Tuesday 27 April 2010

0 Sony VCT870RM Tripod w/Remote for Sony MiniDV, DVD, HDR-HC5 & HC7 Camcorders

Review Sony VCT870RM Tripod w/Remote for Sony MiniDV, DVD, HDR-HC5 & HC7 Camcorders


Buy Cheap Sony VCT870RM Tripod w/Remote for Sony MiniDV, DVD, HDR-HC5 & HC7 Camcorders From Here Now!

The VCT-870RM features a built in level and two-way pan head that lets you scan landscapes and shoot portraits. The remote control grip lets you control zoom, record, start, stop, and lock/standby features.
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Technical Details

- Keep your camcorder or digital camera steady and ready for action
- Expands from 26 to 64 inches
- Built-in level and 2-way pan head for easy portrait and landscape shooting with quick release
- Remote controlled grip allows you to control zoom, record, start/stop and lock/standby functions
- Easy height adjustment with elevator mechanism
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Customer Buzz
 "tripod sony" 2008-10-24
By Samuel Lazcano (USA)
This tripod is out of production, although I bougth it because the price and the need of lanc connection for my camcorder Sony DSR PD170, was the only model with a reasonable price. The desadvantage is that it can not hold stablity for the camcorder, too light, not enough hight, and the locks for the vertical and horizontal moves are not good enough, you loose in trying to loose or tight the buterfly nuts. The only advantage is the remote controller and the price. I hope Sony can improve it like the next level but with more confortable price.

Customer Buzz
 "Good Pro-sumer Value" 2008-01-28
By Juno Fly Dog (La Vergne, TN)
The Sony VCT-870 is the tripod I bought. I think the LANC will also work with Cannon cameras.



I like the fluid-ness of the head as there appears to be very little static friction. The pan and tilt are both smooth. The tripod legs are heavier and sturdier than the most expensive tripod I have seen in the electronic box stores or pro photo stores. I have been looking to buy a tripod for 2-3 years now and have not seen a pro-sumer version that I thought would be good enough for video. The legs are double extension with a flip-over friction clamps for quick setup and leveling. There is a built in bubble level at the apex of the legs. The center column extends up like most tripods out there. With everything extended I still get good enough stability. I am 6' 6" tall and it extends tall enough for me. The removable mounting plate has no slop in it. The mounting plate lever clamp is spring loaded closed but has an automatic trigger pin that keeps it open until the plate is inserted.



With that said, I noticed several review saying the PAN function was too stiff. I agree that it is too stiff. If the tripod is just sitting on the ground, panning will cause the tripod to flex and wants to tip a little. There is no static friction, just high drag friction (this is of course with the drag control backed out). The TILT can have close to no drag at all which makes for difficult pan/tilt movements since the forces are different for each direction. I did notice that when the tripod warmed up in the sun for a while, the pan drag eased up a bit.



The "work around" for this dissimilarity of drag is to add enough tilt drag to equal the pan drag. The drag control adjustment is very accurate and does not stick, bind or jump like the cheaper ones sold at electronic box stores. When I shoot a football game, if I securely strap the tripod to a handrail, the pan drag is not an issue at all since the drag will add stability to the shot. If the tripod is free standing, I grab the neck of the tripod with my left hand and the handle with my right hand. My left hand will add the needed stability to counter act the flexing or drag of the tripod while my right hand aims the shot. This provides more than acceptable results for shooting football plays since the action is fast and last for only 20-30 seconds at a time. If I were to shoot a theatrical event or a long slow shot, I think the panning might be more of an issue if you could not securely strap the camera down. It would be harder to steady the free standing tripod without adding a little occasional hand movement.



