SEATTLE— I first got acquainted with
Sachtler camera support products more
than 20 years ago when I was chief photographer
at KING-TV, the NBC affiliate
here. We needed some new camera heads,
and I did a lot of research and evaluation
before settling on Sachtler. I recall being very impressed with the
Sachtler 3+3 demo head that we evaluated
because of its ability to maintain camera
balance.
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| Bill Fenster |
HOLDING THAT SHOT
In the news business, you sometimes
have to shoot a lot of documents in connection
with a story, and with the Sachtler
you could just tilt the camera down for
the shot and then let go of the handle. The
camera would stay exactly where you
aimed it. You didn’t have to lock it down;
it stayed where you wanted it. The old
heads we’d been using would never stay
put in such a situation.
Of course, camera balance isn’t important
just for shooting documents. In situations
when the press is kept a half-mile
or so away from covering a plane crash
or other disaster involving emergency response
crews, we’d have to be zoomed all
the way in with a 2X extender, which is an
invitation for shaky images—something
noone really wants to see on the evening
newscasts.
As we were one-man-bands, size and
weight were prime factors in our selection
of camera support equipment too,
At the time, I wasn’t 20 anymore, nor was
anyone else in the department. And we
were getting smaller news cars, so the
tripod and head had to fit in the new vehicles.
We also had another major concern—
we were buying 20 tripods, which was
just enough for all of our camera crews.
There was no provision then for spares.
If one of the heads developed problems,
it wouldn’t be something that our station
maintenance people could repair. Most
camera heads are constructed in such a
way that it takes a specialist to fix them
when they malfunction., so manufacturer
support was also an important consideration.
We needed someone who was going
to be there to loan us a head while
ours was being repaired.
In our evaluation, we discovered that
Sachtler had really good service, the best
movement of any head, and that the heads
were small and light. We initially purchased
some 3+3s and when it came time
for a complete re-outfit, we purchased 20
Sachtler 7+7s.
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
A few years later, I left the station to
form my own company and bought a Cine
7+7 HD head for my own use. I still do
a lot of one-man-band shoots, so the size
and weight of the tripod system are just
as much a factor as they were in my news
coverage days.
Many of the other challenges are the
same too, such as holding a steady shot
with a lens zoomed all the way out. This Sachtler
head is rock steady and provides me
with a large payload range—4-48 pounds—
and has 16 stages of counterbalance.
For the times when I’m using a camera
package that’s greater than my head
will accommodate, I rent a larger Sachtler
head, often with a dual pan handles, so
I can use a studio setup with zoom and
focus controls. In fact, if I’m on a shoot
where I’m using the client’s camera package
and they don’t supply a Sachtler head,
I’ll make sure to bring my own along.
Bill Fenster is the owner of Bill Fenster
Productions and has been involved
in news coverage, documentaries, and
commercial features for more than two
decades. He may be contacted at billfenster@me.com.
For additional information, contact
Sachtler at 845-268-0100, or visit www.sachtler.com/us.