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Switching to century style stands. Need advice

faneuil

Member
Most of my gear is pretty great except for
my old 'beginners stands' from eBay.

Decided to replace them all with
Century style stands. Any advice?
Avenger? Other makers? Things to avoid?
Mix of at least two good tall stands for studio
and two small stands for accessories
or location shoots needed to start.

Thanks
Eric
 

robmac

Well-known member
Avenger and Matthews are the accepted name-brands most folks look at, though there are others.

Most folks tend to favor the 'turtle base' style with the base that disconnects from the riser for easier packing and so can use base with a junior-baby adapter stud as a floor stand or with a shorter riser. It also allows you to use the riser with a wheeled base or alone as an impromptu 'boom' held an assistant.

The 'lazy leg' variety of c-stand with the base permanently attached is tougher to pack, but one leg can be set to any height, so could place up against a set of stairs, on uneven terrain outside, etc.

'C-stand complete' which is a kit that comes with a c-stand and a grip head and 40" arm (with head attached) are accepted as a great best bang/buck.
 

robertwright

New member
c stands aren't really great on location- no stability for large fixtures, limited space for sandbags. You'll rarely see one holding anything bigger than a small flag on an exterior film shoot.

you might consider a cine combo stand with lazy leg- they have a 1" receiver for large fixtures and also a popup pin for standard fixtures. A couple of those around and you can do backgrounds also. you can put wheels on too as an accessory. Same price as c-stand I think.

when you gotta put the octa up in the wind, not much choice...
 

faneuil

Member
thanks - will do the B&H scan tonight and try not to purchase too quickly.
A self imposed one week waiting period has done wonders for my me and my budget.

cheers
Eric
 

fotografz

Well-known member
C-Stands are invaluable in the studio as you can stack lights literally next to one another. I have 6 with tall risers and 4 with short risers.

I use them with all of my light modifiers up to and including 5' X 6' Plume Wafers and 5' Profoto Octa. Wouldn't use them for boom arms with a big box ... nor for anything that would act as a sail outdoors ... although I have, by using long U shaped anchors driven into the ground over the legs.

My boom set-up is super heavy-duty Studio Equipment Inc. Stand with wide reinforced base & casters, Matthews joints and an Avenger Boom arm kit. A Thermal Nuclear weapon could go off next to my studio and that would be the only thing still standing ... :ROTFL:

-Marc
 

paulmoore

New member
I like the c+ stands.. can interchange the risers.. and use the baby pin in the base.
they nestle nicely in the studio or flatten and hang them on the wall horizontally.
I use 90% for grip work and not as light stands if I can avoid it.. with the exception of the small boom arm that I will use on location for up to 5 ft of boom for a head.. all matthews.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I only use steel Avenger or Matthews C stands in the studio, and like them a lot there. If you boom them, you need extra weight on them because their footprint is narrower than a large tri-stand. (I use a big grip low on the riser and hang my packs from them for added stand weight and stability.) For booms in the studio, I like a large tri-stand on castors, still with sandbags. For location, it's medium to smallish aluminum tri-stands, and to be honest, I am not picky on brands.
 
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