The Balance Beam by Trig Cheaper than buying an expensive tripod Start Price USD 144.95 Current Price USD 144.95 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 249.95 Reserve Price - Start Time Monday, September 01, 2008 End Time Thursday, September 11, 2008 Location Toledo, OH See more about 'The Balance Beam by Trig' Description The Balance Beam   As advertised in VideoMaker, Videography, and DV Magazines.   Reviews have been posted:Steve Douglas's review on Ken Stone's discussion board, reprinted on LAFCPUG site and in a few magazines.One by Anthony Burokas for FreshDV.com, DV Magazine, EventDV Magazine and IEBA Communications.   Reviews and Testimonials   I've recently purchased and have been avidly utilizing the Balance Beam by Trig in conjunction with my tripod; and the results are nothing short of spectacular. Simply put, to simulate the exceptionally silky-smooth limitless motions of the Balance Beam, one would have to otherwise spend a small fortune on a very expensive tripod head. The Balance Beam is of solid quality and well manufactured. In addition to delivering incredible, seamless motions, the Balance Beam serves to drive the gravitational force into the legs of the tripod, hence making the entire tripod much sturdier. One factor I really appreciate about the Balance Beam is how simple, but effective the product is, and you can easily take it anywhere, no parts to lose, no complicated assembly. Lastly on a cosemetic note, the Balance Beam looks very bold and professional; it is an innovative and highly effective tool to add to your video arsenal.   Aneesh Sivan   President of CineVeil PicturesWinner of the 2006 Videographer's Award of Distinction   --------------------------------   Review by Steve Douglas www.worldfilmsandtravel.com Posted on Ken Stone's Final Cut Pro Discussion Board Not everyone has at their disposal a tripod of such quality that jerkiness and stuttering during pans are not sometimes a problem. Smooth panning takes practice but even the experienced shooter finds from time to time that a tripod stutter can demand the need for extra takes. Trig Simon has created a novel tool designed to alleviate panning problems while creating smooth pans from beginning to end.   Constructed of 1/4" x2-1/2" black powder coated aluminum, the Balance Beam weighs in at roughly 10lbs and is about 22" from tip to tip. I wouldn't want to carry it a half mile down the beach to cover a story, but once you have it on location and mounted to your tripod, you will be surprised at how its very weight will improve your tripod's performance.  The Balance Beam is designed to create greater stability throughout the entire pan.  At each end of the balance beam is a counter balance weight, which, through the design of the beam, lowers the center of gravity of the camera/ Balance Beam mass. This makes it concentric to the tripod's tilt and pivot point. The two 3-1/2 lb weights, anchored with 1/2" carriage bolts have integrated rubber washers which prevent wear and scratching of the black finish. The weights at each end of the balance beam affect the inertia throughout the tripod movement making for one very smooth shoot.  The weights can be adjusted on the beam with about 3 inches of play.  Additional weights for heavier cams can be added but, in my tests, they did not seem needed. The bottom of the Balance Beam is machined to fit all tripods with a 1/4 screw. A Bogen/Manfrotto Quick Release adaptor comes attached to the top of the beam and is designed to fit any camcorder with a 1/4 or 3/8" threaded socket in the camcorder's bottom. I tried the balance beam out using both a Sony FX-1 and its' smaller cousin, the Sony A1-U and there was certainly a noticeable difference. However, there is a caveat here as well. I am using a relatively inexpensive, 'far from high end' tripod with a Bogen 3063 head. With the 3063, I really did not feel much of a difference during pans. However, using a borrowed Manfrotto 501 head, the difference was significant. When mounted and used, the momentum of the weights decreases the acceleration and deceleration of the movement creating an ice smooth pivot point for any tilts or pans I was doing. I found no need to regularly tighten or loosen the locking knobs and had no fear of the tripod tilting and falling over even when deliberately knocked in to.  The Balance Beam also provides for easy mounting of externals. Very convenient!  The Balance Beam does just that, it creates an excellent balance to the entire system and works with your tripod head to dispel the jarring that can occur at the start of your pan and the stuttering of direction throughout the movement. It is easy to mount and does what it is designed to do. Will it function as well with all tripods? If you are using a super cheap $35.00 tripod, the head will probably not tighten down strong enough. However, for any fairly decent tripod, I believe the Balance Beam could be of tremendous help.   Steve Douglas is a certified Apple Pro for Final Cut Pro 6 and underwater videographer. A winner of the 1999 Pacific Coast Underwater Film Competition, 2003 IVIE competition, 2004 Los Angeles Underwater Photographic competition, and the prestigious 2005 International Beneath the Sea Film Competition, where he also won the Stan Waterman Award for Excellence in Underwater Videography and 'Diver of the Year', Steve was a safety diver on the feature film "The Deep Blue Sea", contributed footage to the Seaworld Park's Atlantis production, and a recent History channel MegaDisaster show. Steve is one of the founding organizers of the San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition and leads both underwater filming expeditions and African safaris with upcoming excursions to Kenya & Lembeh Straits in Indonesia in 2007, the Coco Islands, Costa Rica & Truk Lagoon in 2008 and safari in Africa for 2009. Feel free to contact him if you are interested in joining Steve on any of these exciting trips. www.worldfilmsandtravel.com   copyright © Steve Douglas 2007 --------------------------------Hi Trig,   Received the BB yesterday. Thanks. This thing is an ANIMAL!!! I love it.The quality is really high, very impressive, so will likely order the remaining two on Monday. Initial impression is that it will positively kick butt.   