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Old March 15th, 2007, 03:02 PM   #1
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Light weight tripod and head for Canon HV20? (also HV10)

I've been looking around, people are spending $800+ on head and tripod, I think I'm using a $20 tripod right now and it's pretty horrible for movement... (I don't even think it's meant for video)

Either way, I'm hoping to spend under $1-200 for both... it doesn't have to be super-smooth, but better than what I got.

I'm using a Canon HV10, and other sub 15lb cameras...

Any input is appreciated...
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Old March 16th, 2007, 06:17 AM   #2
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Joe,

At low prices, it's hard to beat Libec, e.g. the LS-22 or TH-950DV. See this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=84248

Mind you, it is around $350 (probably less if you shop around.). There's a Libec TH-650 as well (with a lighter head and a 65mm levelling ball instead of the 75mm one), which is about $100 cheaper, which will more than handle your Canon HV10.

As a disclaimer - I have a Libec LS-37 (the older model of LS-38) and a TH-950DV (which is the LS-22 head on 2-stage legs), I haven't experienced the 650 personally.
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Old March 16th, 2007, 06:55 AM   #3
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I used the Libec TH-M20 for my GL-2 for three years and it was fine. It should work great for your HV10. Dont treat it rough and dont expect it to last for ever. It sells for $180 at BHphoto.com
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Old March 16th, 2007, 02:23 PM   #4
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I'd be happy with a 1-2 lifespan...

are these rebuildable? like replace the grease inside?

I don't have much idea of how fluid-head tripods work... but... yea...
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Old March 16th, 2007, 02:31 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Busch View Post
are these rebuildable? like replace the grease inside? I don't have much idea of how fluid-head tripods work
You might find this interesting... http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=70707
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Old March 16th, 2007, 02:32 PM   #6
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Hi Joe, I use a Sunpak 7500 tripod. Its not the best thing in the world but at the price of only $70, its worth it. I was using a WalMart tripod that I bought for about 30 dollars, and let me tell you, that thing is a piece of junk compared to this. This thing is heavy and tall, it reaches 78"! And holds up to 15lbs. This is a great low cost tripod. The pans are nice and smooth. Its not exactly floating like a 503, but its also half the price!
I could not find it on B&H, but if you do a froogal search for it, you'll find it.

Best of luck!
~Gabriel
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Old March 16th, 2007, 02:56 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Gabriel Yeager View Post
Hi Joe, I use a Sunpak 7500 tripod. Its not the best thing in the world but at the price of only $70, its worth it. I was using a WalMart tripod that I bought for about 30 dollars, and let me tell you, that thing is a piece of junk compared to this. This thing is heavy and tall, it reaches 78"! And holds up to 15lbs. This is a great low cost tripod. The pans are nice and smooth. Its not exactly floating like a 503, but its also half the price!
I could not find it on B&H, but if you do a froogal search for it, you'll find it.

Best of luck!
~Gabriel
Seconded. The Sunpak lets me get a buttery smooth pan or tilt (but not both at the same time) at full 20X zoom on my XHA1. I've seen tripods that cost over 10 times as much and they're not even as tall as the Sunpak. (Note that Sunpak resells under the Ritz brand, too.)

Something tells me those fancy Italian tripods have a nice margin. (As soon as you go over $70, though, you gotta pay it.)
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Old March 16th, 2007, 03:11 PM   #8
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I'm hoping for relatively smooth pan/tilt/zoom but not going to whine too much about it...

My current tripod can't pan/tilt without jerking a lot...

A straight pan is smooth, but as soon as you add tilt it screws it up horribly.

I'll look into it further, hoping to stick around 100-150 though :)

http://www.lousyheros.com/videos/bgp724.wmv

To make my point, whether you like the music/content... the 3rd shot is me laying in the grass w/ the HV10 (very small/light/hard to freehand) camera, panning and slow-zoom... after that I'm on a $20 vanguard Tripod (same as the first two shots) but the pan/tilt is jerky and there's nothing I can really do...
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Old May 2nd, 2007, 09:22 PM   #9
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Light weight tripod and head for Canon HV20?

