Boom arm options - C Stand?

The23rdman

The23rdman

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Gang, I'm looking for a boom arm solution for a home studio; I'll be using a strobe and softbox - sometimes quite a large one. I've looked at things like the Lencarta boom arm kit and also some reasonably priced C-stands on eBay. Just looking for advice on the best way to go.
 
I have one of these, and it is excellent:

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-...pk8udl51inxz69ybx89dthw7psnqiudx-jxocn9jw_wcb

I also have a C-stand with a short boom arm on it which is OK but doesn't give you the same kind of height or reach - the polystand easily takes an Eli RX600 (i.e. pro quality and weight) head with either a beauty dish or 120x80cm softball.

Had a £75 job with a weight and now really never use that since buying the polystand.
 
That might be overkill for me. It's a home studio with limited space to pack stuff away afterwards, and that looks huge.
 
I use a heavy duty stand and attach a non rotating extending handle to it with an avenger boom clamp, and counter weight it. Heaviest I put on it is a 54x54 softbox with a quadra head though...
 
The23rdman said:
That might be overkill for me. It's a home studio with limited space to pack stuff away afterwards, and that looks huge.
Click to expand...

Well it folds up flat, is freestanding still, and less than 6ft high, 4" deep so it usually goes against a wall or in a cupboard. Realistically a C-stand will still take up the same amount of floorspace when collapsed, and only a little less when in action.

IMHVO Boom stands, particularly if you have human or breakable subjects "underneath" them are better to be on the sturdy side than cheap and cheerful.
 
Definitely get a better quality one. I bought a cheap chinese option and it was wasted money!
Something like this is better and I will get one myself.
 
I've never been a fan of 'C' stands for booms as I find the foot print just too small and if serious would be looking at something like this from Calumet, but again perhaps overkill. I rarely use a boom myself but when I do I attach it to one of these but again this is just on the basis of strength and stability.

Paul
 
The Lencarta stand is actually reasonable, I've used the same version and wouldn't want it for the heavier loads but it'll do the job.

I currently use these two:

http://www.kupogrip.com/40-master-c-stand-with-turtle-base-silver/
http://www.kupogrip.com/steel-baby-boom/

I'm very pleased with how well they work, not only is the boom cheap it's also lightweight yet strong. So while I like it the main reason I use it is it fits nicely into my existing equipment as I'm already using C stands and grip equipment.

If I weren't using that grip equipment I'd opt for a Manfrotto 008 with a 085 or 024, with enough space and money I'd prefer a wind up stand as they make adjusting a fully loaded boom quick, easy and safe.
 
simonbarker said:
The Lencarta stand is actually reasonable, I've used the same version and wouldn't want it for the heavier loads but it'll do the job.

I currently use these two:

http://www.kupogrip.com/40-master-c-stand-with-turtle-base-silver/
http://www.kupogrip.com/steel-baby-boom/

I'm very pleased with how well they work, not only is the boom cheap it's also lightweight yet strong. So while I like it the main reason I use it is it fits nicely into my existing equipment as I'm already using C stands and grip equipment.

If I weren't using that grip equipment I'd opt for a Manfrotto 008 with a 085 or 024, with enough space and money I'd prefer a wind up stand as they make adjusting a fully loaded boom quick, easy and safe.
Click to expand...

I buy my Kupo grip bits from Ianiro who have provided good service in the past.

Paul
 
Thanks for all the advice, guys 'n' girl. I think that you're correct that a solid unit is the way forward. I'll report back when I've made a decision.
 
Sandbags on C stands are also great help for stability. Perhaps for other stands as well but I've only ever used them on C-Stands.

Regards...
 
IMO C stands are severely over-rated, their strength is the adjustability of the third leg, which makes them useful on uneven ground, but they are big, heavy and have too small a footprint for most purposes, and are less than ideal as a support for boom arms.
Boom arms require a good, solid stand with a large footprint, and in my experience the attachments that fit onto (any) lighting stand are inadequate.
My advice is to always get a dedicated boom arm, complete with stand, the Lencarta boom arm will take any flash head with any modifier attached, and of course there are others available from elsewhere too.
 