The main reason I purchased this model was because of the LANC controller built into the handle. This controller is a TRUE variable speed zoom controller. A lot of the after market "clamp on" controllers have a zoom in/out toggle switch with a separate variable speed knob. This would be almost impossible to shoot a variable speed zoom in, stop, then zoom out as it would take juggling two controls with one hand. I have only used four of the functions - Power ON, Record Start/Stop, Zoom IN, and Zoom Out. The Zoom function is reversed from what you would intuitively think. To "push in" or zoom in you pull back on the controller. To "pull back" or zoom out you push the controller forward. After a short time of working with the controller you start to sub-consciously zoom correctly without having to think about it. The complete handle is easily removable and can mount on the left or right side of the tripod head. The controller/handle could be used to zoom or start/stop a remotely mounted camera such as a steady-cam or boom type operation with only a LANC extension cable.



It was my intention to reverse the zoom pot to make it function the intuitive way. The pot is custom made with a flexible plastic multi-conductor cable. The pot can not be mounted backwards as it is built with a one-way snap in design. The three conductor plastic cable terminates with a four conductor end that plugs into an edge connector. You can not simply flip the cable over as the active three conductors will be offset and the conductive side would be opposite the contacts. The last possibility is cutting the circuit board and swapping the two outer leads. I have no problem with doing this as I used to modify circuit boards all the time in a previous job. The problem is that one of the outer conductors continues to other parts of the board and can not easily be bypassed. I gave up and decided to learn how to use it backwards. It did not take as long to get used to it as I thought it would.



I would buy this tripod again if I ever needed another one. I would be willing to pay up to $200 for it as I see it as being a good $100 tripod with a good $100 LANC controller.



The ONLY reason I did not rate it 5 stars is because the legs could still be a little stronger to counter act the pan drag. I would only rate something 5 stars if there were no room for improvement. I think it is a good compromise and good value. I give the value aspect 5 stars.

Customer Buzz
 "Never Disappointed, Great!" 2007-12-17
By James Lo (Northridge,CA USA)
I have 3 tripods price range from $40.00 to $80.00. They make noises when I turn any directions. But this one turns smooth without making a any sequaking noises. I couldn't believe when my wife liked it. That's A+.

Customer Buzz
 "Outstanding performance" 2007-10-04
By L. Nalls (Dayton, Ohio)
I have purchased and used the Sony VCT870RM Tripod side-by-side with professional tripods for projects in Video Production Technology II, and its performance is equal to the professional tripods. The only difference is that professional tripods are much heavier. Still, this tripod is stable even in windy conditions, which makes it my favorite tripod to carry with me for projects away from the studio. Actually, I find myself using this tripod more than any of the more hi-end professional tripods in our studio. Panning and tilt are fluid, set up is quick and easy, and the quick release attachment makes it fast and simple to transfer my video camera on and off the tripod. The remote handle is ideal because it eliminates the need to touch the camera, which prevents camera-shake caused by having to depress the button on the camera to start and stop recording. If you want an excellent tripod that performs like the professionals without having to spend alot of money, this is definitely the tripod to buy.

Customer Buzz
 "Sturdy but lacking in certain key areas" 2007-10-03
By CG (SoCal,)
This tripod is sturdy and is taller than most which is important to me as i want my camera to be at eye level or higher. The cheaper versions with remote are shorter although lighter.



The single biggest problem with this tripod is the remote control for the zoom. It is reverse of what would be intuitive. Pushing the buttom IN zooms OUT; likewise pushing OUT zooms IN. I even tried to rewire the switch but didn't find a way to do so. I had soder iron at the ready, but the fine ribbon cable was too delicate for the necessary surgery to make me rate this tripod high. While its no fluid head; the pans and tilts are fairly smooth. Smooth enough for what I use it for which is capturing my kids' sporting events.



Lastly, for the price i'm willing to put up with the backward ergonomics of the zoom. You just have to 'think' about your zooms more than you would prefer to.



Great price from the remanufacture site...


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Buy Sony VCT870RM Tripod w/Remote for Sony MiniDV, DVD, HDR-HC5 & HC7 Camcorders Now
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