I need a compact, light weight tripod that will fit on my bike or in a backpack. I'll probably only be using it for a week of shooting. I was thinking of getting what BH reccomended for the HV20 but it's a little long folded up:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...cessory_detail

I know it'll be a big leap down from my bogen/manfrotto 503 combo but I just need something to keep her steady. Any comments or suggestions?
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Old May 3rd, 2007, 10:28 PM   #10
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Under $400 Combo... Poor :)

3046 Tripod Legs and 501HDV Head...

I have an HV10 and won't be going any bigger than pro-consumer HD Cameras... under 10lbs for everything...

18, barely have $500 in my bank account and need to retire the $20 Vanguard I have right now (It's pretty sad)

I'm using the HV10 for the meantime... I'm just curious if it's worth it to grab a sub $1000 tripod/head or if it won't make much of a difference. I honestly never thought tripods would make such a difference but I began to realize the one I had was a joke.

Looking for input from anyone who has used these pieces (combined or seperate) and any thoughts on if I should get a $100 "system" or if it's worth it to buy them seperate...
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Old May 9th, 2007, 11:51 AM   #11
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I've got the 3246 legs (same as yours except for black) and the 503 head (similar but not identical to the 501HDV -- by the way the 503 HDV is due out soon) and I'm pretty happy with the combo.

There's a funny personality quirk, though, which I posted about earlier: the bubble levels on the legs and on the head don't match, and if you level to the head bubble it goes out of level when you pan. At least it does on mine. So based on advice I got here I ignore the bubbles, mostly, and level based on straight lines visible in the shot.

I even got the ball leveller Bogen recommended and all it means is I now have three level bubbles that don't match.
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Old May 10th, 2007, 01:29 AM   #12
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haha I can usually tell if it's off level when I'm filming regardless, can even correct it partially in post-production (partially :P )

But I guess we'll see

I was looking at the 3181 legs too... there's so many options but I'm trying to keep it around $400

351MVB2 + 501 was another I saw... $395 w/ tripod bag at BH...
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Old May 10th, 2007, 09:33 PM   #13
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Fluid head for canon hv20

Hi everyone,
I am looking for a video head which would be sufficient to give me smooth pan and tilts with hv20 camcorder.
I was thinking about 700RC2/701RC2. 700RC2 seems lighter and would be easier to haul around.
Can anyone tell me if there is a sufficient quality difference between them? Or is there any other suggestion that is the same price range?


ps. I am going to use that with the Feisol-3402N tripod which would be used for my still photography too.
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Old May 14th, 2007, 07:42 PM   #14
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No One with any suggestion??

No body has any suggestions for me about cheap video heads?? :-(
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Old June 9th, 2007, 11:16 PM   #15
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Tripod/Monopod suggestions...

Okay, hopefully this is the right place and I can get the right answers here.

I am looking for a tripod and/or a monopod.

This is what I would like out of it. Granted I will need multiple heads, but right now bear with me.

I want a tripod/monopod that will work with the Canon Rebel XT/Canon 30d
For my still photography. I want portability, so I am thinking monopod, I also want it for graduations, and other family oriented so I want something small and wont need too much "space/time" to set up.

Although I am thinking a tripod, because i want it to work with the HV20 and the A1. Granted I know I may need multiple heads, but What i was thinking is that I can get a head for the Rebel/d30/hv20 and then get a different head for the a1, but keep the same legs for a tripod.

Can anyone suggest the best solution, albeit if it takes a monopod and a tripod, what are the "major" differences between the two and which would I possible get more use out of.

Reason why I ask is currently I have part of all the above mentioned, but shortly I will have all, and I do not want to have to spend 400-500 on a tripod/head for the rebel and 400-500 for the hv20 and then another 400-500 for the a1....

thanks!

eric

Last edited by Eric Sipe; June 10th, 2007 at 09:46 AM. Reason: 30d not d30
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