Robert Matthews Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 New member - apologies if this is in the wrong area etc! I am about to purchase a Pilot and am looking to also purchase a Sachtler FSB-6 or FSB-4 and am looking for a way of quickly changing between the two. I understand that I could get a Manfrotto 577 to leave on the Pilot. Does anyone know if the Sachtler head would accept the Manfrotto plate? If not, I would purchase two of the 577s and just leave a shoe on each the Pilot and tripod and keep the plate on the camera. That arrangement though seems quite convoluted though I can't find a better solution. Any guidance from experienced hands would be very welcome. I am also willing to consider other tripod options if they would better suit (I have used Miller up until now). Thank you all :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members James Davis Posted August 11, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Cat griller is a popular option for speeding that kind of thing up: http://shop.strato.de/epages/61417979.sf/en_US/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61417979/Products/Cat-Griller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Tom Wills Posted August 11, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Unluckily Sachtler doesn't make a compatible quick release adaptor for the FSB series heads. So, I think your best bet would be going with another brand's adaptors on the Steadicam and tripod sides. It's not a terribly pretty solution, but at least it'll be easy. If I could recommend something though, look at other quick release adaptors. The 577 is actually more expensive than a bigger, more stable version of itself (the 357). The only difference is that the 577 uses a plate compatible with some smaller Manfrotto tripods, whereas the 357 uses a bigger plate from a different model of tripod. However, with both of these adaptors, there's a design issue with the knob (if you try to tighten it or loosen it, sometimes it hits the tripod below it or the camera above it). Something like the Manfrotto 394 might be a better fit, and less cumbersome and large too! Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Rick Drapkin Posted August 14, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Unluckily Sachtler doesn't make a compatible quick release adaptor for the FSB series heads. So, I think your best bet would be going with another brand's adaptors on the Steadicam and tripod sides. It's not a terribly pretty solution, but at least it'll be easy. If I could recommend something though, look at other quick release adaptors. The 577 is actually more expensive than a bigger, more stable version of itself (the 357). The only difference is that the 577 uses a plate compatible with some smaller Manfrotto tripods, whereas the 357 uses a bigger plate from a different model of tripod. However, with both of these adaptors, there's a design issue with the knob (if you try to tighten it or loosen it, sometimes it hits the tripod below it or the camera above it). Something like the Manfrotto 394 might be a better fit, and less cumbersome and large too! Hope that helps! Another option for you is to buy a ronford baker-baker rbq top and bottom. Currently, I am doing this with my Pro sled and we are using the Alexa Plus . Total change over time between conventional and steadicam is 3 minutes ready to shoot. Just thought I would throw you that option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Matthews Posted August 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Thanks for suggestions. I looked at all above - the Manfrotto 357 and 577 have the difficulties Tom mentioned, and the I'd rather an Arca-Swiss arrangement for compatibility with my Miller, so that counts out the 394. I came across the Giottos M621 which seems to be my best bet. If anyone has experience with this system I'd love to hear it but I think I may go down this path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mark Schlicher Posted August 15, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 The Giottos is essentially the same design as the Manfrotto 577, including the lever issue. They are "almost" compatible with the Manfrotto, I can't remember if the Manfrotto plate won't fit on the Giottos base or vice versa. They are both fine for what they do but I do prefer the longer Manfrotto 577 plate. I don't care for the Giottos camera screws, which have a theoretically-useful swing-out thingy to allow you to hand-tighten the screw, but it increases the diameter of the screw so they often get in the way. As for the issue with the lever...this is a minor issue in my experience, easily worked around in most cases. Depending on the tripod plate you are mounting to, you may have to be careful when mount the base to the tripod plate, to get the lever in the right initial orientation. For tweaking, the lever can be pulled out (it's spring-loaded) and re-oriented like a Kipp handle, so as to avoid bumping things. The lever goes from loose to tight in less than a quarter turn. I've used it with an HVX200 and Canon 60D on a wide, flat weight plate with no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mark Schlicher Posted August 15, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 James, The cat-griller is too wide for the Pilot's dovetail plate (or for that matter, the Flyer, Zephyr or Archer, either). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Wan Zhong Wei Posted November 24, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 Get the Sachtler FSB 6 that offers the sliding version. as far as i know, the FSB6 ships in 2 different versions, one is touch and go, one is slide and lock. if you get the slide and lock version, the baseplate is essentially a manfrotto 501PL, which you can interchange easily. i have that particular FSB6. http://www.sachtler.com/uploads/tx_templavoila/fsb-6-sideload-touch-and-go_14.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Alfeo Dixon SOC Posted November 24, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 another and very stable approach is to keep the lightweight setup of the arri bridge plate and slip it right onto the rig using this pup: Innocinema Universal Arri (Dovetail)Plate http://www.innocinema.com/product_info.php?products_id=111 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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