Thanks Bob. I think I'm going to go for this one. I think this is perfect for me because I'm far more likely to be standing on the edge of a cliff than mounting a tripod on a dolly. Something that is light and quick to rig is definitely what I'm after.

Grazie, if you're listening, I noticed you went for this setup. How are you getting on with it?

Nick

Nick? Email me and I'll share . .. Grazie

ds10 with single stage (floor spreader) and 170 with wa.

love it....

(and that's after years of broadcast with satchler, etc.,)

leslie

Ok . . The Miller Solo is quite remarkable! Needing to video on truly uneven and IN very awkward situations? This piece of kit is spectacular. For instance, if you are in a confined and restricting area, you can "flip-up" one leg to almost horizontal and spread the other to legs and place this flipped-up leg against a wall, door, cliff face, fence, tree . . .THIS I'VE DONE! And with the levelling ball and bowl and the "bubble" you got your camera level and true to what was a most confusing horizon. AND the set up is rock solid.

You must take care of your legs, I would say greater care, of the carbon fibre tubes than you would with ali or wood legs. If used on or near "sand" wipe down the legs - the user manual says this. You don't want any sand granules getting into the telescopic tube arrangement. PLUS, I found the factory default for the Miller shoe plate small "lock" lever, when in its locked position, was too near to the rear end of the Pan handle boss. I phoned Miller UK and they said I should just undo the lever - small cross head machine retaining screw here - and reset the lever to the position where it is not near the boss. I found that in a certain position the boss would unfortunately act against the lock "release" lever. But having taken Miller's advice, and adjusted as factory default this is now totally secure.

The tripod? I love it too. Plus it makes my partner roll about when I'm adjusting the legs to some truly acrobatic orientations! More positions than the Kama Sutra!

Another advantage is the very shallow/low positions you can take. I think I got mine down to about 18" from ground to camera centre. That is low. I do this by openning up the legs to their most practically safest spread. But there is a maximum you should NOT exceed. Read the manual.

Miller supplied me with a "ring" spanner to adjust back the tension on the hinge bolts - this is very necessary as this will allow you to adjust the tension in the "swing-out" of the legs.

Oh yes! Make sure - if you use a LANC remote controller - that your device can fit over the diameter of the pan bar. I had to get the slimmer bar for my Canon LANC. However, now I've got the Frotti LANC - this has a BIGGER diam - I'm now needing to pad out the diam to give the Frotti something to bite onto - hah! When WAS life easy?

Best regards,

Grazie

Thanks for the replies guys and for all the detailed feedback Grazie. Sorry I didn't email you but I've only just checked the thread. This setup certainly sounds like the dog's proverbials and I've go a cheaper price than B&H for the package, which is unusual for Thailand. Still seems like a lot but I guess you get what you pay for.

A couple more questions to you guys:

1. Am I going to be able to do a decent job with this thing with just a couple of days' practice?
2. Was there some issue with making sure I don't get an old model without the counterbalance? When did they change the design?
3. Would you say these are not good legs to put in the sea? Living in Phuket I tend to get a lot of jobs on beaches etc.. I guess no tripod is at its happiest in the sea, and in theory carbon should be better than ali for this. I worked with a crew a couple of months ago who had their (own) tripod in and out of the sea all day.

Nick

1. Yes, works just the same as any tripod / head. Main advantage comes from the lack of a spreader making it easier to rig and more flexible.
2. Only counterbalance would be in the head and yes there was a change, the later models have an adjustment for the amount of 'spring', actaully it's a piece of rubber! Just check to see if there's a knob with positions "1" & "2" on the side of the head to adjust the amount of return force when you tilt the head.
3.Being carbon fibre they'll be better than anything. Most tripod legs contain parts made from different metals so electrolysis is the problem, fine sand in the threads doesn't help either. Wash with lots of tap water afterwards and then spray with WD40 and then light oil on ony metal parts. Also look out for the camera, even just by being near the sea things corrode much quicker. All cameras have steel screws going into alloy metal and again corrosion at that point can happen very easily.
Bob.

I have - "a knob with positions "1" & "2" on the side of the head to adjust the amount of return force when you tilt the head." . .This was at Bob's advise and to ensure I as getting this feature .. excellent feature.

You'll love it! But try it out in the shop and convince yourself too.

Grazie

Ask your local agent for a Miller screwdrive too, saves wearing out those 5 cent pieces and you can keep it on your keyring.
Bob.

I had a play with the DS10/solo legs in Bangkok the other day with a view to buying it on my return in 3 weeks.

The first point I noticed is that rotating those 2 little silver/black drag wheels actually didn't seem to make much difference to the drag. I would have thought that the setting with the drag off would give a really free movement with... well... no drag. It didn't. Of course most of the time you want the drag, but on other occasions I expect I wouldn't.

The second point is that with the legs being so light, I was concerned with the whole thing tipping over, especially combined with the fact that I couldn't reduce the drag. I feel that when panning I'd virtually always have to hold on to one of the legs to feel secure with it.

It's always difficult to get a proper feel for something in the shop. Perhaps I've missed something regarding the drag controls? Or can anyone comment on my concerns?

Nick

I'm still interested in any comments on my last post if anyone has any.

