing subjects, the people are a bit nutty (and that’s a good thing), the Pacific Ocean as wild and wonderful as always. I’m parked 50 m from high tide, broadband wireless Internet connectivity, with a battery of cameras, both still and video at the ready. Thanks to my EX1 and Alistair Chapman's guidance I have shot some fine time lapse footage, the cloud flows around here are amazing, and of course my keyboard takes a hammering most every day and night. Currently I’m creating a mythology about how wool is produced out here (hobbits and vestal virgins wouldn't you know) and a short film titled ‘Akaroa’ which I should have up at my web site in a couple of weeks.

Other than that...the Mexican nubiles will have to wait as will Saint Pete at the gate.

No, I’m not a frequent contributor at DVINFO but I do visit from time to time. And you just know I’m following your antics with bated breath, and whispring humblenesse as I hone my skepticism.

I do hope Obstreperous is paying you handsomely for your efforts because you know you now have a huge following; there are thousands upon thousands of young aggressive shooters waiting to see if you speak positively about their chosen stiks, and if you don’t, old chap, they will come after you with a vengeance - you will need to chose your words carefully, methinks. Be careful.

Great work, kindest to you and the missus, and if you happen to be in the neighborhood swing by and we’ll tell more lies over a Speights or two.

[Chris Soucy]

And sound incredibly content, more power to your elbow, my friend.

Yes, it would be a trifle inconvenient if that volcano suddenly decided to re - do what it, er, they, er, do,er, have done, but I think you're probably pretty safe.

I'm not entirely cool about the following of thousands, not even sure of hundreds, there may be a few as listen to what little I can contribute here, but whatever, I keep plugging away.

I must admit that this thread having screamed past the 10,000 hit mark was a bit of a pleasant suprise, I must be doing something right.

On that subject, a note to a number of previous posters here, discussing weight limits for rigs and camera's.

You guys have wakened a sleeping dragon, much to my relief, and it's getting attention in certain important quarters.

Specifically, the ability or rather, the inability, to counterbalance the new ultra light HD camera's on available support systems.

Now, I'm not going into this here as it''s not germain to this threads purpose, so I have started a new thread next door - ish which will explain everything you want to know about the new and existing light cameras, the existing heads and how they will have to co - exist for the forseeable future.

Anyone interested, mosey on over to:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/tripod-s...-any-head.html

Ask questions, make your case and generally give me hell, all grist to the mill.

This is NOT a drill BTW, it's for real. You want to see it happen, hit that thread hard and keep on hitting it.

It's the only way certain people are going to be convinced there is a problem, and there is a doable, sellable answer.

Now, sidetrack over, keep in touch John. Good to hear you've opted for neither the Pearly Gates or the nubile PYT's (look, I would have taken that option if it had been offered!) and don't be a stranger here.

Gentlemen, and of course Ladies, I will go back to my red hot keyboard and totally rooted mouse (new one tomorroww) and keep on with the reviews/ data collection and intravenus Gin drip.

And, before it's asked, no, we ain't there yet, okay?


CS

[Scott Bellefeuille]

Just wanted to post a quick follow up to my earlier posts regarding the FSB-8. I just finished a weekend shoot with it and all I can say is that it is absolutely phenomenal. The shoot was a lot of quick setups in a lot of different locations (reality TV style) and the FSB-8 performed flawlessly. My bare kit of 5DmkII and 24-105 balances perfectly with the CB set to 1 (even using a shorter 501PL plate in place of the Sachtler plate). With a Zoom H4N and Small HD monitor and a couple of arms and clamps to hold them the FSB-8 balances very well on CB 2. I've got the head on a set of Gitzo 3541XLS CF legs and it's great combo- weighs 9.8lbs together and gives you height from a couple of inches off the ground to over 8 feet. I have to switch out the paddle tie down for the lower profile 100mm bowl tie down though so I can get the tripod down to it's level.

Overall I couldn't be happier with it and I think it's probably one of the best investments I've made in equipment. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to realize how sweet life is with a quality head :)

[Roger Shealy]

Scott,

Do you mount the Small HD and Zoom to the moving portion of the head or the base of the head?

[Scott Bellefeuille]

Right now the SmallHD and Zoom dangle precariously off of a hot shoe extension bar (I only mount the Zoom if absolutely necessary). I'm in the process of thinking up a solid but simple mounting solution that doesn't involve a full rig or a ton of extra cr@p to carry around. I'm thinking a baseplate and short rods with two articulating arms for the HD and Zoom. With a quick release plate on that type of rig I could pop my camera on for tripod mounted stuff with monitor and sound and then pop the camera off for handheld photo or video without monitor and sound etc.

[Roger Shealy]

I have the DP1x, and only felt comfortable mounting it to the base of the pod. There are pro's and cons to it being stationary.

[Ethan Cooper]

Sure did get quiet in here. What's the latest?

[Chris Soucy]

You know that part of a flight where they've dropped the flaps, eased it down to about 50 feet then pulled the throttles right back at the end of the runway, and there's that eerie silence whilst you wait for the wheels to hit?

I pulled the throttles back last weekend and I'm just waiting for that "thump, rumble, rumble" which says land, not crash!


CS

[Ethan Cooper]

Thanks for the update Chris, eagerly awaiting touchdown here.

By the way, if you pulled back power at 50ft a week ago you've got one hell of a good glider there. Must be a gigantic updraft of hot air from various legal departments keeping it aloft.

[Wayne Zebzda]

Hey dad, the wings on fire...made ya look!
Kid in the back seat.

[Chris Soucy]

Tho' it is one heck of a glider..............it was never going to be quite as easy as just hoiking it up on DVinfo "as is" as it isn't just a simple review or even a series of, tho' it is that, as a starter.

There's tables of data never before published and not that easy to transfer from where they started to where they need to go, plus an entire database of same that is a seperate entity in it's own right, which is one heck of a mother of a thing to try to get flying in any language, and believe me, even I quailed when I saw the entire thing compiled!

Throw in that Chris Hurd is doing this personally and he's been "out of town" for almost the entirety of the gap, and you have one heck of a glider.

Can't see as any lawyers are going to be getting too hot under the collar, tho' there could be a few red faces at some support manufacturers when they're all posted.

The "shootout" should be a scream, guess I'd better extract my digit and actually write the thing, thinking about it.

It's coming guys, just hang in there, I ain't been sitting back scratching my ring all this time, I can assure you.

Chris will, no doubt, announce the launch, any day now, er, I think.

Oh, don't get too excited, it's coming in stages, when 1 is up and running, 2 will follow close on, 3, 4, 5 and possibly 6, one after the other.

This whole thing is such a departure from previous that it needs to be sortd bit by bit.

I, and others, have been very busy boys and girls indeed.


CS