Chimera’s new self levelling lighting boom will set you back at least $550
May 26, 2016
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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Chimera have just announced a pair of new self-levelling lighting boom arms, allowing you to quickly raise and lower your lights without having to adjust the hight of your light stand, or readjust the angle of your light & modifier.
If your first thought, like mine, was “Awesome, cheap camera jib!”, then I would suggest you brace yourself. The “Compact” version costs $550 and the “Standard” version has a price tag of $700.
Cheap is certainly not a word to describe these boom arms.
They’re designed to handle some pretty big modifiers, having a load limits of 7.5lbs for the Compact, and 15lbs for the Standard, so you certainly could use them with a camera mounted on the end, but there are many far less expensive options out there.
The Compact version has a reach of 32″ when using the 12″ extension, which might make make it more suited to something like product photography or other small scale shoots. The Standard version comes with an 18″ extension, providing a reach of 6ft, which should make it more than capable for standing or even group portraits.
The arm has sliding counterweight bags at the end, each capable of holding up to 15lbs, allowing you to balance it out for different weights of lights and modifiers. Including counterweight bags is a welcome touch, considering the price.
The extension arm takes the light further away from the end of the boom mechanism, to provide more clearance for larger modifiers.
They certainly look the part, and I’ve had times shooting in the studio where a boom arm like this would be extremely useful.
I think at these sorts of prices, however, you’d possibly be better off picking up a camera jib. They can handle a much higher load, offer a longer maximum reach, and many seem to offer a standard 5/8″ light stand spigot.
The Chimera booms are both available now, and you can find out more about the Standard and Compact versions on the Chimera website.
So, worth every penny? Or are there much better lower priced alternatives out there already? Let us know what you think in the comments.
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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5 responses to “Chimera’s new self levelling lighting boom will set you back at least $550”
Since this is a DIY photography site, why doesn’t somebody show us how to make this for a fraction of the cost?
It’s really not difficult enough to justify a DIY tutorial. Look at the picture, build what you see. Hardware and all, roughly $100 to do it right. Less if you really cut corners.
My point is, this is supposed to be a DIY photography site, and it’s drifting way too far from that mission.
about a year back this website started receiveing cease and desist letters from manufacturers like Wescott, Photoflex, Nikon = and practically ever other small manufacturer because it was showing the public how to replicate many of the commercial products … so they did. that is why you see so little diy projects here. I have been a rabid fan of DIYPhotography.net and look at this with sadness.
i have one of these and seems to be nearly the same, mine works very well
http://www.amazon.com/DV-Rocker-Jib-Arm-Counterweight/dp/B00TBUDANO