Also I've been reading comments on the net about the DS10 head being not so smooth and inferior to heads like the Vinten Vision 3. (which admittedly is more expensive). Again does anyone have any informed comments on this?

thanks,

Nick

Nick,
two things. Firstly a tripod needs to match the weight of a camera, you can have too much or too little head and you'll not get a smooth experience (yeah alright, get your minds above your navels).
The DS10 head is pretty much right for the VX2K, DS20 is a bit too much for that weight camera.
Second thing all tripods need to be warmed up a bit and you don't get time to do this in a shop. Try moving them a fair amount around each axis before use. We've got two solos, so far the only tripod we've had knocked over is the DS10 sticks, for my money not having spreaders to wrestle with is a huge plus on the solo. Other thing with the solo is it seems pretty well corrosion proof, big issue if you're in the tropics or near the sea.
Bob.

I got the DS10 and Solo legs about 6 months ago. I like how it works but I've used it very little and it's never got wet but already there is corrosion on the aluminium bowl where it's been sitting in storage against the bottom of the head. The aluminium has gone a bit powdery/pitted and the paint nearby has blistered. It still functions OK but I'm disappointed.

I guess the bottom of the head is cast iron and so it's galvanic corrosion because of the different metals. It is humid here in Thailand. I'm now storing the legs and head separately. I suppose I could try and get a replacement bowl under warranty. I'll probably email Miller direct about it.

Just thought I'd mention this so others could think about storing the legs and head separately.

In relation to a LANC for the Z1 I use one made by Studio One (Florida) and recommend it.

As far as drag setting on the DS10, mine has very little drag in the minimum position and certainly no fear of nudging the tripod. Perhaps the head needs looking at? The Solo model number is 1511.

I've noticed this a little too, conditions here aren't as severe but if you don't move the bowl regularly it feels like it's a bit struck and needs a bump to free it. Certainly any dissimilar metals in contact where there's moisture around is going to be an issue, even metals that appear the same but are a slightly different blend will be a problem.

If you don't get any joy out of Miller let me know, more than happy to walk around there and kick some butt.

I have used to use a device that looks like a piece of foam rubber for corrosion prevention, works very well BUT you cannot use it with anything optical as it leaves a thin film over everything. Fine for electronics but not optics. If you're in the tropics putting this stuff in sealed bags with the item should save the day.
OK, found them, if nowhere else Radio Spares carry them and they're just about everywhere: RS Stock No. 290-4308. The thing you're looking for if you cannot find a RS store is Vapor Phase Corrosion Inhibitors, Cortec seem to be the biggest in the game. I've used them to protect gear on pipelines in Sumatra and India, should work anywhere. You do need to replace them if you open the bag every year. Heaps of product spec sheets from Cortec.

The other area we've found this to be a problem is the cameras themselves, all the screws start to corrode and I don't have any answer for this problem. Doesn't seem to do any harm but it doesn't look too pretty.

Bob? How about the lightest, hint, sniff, smidgen lick of Vaseline? Almost a "wipe"? No?

Sure that'll work.

The advantage of the VPCI stuff is it gets into every nook and cranny if you now what I mean. Being vapor phase though it'll only work well if the object being protected is in a sealed container.

We've had a lot of trouble with the cheaper tripods where the nut inside the rubber bumpers on the end of the prong things gets seized due to corrosion and it's a drama to unstick them. I have to peel the rubber bumper off, then use liberal amount of oil and a wrench to get the nut freed. Miller seem to have protected that part of the tripod well with some form of coating on the 'bolt' but the bowl / head interface could be an issue.

I have noticed on the older Millers the castings look like they are some form of brass / bronze material. I might bend their ears a bit tomorrow.

Bob.

Serena, I think the head just needs wearing in a bit. It was actually "clunky" the other day when I hadn't used it for a while but eased up after a bit of rotating. It pans quite OK now and I'm happy with it. The resistance is about right.

Serena, can that Lanc controller do a complete zoom in anything less than around 24 seconds? One of the biggest issues with the FX1/Z1 is the lack of a very slow zoom speed other than by very carefully using the big rocker switch on the body. None of the lanc controllers seem to be able to do it.

Bob, thanks for the Cortec tip. That could be useful stuff.

As for my cameras themselves, when not being used they live in a Pelican case along with 1kg of silica gel, a cheapo humidity meter, and as many other vulnerable electronic bits and pieces (hard disks etc.) as I can fit in there. I had mould growth in my VX2K's lens a couple of years back so I know the risk.

By the way "hi hat" is the correct term for the bit of the tripod that's corroded.

>>>can that Lanc controller do a complete zoom in anything less than around 24 seconds?

Yes, but from previous posts I think you mean 'more than'. At slowest default setting it does the full zoom in 23 seconds. I imagine that the thumbwheel switches resistors and an email to Studio 1 would be an easy way to find out whether they can give you a slower slowest. They don't just resell these things. I've found them very responsive to technical queries. If you really do mean faster, then at fastest it really is fast.

Sorry Serena, I did indeed mean "more than".

I hadn't heard of Studio 1. It's always Bebob, Varizoom etc. on the forums. I was liking the streamlined Manfrotto one which I think comes with a whole handle but I've held off for now to see if any manufacturer can figure out a slower zoom than 23 seconds. It kind of defeats half the purpose of having the controller if you've still got to operate that big rocker on the camera.

Nick,
The site is Studio 1

I wanted to be able to use the LANC controller on shoulder brace and the Steadicam as well as tripod, so having it built into a pan/tilt handle wasn't of interest. Also some of the others have fiddly little buttons; I don't want to have to look to hit the desired control. I've got the ProZoom 2.

Isn't Sony supposed to have a new Lanc controller to go with the V1 that is similar to the ones from Studio 1? Anyone with experience with it?

I've read elsewhere that Miller heads need more weight than is provided by my camera for optimum function. That would be a DVX100a. And that there are fluid leak problems.
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