Sachtler Speed Lock CF HD vs. OConnor 35L
 

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with either of these sticks and a preference for one of the other. I plan to use these sticks with an OConnor 1030HD head. I've used the 35L's and liked them, though I can see how, over time, the quick deployment feature of the sticks might deteriorate. Anyway, if anyone has feedback, I'd love to hear it! Even if you haven't used both :)

Peter

O'Connor 35L sticks
 

Hi Peter,
I used these sticks last weekend and loved them. They're perfect for quick setup run'n'gun work.

This particular set had seen a lot of pro use and were cosmetically marred but the action still worked well, although occasionally it took a jiggle or two to get them to drop. We had an older O'Connor 515S head on top and the combination were well suited. I think these sticks will complement your 1030HD head nicely. What camera will you be using on them?

Haven't used the Sachtler Speedlocks but I've heard good things about them.

Best,
Simon.

Thanks for the reply Simon. I've been searching everywhere for info like this! Much appreciated. I'm in LA this week and hope to get a chance to do a little head to head comparison between the two, but I'm leaning towards the OConnor -- love the speed of setup, and OConnor's service is tough to beat (in the rare event they need to be serviced). I'm going to be using these with a Red (get mine end of January). Thanks again!

Peter

RED head
 

No worries Peter.

You should be OK with the 1030HD and your RED. We were actually shooting with one on the O'Connor combo I mentioned. The sticks were plenty strong enough but the 515 was very under spec'd.
FYI the weight of our rig was 29 lbs as seen in the photo. Note: no EVF or RED Drive and no zoom lens (we shot with Zeiss primes). Even fairly stripped down it's a bloody heavy little bugger!

wow, 29 lbs! Hope the 1030HD will balance it. I think the max on that is about 30lbs, depending on center of gravity. I'm about to put in an order for a 1030HD and the 35L's. A group over at Reduser is putting in a large order for a big discount with a vendor. Here's the thread, if you're interested:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthr...?t=4716&page=5

I'll let you know how the 35L's work out. Thanks again for the feedback Simon. How are you liking the Red?

Peter

I'd go for the 1030 on Sachtler Speedlock legs.

I have the O'Connor CF 25L legs and while they're very nice, they're kind of bare bones (but VERY light).

Speedlocks seem to be a good compromise between flexibility and weight.

[edit: I'm pretty sure my 1030B can handle 30lbs no problem, the weight rating in my experience seems to be conservative]

Thanks Nate! Hoping to look at a set of the Sachtlers some time this week.

Peter

Thanks for the O'connor purchasing info, Peter. I'll check it out.

Nate, have you used the O'connor 35L legs?

The RED is impressive. It's not mine, but I got to play with it for a weekend. It is very well suited for shooting films but not so much for field work. Too bloody heavy.
You can check out some footage at www.digitalcinemasociety.org , click on the RED ONE rollout tab.