Garry Edwards said:
IMO C stands are severely over-rated, their strength is the adjustability of the third leg, which makes them useful on uneven ground, but they are big, heavy and have too small a footprint for most purposes, and are less than ideal as a support for boom arms.
Boom arms require a good, solid stand with a large footprint, and in my experience the attachments that fit onto (any) lighting stand are inadequate.
My advice is to always get a dedicated boom arm, complete with stand, the Lencarta boom arm will take any flash head with any modifier attached, and of course there are others available from elsewhere too.
Click to expand...
Garry,
How much better is the parallagram boom kit?
 
If you have limited space that thing's a bit of a beast, you'll probably have an easier time with a 3 part boom or a telescopic model.
 
The23rdman said:
Garry,
How much better is the parallagram boom kit?
Click to expand...
As Simon says, the parallagram boom kit is far too big for any kind of home studio - in fact it can't even be used to its full potential in our own studio - so the question is academic, all that you need for your purpose is our standard boom arm kit.
But, if you did have enough space for the parallagram boom kit, it would come into its own when you need to experiment with, and change, the height of the light, because it maintains the angle that's been set when the height is changed.
 
Garry Edwards said:
As Simon says, the parallagram boom kit is far too big for any kind of home studio - in fact it can't even be used to its full potential in our own studio - so the question is academic, all that you need for your purpose is our standard boom arm kit.
But, if you did have enough space for the parallagram boom kit, it would come into its own when you need to experiment with, and change, the height of the light, because it maintains the angle that's been set when the height is changed.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Garry, that works for me.
 
Garry Edwards said:
IMO C stands are severely over-rated, their strength is the adjustability of the third leg, which makes them useful on uneven ground, but they are big, heavy and have too small a footprint for most purposes, and are less than ideal as a support for boom arms.
Boom arms require a good, solid stand with a large footprint, and in my experience the attachments that fit onto (any) lighting stand are inadequate.
My advice is to always get a dedicated boom arm, complete with stand, the Lencarta boom arm will take any flash head with any modifier attached, and of course there are others available from elsewhere too.
Click to expand...
The entire movie industry would disagree with you.... They're big and heavy which is why they're useful hah. Not one for hiking with though.

As others have linked, the Kupo steel boom, which is similar to the Arri D600 boom, is a good option here. Consider a drop pin to get the head to hang horizontal from the boom and avoid it rotating around the pin when boomed horizontally.

The best option is a 'giraffe' remote boom, which has a fixed length but at the bottom end has controls to pan and tilt the head. Goes on any combo slighting stand with a 5/8" receiver (in not a normal lightweight light stand)
 
OK, I fully accept that they are a useful (if not essential) bit of kit for the movie industry, but then the movie guys spend a LOT of money on equipment and buy massive, sturdy stuff because they need to - my comments were in relation to the use of C stands in still photography studios, where they tend to be much smaller, lighter and where the adjustable foot height isn't needed.
 
Unfortunately, there is no official definition of a C-stand - it means 'century' stand, whatever one of those is! But it's a term that gets bandied about and everyone knows a C-stand when they see one ;) I tend to agree with Garry though, and I wouldn't swap my regular photo lighting stands for C-stands, regardless of cost - great big heavy things, over-engineered for my work, they'd just be a PITA.

If I was making major movies though, with a crew, or had a big studio with heavy kit and an assistant to set everything up, then I probably would.
 
HoppyUK said:
If I was making major movies though, with a crew, or had a big studio with heavy kit and an assistant to set everything up, then I probably would.
Click to expand...

True if you only look at them in one way and as you say they're overkill for lightweight equipment but I like using them because it fits very easily together as a system with grip equipment, a single c stand with extension arm can do a lot more than a single standard light stand.

It's also handy to be able to throw a runway base on the bottom, more convenient than trying to fit and remove castors anyway.
 
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