Articulated Boom

This lighting setup will save you hours in set-up time

Nov 3, 2017 by John Aldred 3 Comments

I love these Frankenstein setups for supporting our gear. Whether it’s for cameras, lights, microphones, whatever. It’s rare that a single commercial option offers us everything we need, and sometimes we just have to mix it up. It’s why products like the Manfrotto Magic Arm exist, because a straight up light stand or tripod on its own just doesn’t give us what we want.

In this video, Caleb Pike from DSLR Video Shooter shows off what he calls “the best light stand setup I’ve ever used”. Which is essentially a regular light stand, an articulated microphone boom arm, a ball head, a 1/4″ spigot and a couple of washers & wing nuts. It’s repurposing gear to work in a way it was not originally intended. But work it does, and very well, according to Caleb.

Chimera’s new self levelling lighting boom will set you back at least $550

May 26, 2016 by John Aldred 5 Comments

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.

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

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