Has anyone else had problems balancing the EX1 on the sachtler 6 SB?

I have the camera plate oriented so that the camera is as far forward as possible but the EX1 is still slightly rear-heavy with the standard battery. With the large battery the effect is very pronounced.

I know you can get a CoG plate from sachtler, which I assume mounts on top of the standard plate, so maybe that's the way forward.

I just wanted to see if others have experienced the same problem, since there seems to be quite a few of you out there with same equipment configuration.

john,

Is this the DV6-SB with 10 counterbalance settings with 5 drag steps?
Could it be something wrong with the head itself?

paul



Has anyone else had problems balancing the EX1 on the sachtler 6 SB?

I have the camera plate oriented so that the camera is as far forward as possible but the EX1 is still slightly rear-heavy with the standard battery. With the large battery the effect is very pronounced.

I know you can get a CoG plate from sachtler, which I assume mounts on top of the standard plate, so maybe that's the way forward.

I just wanted to see if others have experienced the same problem, since there seems to be quite a few of you out there with same equipment configuration.

I'm using an FSB6 and not having any problem at all.

I had the same issue on a DV8.

Is this the DV6-SB with 10 counterbalance settings with 5 drag steps?
Could it be something wrong with the head itself?
paul
Yes, that's the head.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the head. Without the camera, the head itself seems quite well balanced. It naturally tends to a rearward weight bias because of the pan bar, but apart from that it seems OK.

I'm using an FSB6 and not having any problem at all.
That's a different head, I have the DV 6 SB.

I had the same issue on a DV8.
How did you resolve that Eric? Did you use a CoG plate?

Never resolved it - I use a Cartoni Focus. It was a friend's DV8 that I was trying.

I think it cold be solved with an additional slider, but I never tried.

Given the weight range of FSB6 and DV6 I'm surprised DV6 is so much trouble. I thought about getting DV6 but they both have 10 counter balance settings. Difference is between 3 and 5 drag settings.

Typically all I have on my camera is large battery, ECM 680s shotgun, clear glass filter and sometimes Sennheiser G2 wireless receiver.

i played with the DV6sb at B&H for nearly half an hour and with the 10 + 5 or up to 50 settings, i could not find any trouble with my EX1, which had the U60, an ultra slim B+W UV (nearly zero weight), and a sony ecm673.
i think i had it at 6 counterbalance and 3 on the horizontal dial.
here, the EX1 held the vertical with zero drift or fade and easily tilt up or down with one hand.

i am trying to find a place with the system 0650 in stock at the moment but wondering if i should get the new sachtler soom legs with the head.

paul





Given the weight range of FSB6 and DV6 I'm surprised DV6 is so much trouble. I thought about getting DV6 but they both have 10 counter balance settings. Difference is between 3 and 5 drag settings.

Typically all I have on my camera is large battery, ECM 680s shotgun, clear glass filter and sometimes Sennheiser G2 wireless receiver.

I guess I'm not saying that it's unusable. Even on a counterbalance setting of '2' (with the small battery) there's no movement after release of the pan bar.

But if you set the counterbalance to '1', or off completely, you can easily tell that it's not fully balanced. The effect is only slight with the small battery but more pronounced with the large battery.

I don't see it as a major issue and I'm quite sure the CoG plate will address this. I was really only posting to make sure I wasn't doing something obviously wrong with the setup.

oh no John, you're on the right track

i can say that after i tested many heads, including the manfrotto 503HDV, the 519, 526, Gitzo G1380, and the Miller DS-20, and Arrow 25 with the EX1 last week, the DV6SB for under $1,500 was the one i picked as i liked the ability to go back to a numbered position with the weight and combination of stuff on top. namely, many of the other great heads are "dials" that need to be tightened or loosen to a degree for that counterbalance and I am not assured where i last left it. with the sachtler dials, i can.

sure, some of the others have numbers too, like the manfrottos, but i ended up with the sachtler. the dv8 was too much for the EX1.

paul


I guess I'm not saying that it's unusable. Even on a counterbalance setting of '2' (with the small battery) there's no movement after release of the pan bar.

But if you set the counterbalance to '1', or off completely, you can easily tell that it's not fully balanced. The effect is only slight with the small battery but more pronounced with the large battery.

I don't see it as a major issue and I'm quite sure the CoG plate will address this. I was really only posting to make sure I wasn't doing something obviously wrong with the setup.

On some of the Sachtler heads if you unscrew the allen bolt on the top plate you can slide the sliding plate right off and mount it back to front which changed the balance range. Not sure if it'll work with your one, not familiar with the lightweight heads, but have done it with Video 18, 20 and 25, but not the "plus" models.
Steve

With FSB6 with drags set to 0 and counter balance set to 1, I find setting the plate to about 65ish (depends what's on camera) and it stays level.

In other words I set camera to balance where nothing is holding it there but the camera's weight. Then the counter balance sets how easy/difficult it'll bounce back to its center when tilted up/down.

Paul, I've been trying to find someone who has compared a DS-20 with an Arrow 25. Any thoughts?

I am thinking about it with a 35mm and zoom lens + a monitor so the weight is more than the Ex-1 alone.

Lenny

lenny,

i did not play with the miller #1022, that's the arrow 25 as i did with the ds-20 as i had no need for that much weight for my EX1 setup. that said, for a $2500 head, the arrow 25 has what i like with "number" dials for counterbalance and separate pan and tilt number settings. extremely precise and i would go there if i had more than 20 lbs of setup weight over the sachtler dv8

i am not sure though with your 35mm and a monitor with EX1, your setup is below the weight level of the arrow 25. it does look big and solid enough for the F350 and larger!

paul





Paul, I've been trying to find someone who has compared a DS-20 with an Arrow 25. Any thoughts?

I am thinking about it with a 35mm and zoom lens + a monitor so the weight is more than the Ex-1 alone.

Lenny