compact heavy duty lightstand..

blinkerz

blinkerz

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,320
Name
Tristan
Edit My Images
Yes
Does anyone know of a heavy duty lightstand that folds down to 63cm max. All the compact ones i see are flimsy and small diameter sections.

Surely they can make thicker/sturdier lightstands that close to a reasonable size of 63cm to fit into suitcases etc.
 
Manfrotto do the same kind of stand http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-manfrotto-5001b-nano-stand/p1031134

Not a great indication but I bought one that looks the same but the design just doesn't feel very sturdy i don't think even if it had thicker tubes & legs it still wouldn't be as strong or stable as a tubular version but they only go down too 83cm.
 
what are you putting on the light stand?

Maybe I just abuse my manfrotto nano's, but as long as you weigh them down they're fine...
 
Alot of the compact ones the legs are not tube design and the sections which go up, even though those are tubes tend to be really thin.

Surely they can design compact but not thin..

Ive been using these for my shoots

LumoPro-L604-light-stand-Strobist-Bui-Photography-01-500x400.jpg


I have a boom arm so doesnt matter if the lightstand is a little shorter... In the better weather i want to try use a 150cm octa outside:)
 
DId you look at the 2nd link i posted, I think your going to be extremely limited with your choices unless you can maybe get one that breaks in have so you have the stand then you put the pole in after kind of thing.
 
blinkerz said:
Yeah i looked.. be good if there was one you could screw together or something from sections.. otherwise it seems strong/sturdy means carrying a really long bag around:(
Click to expand...

Why not get a local engineering firm to modify one to your requirements or modify it yourself? Wouldn't cost as much as you think and if it gives you what you want, well...

Lots of ways to do it- you could even make one from scratch if you were super keen but these days with things like this I prefer to take things that IMO someone nearly got right and finish the job myself.

Don't forget to paint and file any bodges for that professional look- no half measures now;)
 
Dr_O said:
Why not get a local engineering firm to modify one to your requirements or modify it yourself? Wouldn't cost as much as you think and if it gives you what you want, well...

Lots of ways to do it- you could even make one from scratch if you were super keen but these days with things like this I prefer to take things that IMO someone nearly got right and finish the job myself.

Don't forget to paint and file any bodges for that professional look- no half measures now;)
Click to expand...

Just having a think as the best way to go around doing that, with the legs mostly riveted to the main column you need a way of retaining the strength.
 
blinkerz said:
I have a boom arm so doesnt matter if the lightstand is a little shorter... In the better weather i want to try use a 150cm octa outside:)
Click to expand...

If you use 150cm octa, you have to carry the damn thing anyway, so can't you just carry a heavier stand bungeed to it? But if you do find a sturdier portable stand, pleas share, as I'd love a few myself. I tend to either take the nano stands for speedlights, or the heavy duty stands for my portable mono heads to use with 50" box or dish.
 
Its a case of the boom arm goes inside the suitcase okay, a 150 octa can be bungeed to the front of suitcase.. but need want to keep the sturdy lightstand inside..

I dont see why they cant make a heavy compact lightstand rather than the approach of compact and flimsy/light..
 
kiteninja said:
Just having a think as the best way to go around doing that, with the legs mostly riveted to the main column you need a way of retaining the strength.
Click to expand...

It's a bigger job to muck about with the rivets but as some of the stands are nearly the right size I might be inclined just to remove the top section then weld or otherwise attach 4inches of that with the stud into the middle section.

I'll have a look at the weekend- away all week so bit hard to visualise exactly

Air cushioned may/may not make it harder.

Tristan-what max height are you looking for and I assume you'll still need to weight the stand for stability with the Octa?
 
blinkerz said:
Its a case of the boom arm goes inside the suitcase okay, a 150 octa can be bungeed to the front of suitcase.. but need want to keep the sturdy lightstand inside..

I dont see why they cant make a heavy compact lightstand rather than the approach of compact and flimsy/light..
Click to expand...

Ok, I get your sentiment, but I haven't seen anything like that. My initial thoughts were like a tripod style expanding legs on light stands, while keeping the centre column like light conventional stands. Fat but could be quite short when folded down, and sturdy enough to hold the weight of mono and big modifier. But I'd imagine it would really be quite heavy though. Light stands in general are much lighter than tripods, unless you are talking about permanent C stands, or big booms - I wouldn't dream of carrying that sort of beast on a location shoot without a couple of assistants. Maybe the demand is just too low for what we are talking about.

I just carry my 50" Apollo with my heavy duty light stand bungeed together on 1 shoulder, and drag a suitcase style case separately on my location shoots. Or I just get model/MUA/stylist carry some :D You could always get a strap around your tripod, and carry it on your back, much like a tripod (provided you only want 1 with you).
 
Dr_O said:
It's a bigger job to muck about with the rivets but as some of the stands are nearly the right size I might be inclined just to remove the top section then weld or otherwise attach 4inches of that with the stud into the middle section.

I'll have a look at the weekend- away all week so bit hard to visualise exactly

Air cushioned may/may not make it harder.

Tristan-what max height are you looking for and I assume you'll still need to weight the stand for stability with the Octa?
Click to expand...

Folded height be 62cm max, and max height needed be around 6ft, il still weigh it down with my suitcase and studio battery pack with a ball bungee
 
A bit longer than I anticipated but been pretty busy especially as the big orangey thing in the sky has been out for a few days:)

Anyway, options:

Take a look here and here. Just might be something of use.

Looking at my Calumet stand, it's longer than I thought so you would need to drill the rivets then saw off tubing proportionally- even then it would be tight and the more you saw off the base the less stable it will be.

So, not sure in the lieage there- you could run a unit that was the base and the central tubing and piece it together when you get to your location.

Drill out the rivet from the central tube and repace with a quick release mechanism like a butterlfy nut or similar and get some tubing and clamps/collars and work out your dimensions- might be that you would have a join (by clamp) in a section before the top of the leg unit to maintain compactness- hard to explain I should have drawn it:lol:

Alternatively you could build one from scratch that would do the job even if it wasn't the prettiest- local ironmongers should have all the stuff you need. Opportunity to make it compact and light as you like and of course use allen bolts (ok, so rivets are lighter but not as cool).

An engineering firm might be able to come up with some threaded or locking pin design.
 
Dont think you can have either heavy duty and compact at the same time in current market if you did mean proper heavy duty (load over 8 kg) one.
 
there must be a way of having a lightstand that doesnt have to extend to silly lengths to be strong. Even a simple way of unscrewing sections and the legs would work. The current crop of lightstands, are compact and skinny.. i dont mind compact and wide:)
 
what are you trying to put on the light stand, weight wise?
 
blinkerz said:
there must be a way of having a lightstand that doesnt have to extend to silly lengths to be strong. Even a simple way of unscrewing sections and the legs would work. The current crop of lightstands, are compact and skinny.. i dont mind compact and wide:)
Click to expand...

Just had a thought but What about a tripod ? they will easily go upto 6ft and you can get them quite compact and very very strong :), also some of them will go upto a height then the central column goes out at angles so if you had your pack hung from the bottom of the leg connections that would provide the weight and counterbalance bit like a small boom :).
 
Last edited:
blinkerz said:
small studio head with a reasonable size octa, il hang the power pack off the lightstand..
Click to expand...

hmm.

I've done similar in a real pinch with a manfrotto nano, but wouldn't recommend it. With kilos of sandbags piled on the legs, they'd probably be alright, might just sway a bit :P

http://www.lightingrumours.com/compact-light-stands is the definitive list. The lowell stands are meant to be pretty awesome. Sadly, they're about $50 in the states, or £80 each here... :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top