Options
to boom or not to boom
GerryDavid
Registered Users Posts: 439 Major grins
I think I want to get a boom for my studio strobe, its not a huge not, just an elinchrom dlite4 with a softbox umbrella. I picked up an arm thing for my stand on ebay but I guess I got a lightweight one that is good for holding large collapsable reflectors and portable flashes, but its not sturdy enough for a studio strobe.
I dont have a good camera store near by to see these things in person, so I dont really know what im doing here. Can anyone give a suggestion on a boom to get that is fairly cheap? I spend $$$ where it counts like lenses but I try to go cheap on this sort of thing.
Any tips for things to look for?
I dont have a good camera store near by to see these things in person, so I dont really know what im doing here. Can anyone give a suggestion on a boom to get that is fairly cheap? I spend $$$ where it counts like lenses but I try to go cheap on this sort of thing.
Any tips for things to look for?
0
Comments
Buy a collapsible tent pole and some brackets so you can make a brace or even some pulleys so you can raise or lower the thing with something like paracord secured one end to the boom and the other end into a marine type cleat anchored into the wall stud. Small trailer winches are also great.
You can also use pot plant swiveling holders for the base off the wall and just secure the pole to that so it has both indexes of movement.
I made my own booms and trackrail system years ago and they were cheap as chips and have lasted well. I bought one trackrail carriage to take the measurements off, marveled at the crap components and shoddy workmanship for the prince and then mafe a bunch of my own that were way stronger, ran smoother and cost less for about 14 of the things than the original OEM one did.
I found a lot of the commercial stuff ( Even before the days of cheap Chinese crap flooding the market was all poorly engineered. I used to get Manfrotto catalouges, look at the things I wanted and then copied them with better materials and engineering or changed the design but copy the idea and purpose.
A lot of stuff you can use and adapt is available as parts from other markets such as marine, shower and outdoor screens and fittings, the shade and awning / caravan industry and entertainment or staging rigging.
Aluminum places that do extrusions and fittings are also DIY goldmines for this sort of stuff.
You can also have lot of fittings and threads turned up at machine shops in infinitely better base metals, a lot more precision and better engineering and at lower prices than the often over priced photo catalouge stuff.
Have a portable back ground system I made myself after being dissapointed with the strength, height and cost of commercial ones. It's a 4 poster, 4 rail setup so I can hang backgrounds and clamp lights onto as well.
I have had 7 blokes hanging off it completely so far and the thing never flinched. It's not going to be pulled down by some kid or knocked over or collapse.
Sure it's on the weighty side but it's not unmanageable by any stretch and its easy and fast for setup and tear down.
It's perfect for what I want and like to use.
As an example of spin off uses, I was looking for something to construct those photo booths with the other day as I'm wanting to build a few of them to hire out. I hit upon the idea of those outdoor gazebo things. They fold small, are relatively lightweight and strong, come with some fabric and are cheap. I have a couple up the back that are a bit so so that were used for family picnics so I'm going to have a look at one of those and see what it would take to modify the shape and size. So far it seems a bit of cutting and re riveting should be about it. If that dosen't work out in practice, the standard size and shape is workable enough anway.
Thanks for taking the time to reply!
I had the track rail up here till I took it down a while back as I wasn't using it and wanted to re do the studio decor to turn it more from a shooting to a sales facility.
Basically, just copy the commercial arms with the extending tent poles and frames or hinges as you need.
Really I think track rail is a better way to go. Was for me anyway. Lights are much more positionable.
That said, rail or booms that get everything off the floor unlike stands are highly preferable.
In my experience (> 10yrs going round such places) they can be absolute aladdin's caves of brillant stuff ... that you'll get for scrap metal prices.
pp
Flickr
If you are strapped for funds and need to start off with a boom arm, here is one
that should work for you...it holds upto 13 lbs... http://tinyurl.com/7dnbq5h
I was thinking of this, A wall boom.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Manfrotto-098B-Wall-Mounting-Boom-ARM-Black-47-82-6-1-2-2-1m-Stock-400-/280778576451?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415fb51243
If you just want a normal stand boom, camping store or aluminum supplier. They will have the size tubes that fir in one another and the plastic locking sleeve things as well to tighten them up.
You can buy the end fittings you want and just drill and pin them in or have a bit of bar turned up and the engineering shop to the thread or socket you want.
I hate stands, take up sooo much room and are always a trip hazzard. Only use them on location when I have to and put a heap of weights and caution tape around them as well as those rubber things that cover the cords.