John Welch   ---------------------------------   Trig:   The Camera Balance Beam unit is just what I've needed to get steady shots with my lightweight SONY Z-1 camera.  It is a far better way to spend limited funding over an expensive tripod.   Michael Jones, San Diego, CA   --------------------------------   A SIMPLE, STEADY SYSTEMby Anthony Burokas (IEBA Communications), Twenty-year veteran,  contributor at FreshDV.com, DV Magazine, EventDV Magazine and IEBA   WEIGHING IN WITH THE BALANCE BEAMOne of the problems with using deceptively small HDV gear is that, on a small tripod, you've ended up with a considerable amount of weight atop your usually non-counterbalanced fluid head.  This creates problems when making smooth pans and “professional” moves.    High-end tripods have built-in counterbalance systems that push back the harder the greater the tripod head is tilted.  Pay more and you can “dial in” your counterbalance to perfectly match your camera system.  But it’s seldom you find a $5,000 tripod system under a $2,995 HDV camcorder.   Even panning is an issue because little cameras have no “inertial mass”, meaning they shake and twitch at the lightest touch.   A big camera won’t readily react to button pushes, and pans are much smother.  A tiny camera shows all your mistakes.   The Balance Beam is a 9 pound system.  It features a bent, machined aluminum beam, two weights that can be slid some distance up and down on each end of the beam, and a Bogen/Manfrotto 3273/3272 quick-release plate in the middle that affords about 8cm of movement front to back.  There are also six unthreaded holes at the (back) end through which you could mount additional accessories.   I added the Balance Beam to my Bogen tripod with the Sony HDR-FX1 camcorder on top.  It immediately felt like I had a big on-shoulder camcorder on there, except the camera was less top-heavy.  This comes from the fact that the two ends of the Balance Beam are bent downward, lowering the center of balance of the entire system.  The weights on the Balance Beam do not move in and out to a great extent (+/-1-1/2” each) because of the bend.  Some of the motion is vertical, some is horizontal.   By moving the front weight in, and sliding the rear weight out, moving my camera all the way back, I was able to balancer my camcorder to get more tilt than normal and much smoother panning.  The two big weights included with the Balance Beam may be too much for tiny camcorders, yet may not be enough for the Canon XL-H1 with it’s big 20x lens on the front. Without the ability to take just a few disks from the front an move them to the back, the user is limited.   The weights do adjust quite easily, though, with a simple grab-and-twist lock – an instinctive procedure that requires no special tools.   Overall, I found the Balance Beam a useful tool with the small or off-balance camera that needs a bit more mass to achieve optimum smooth camera moves.    At just $249, it’s considerably cheaper than upgrading to a proper counterbalance and multi-step adjustable fluid motion tripod.  I’d recommend the next version offer the ability for users to move weights fore and aft as they need it, or reduce overall weight altogether.   SCORE: BALANCE BEAM   PROS: A simple, affordable tool that smoothes out lightweight camera tripod movements.  Weight adjustments are instinctive.CONS: Fine-tuning the weights is limited; may not work with certain large cameras.BOTTOM LINE: Cheaper than upgrading your tripod.  A good buy._______________________   Trig,   I'd like to tell you how impressed I am with your Balance Beam videocamera stabilization system. I am Director of Media for good-sizedchurch in California, which includes overseeing a team of volunteers torun the media on Sundays. As you might expect, we don't have a hugebudget, or pro-level equipment--just three pro-sumer level video cams(older Canon XL1s and a Sony PD150). These are not really heavy cameras, and even thought we've invested in decent Manfrotto legs and heads, the problem still remains: How do you get smooth shots with non-pro cameras, used by people who don't do this for a living 40 hours a week?   Here's my answer: It's a combination of training and your Balance Beams.Because our cameras don't have the mass (and therefore smoothness) oflarger pro cameras, they're more prone to sudden movement, particularlywhen panning (and our Pastor is all over the stage when he'spreaching!). This is where your Balance Beams, as advertised, havehelped considerably. It makes it easier for my camera people to delivergood shots more smoothly, and with greater confidence.   The other side of the coin is training, obviously, and honing one'scraft as a camera operator. My people do a commendable job with thetools we have, and I'm blessed to have them. But the bottom line is, ourcamera operation during our services on Sunday mornings is now smoother than it was without the Balance Beams. To us, it's worth the investment, especially since we will soon offer videos of our Sunday morning services to our congregants, and on our website.   I'd also like to comment on the excellent quality of your BalanceBeams--machined with precision, finished nicely, and even including aManfrotto camera mount. Way to go!   They say necessity is the mother of invention, and you obviously thoughtthis design through before offering it to the public. Thanks for a greatproduct--I highly recommend it!   --John WelshDirector of MediaQuail Lakes Baptist ChurchStockton, CA       Place a Bid!