Booms do's and don't's

[Peter De Smidt]

Mario, it's unlikely that anything at that price will safely hold a 60" Octobox and monolight in any kind of breeze. The proper stand alone will cost more than what you're suggesting. You need to look at the total weight. Monolight + modifier + counter weight and compare it to the capacity of the boom. Even a c-stand would not be the right stand for this sort of thing, as the base would be too narrow, which is why movie people don't put lights on C-stands.

The capacity of the Matthews Baby Boom is 15 lbs (6.8 kg). That's the $200 one without a stand.

Another option is to go to a grip rental place and see what they suggest.

Think about how much you'll lose if the boom falls over, especially if it falls on someone.

[Jim Jones]

Suspending a light from tracks mounted on a ceiling may be more practical than a boom.

[Fred L]

...Think about how much you'll lose if the boom falls over, especially if it falls on someone.

^^ pretty much all that needs to be said.

[mdarnton]

The time I lost confidence in my Manfrotto boom, I was shooting a small tabletop setup and wanted to bring the light in from directly above. I put one of my Interfit monolights on a 2x3 softbox, and put that on the boom. It was only out about two feet, chest high, over a cup and a pile of coffee so there wasn't much that could happen, but it put me off doing something like that ever again. I'd like to have a nice boom setup, but I don't even know what that would be--not the usual small-studio equipment, I'm pretty sure.

[ShannonG]

i have 2 of these grip stand booms.they are very heavy duty.the extra griper is amazing, you can grip anything like reflectors and when put at the end of the boom anther poll can be added to make it longer (which i do a lot for light heads). the main shaft with its extenders can get pretty high (about 10 feet or so). They transport well,ive taken mine on many shoots,they are heavy to carry around but thats a good thing for a boom and stand.Sence i found these my Manfrotto booms have been collecting dust.I have had a lot of weight on the end of them without budging using the sand/shot bags (which are often on sale for $1.00) These things are inexpensive as well and are often on sale,sign up for there news letters to get on sale notifications a lot of them and a lot of video stuff and software(just delete those) but once in awhile they hit the nail right on the head for me,i got my 2 stands for $250.00 with free sand bags.. They have a lot of great products. Not sure how they get there prices so low but there products are top notch,,i am absolutly very impressed with my grip stand booms.
here is the link http://gear.digitaljuice.com/product...s.asp?pid=2917
here is a video http://gear.digitaljuice.com/djtv/detail.aspx?sid=791

check it out man

[DrTang]

I forgot to say, I want to buy a complete boom (arm & stand), I don't want to buy it in pieces. Also, I mostly intend to use this to hold lights (primarily a 60" octabox). Oh, and I'm using monolights. Should I consider the size of it also? I mean, a small one vs one with high/long reach?

Thanks.

that is a lot of weight being leveraged out there

even with a flash head and 60" octo... that's a lot

outdoors? forgetabout it for anything you can afford

indoors? you can do it.. but I'd rig a rope or line from the ceiling to the flash for safety

oh... and a lot of sandbags on the stand

[Bruce Watson]

I forgot to say, I want to buy a complete boom (arm & stand), I don't want to buy it in pieces. Also, I mostly intend to use this to hold lights (primarily a 60" octabox).

I've got an Avenger A4041b. I found mine used, and they do come up on occasion from the usual sources. It might be easier to find the older version (A475b? I don't remember the part numbers that well). I like the Avenger grip equipment better than the Matthews, but that's just my preference for the ergonomics.

The A4041b is a heck of a boom stand. May not be enough for what you want. It's good for 10Kg at full extension (I read that to mean maximum horizontal extension). I have no idea what your octabox weighs. The nice thing about these is the counterweight, which is very helpful. But that counterweight on the boom arm, while very helpful, isn't sufficient -- if you're smart you'll sandbag the base too.