I'm Taking A Stand

For a while now, I've been using this lightweight, inexpensive tripod with my camcorder. Initially it worked ok, but when I added a ring light a few years back, the extra weight and leverage really exposed the flex and play in the head assembly.

It also made it rather awkwardly top-heavy.

Another shortcoming of it was its footprint. The wide stance of a tripod is great for stability, but in tight quarters or when trying to film something from above, it really just gets in its own way.

Luckily, the filmmaking world has solved this problem already, by inventing the c-stand.

It's not even remotely lightweight, of course, but weight means stability. The main pole can extend up to I think 11 feet high, and the arm at the side can be positioned pretty much arbitrarily. The footprint is much smaller, which would cause problems with extending that arm out to its full reach, but luckily placing a sandbag on the largest foot easily counterbalances this weight.

Well, I guess it would if it had sand in it. Luckily for me...

So, that's much better.

With that 18lbs of counterweight on the leg, the arm can be extended to its full reach, well clear of the base of the stand.

This is sufficient to reach all the way over me while seated, and frame up a shot of what's on the table in front of me.

With room to spare, even.

I also mounted an old 19" TV to the base of the stand to give me an easier view of what the camera is seeing, although I'm still waiting for the micro-HDMI to HDMI cable to come in, because I accidentally ordered a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable and WHY DOES THERE NEED TO BE TWO DIFFERENT SIZES???

Anyway, viewing the live feed from the camera on this monitor will be much easier than on the tiny built-in screen, especially since with the ring light around it, I'm often staring into the surface of the sun trying to squint at it.

Anyway, this upgrade should open up a whole new world of possibilities for me. Or at least it should once the remainder of the Amazon packages trickle in over the coming week.