Photography Crossbar and Vinyl Question

Marcus Geezer

Marcus Geezer

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Been using my vinyl backdrop on a lencarta goal post type system for a while and have always been a little nervous about the weight of the 2.7m wide vinyl with its aluminium internal roll on the backdrop cross bar. I'm sure it is fine but a little part of me thinks maybe a better solution would put my mind at rest.

What do you use when setting up with a 2.7m vinyl roll?
 
If you know the weight of the vinyl and the size of the support tube I can tell you how much it will deflect.
 
Hi Dave, I have two vinyl backdrops. One at 12kg and the other 16kg. They are both 2.7m wide by 6m long. This is of course the total weight and not necessarily the total weight when unwound. The crossbar tube is approx 30mm and is of course hollow.
 
ding76uk said:
How you finding the Lencarta system Marcus? I am in the market for one of these and have looked at the Bessel and the Manfrotto systems. How is the Lencarta in use?
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The lencarta goalpost system has been brilliant. I've had it for about 3 years and its been up and down more often that a pair of....... well you know! It's been dinged about in my bag all that time and always just works. Good money well spent!
 
I've done it myself and frankly wasn't happy. The Lencarta background stand is really designed for paper and muslin backgrounds, vinyl seems to me to be a bit much for it. Having said that, if ALL of the vinyl is unwound so there is no top heavy weight, it isn't too bad - but personally I'd go for supports fixed to the walls, for safety.
Marcus Geezer said:
The lencarta goalpost system has been brilliant. I've had it for about 3 years and its been up and down more often that a pair of....... well you know! It's been dinged about in my bag all that time and always just works. Good money well spent!
Click to expand...
Sadly, no longer available though.
 
Garry Edwards said:
I've done it myself and frankly wasn't happy. The Lencarta background stand is really designed for paper and muslin backgrounds, vinyl seems to me to be a bit much for it. Having said that, if ALL of the vinyl is unwound so there is no top heavy weight, it isn't too bad - but personally I'd go for supports fixed to the walls, for safety.
Sadly, no longer available though.
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Any recommendations from those that are available Garry? Do you think systems like the Manfrotto are worth the extra over the Bessel? Or any kicking about in the warehouse that you need to get rid of cheap? :)
 
None here, sorry. Michael Sewell has a good sturdy one, I suggest you give him a ring for the name of it.
 
When I have to use a full length vinyl and I can't mount it on Autopoles (for instance, if the ceiling's too high or too weak) then I use a pair of C stands, each with the metal knuckle and boom arm. Most decent vinyls come on a sturdy tube (often aluminium) so just set the arms to horizontal, wind everything down tight and shove the arms into the background roll.

Then sandbag the s*** out of it.
 
I've used the Manfrotto 1314 ones before with heavy vinyl, and never had a thought that they might come down.

I like the telescopic action, as they can be set to just wider than the vinyl. Some crossbars (like Calumets) use rigid tent pole sections with slots and 'nipples' and are not adjustable. ;)

I have used the crossbar with two sandbagged C stands and two Manfrotto Superclamps once or twice, but the subject was worth an awful lot of money and there was no way my BG was coming down on her head.
 
Kris said:
I've used the Manfrotto 1314 ones before with heavy vinyl, and never had a thought that they might come down.

I like the telescopic action, as they can be set to just wider than the vinyl. Some crossbars (like Calumets) use rigid tent pole sections with slots and 'nipples' and are not adjustable. ;)

I have used the crossbar with two sandbagged C stands and two Manfrotto Superclamps once or twice, but the subject was worth an awful lot of money and there was no way my BG was coming down on her head.
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I have Manfrotto stuff and love it. I am in the quandary of not wanting to buy one and it not use it enough to warrant the expense, but I don't want to buy cheap and buy twice.

Sorry for the thread hijack.
 
Marcus Geezer said:
Hi Dave, I have two vinyl backdrops. One at 12kg and the other 16kg. They are both 2.7m wide by 6m long. This is of course the total weight and not necessarily the total weight when unwound. The crossbar tube is approx 30mm and is of course hollow.
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Assuming a 2mm wall thickness, that tube will be deflecting about 34mm at the centre if taking the full weight of the vinyl. Nothing is going to break, but you will have a saggy background.

Steel is three times stiffer than ally, so if you were to replace it for the same size section but made from steel, you will see about 11mm deflection, and so less/smaller wrinkles on your background.
 
bass_junkie83 said:
Assuming a 2mm wall thickness, that tube will be deflecting about 34mm at the centre if taking the full weight of the vinyl. Nothing is going to break, but you will have a saggy background.

Steel is three times stiffer than ally, so if you were to replace it for the same size section but made from steel, you will see about 11mm deflection, and so less/smaller wrinkles on your background.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this Dave. Gives me a little peace of mind.
 
the 'proper' grip solution generally used in advertising, even for colorama paper, is two double windup stands, two big ben clamps, and a scaffold tube.

However, that shopping list comes to over a grand. Around £35-40pd from rental studios, and also by no means a compact solution, and weighs in at around 55kg!


I used to use 2 Calumet 4.1m stands, and the manfrotto telescopic crossbeam with my vinyl, worked well
 
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I believe school togs use vinyl backdrops. You should have a chat with one of those guys and see what they use. There's a chap on here that runs a school tog biz, but I can't recall his name.

Needless to say, you must put the safety of your clients first. So, definitely advisable to invest in some professional kit.
 
Me you mean? I use 2 blocks of wood hammered into each end of the tubing. holes drilled in each one and 2 heavy duty stands. I like the weight and it needs to be sturdy as from time time some little snot Jockey on Red bull will run head first into it. It needs to be strong. Heavy duty stands does the trick. Used without cross bar.

Calumet Heavy-Duty Background Support
Item: MF6095 Mfr: MF6095
By Calumet
 
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