boom counterbalance

whats everyone load their counterbalance bag with?

i was thinking sand would be nice but then, theres the risk of spilling it and the zippers not being "sand-tight" so i was wondering about bottled water. i havent tried fitment yet but i THINK i could get 8 1/2-liter bottles in the bag which would be right around 8-1/2 pounds...

i only have a speedlite in a octobox (some off brand from Amazon) on the end so i would think that should be sufficient. ive also been known to tape the legs of the stand to the floor but that makes it a bit less mobile...

If you can make the water bottles fit, that would be good. I use the small rocks that you get for the bottom of fish aquariums.

I consider the bag-and-hook design to be unacceptably dangerous. If the bag gets knocked off, there will be hell to pay. I use 30 lbs of Manfrotto iron weights that bolt onto my junior boom. The smallest Manfrotto size is 3 lbs and will nicely serve for a baby boom and speedlight. Not cheap but cheaper than light replacement or hospital biils.

Put the sand in a heavy ziploc bag then in the zippered pouch.

Not that it will, but I'd rather have sand spill out around my electronic equipment than water.

Sand...water...what's wrong with only spending $30 for 25 pounds of lead shot?!

Zip lock bags for lead shot or sand. I’ve mostly used zip locked sand in mine. No mess.

Wilt wrote in post #18746586
Sand...water...what's wrong with only spending $30 for 25 pounds of lead shot?!

sand is $5 for 50 pounds

extra goes on the ground, no problem.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18746623
sand is $5 for 50 pounds

extra goes on the ground, no problem.

But sand is not as dense as lead, so you need more sand for the equivalent amount of counterbalance force...about 7 times more volume of sand is needed as 1 unit volume of lead

RicoTudor wrote in post #18746524
I consider the bag-and-hook design to be unacceptably dangerous. If the bag gets knocked off, there will be hell to pay. I use 30 lbs of Manfrotto iron weights that bolt onto my junior boom. The smallest Manfrotto size is 3 lbs and will nicely serve for a baby boom and speedlight. Not cheap but cheaper than light replacement or hospital biils.

I use the manfrotto weights as well love how they are bright orange so they are easy to spot while boomed. I am too ocd for sand bags.

Wilt wrote in post #18746830
But sand is not as dense as lead, so you need more sand for the equivalent amount of counterbalance force...about 7 times more volume of sand is needed as 1 unit volume of lead

Lead Tire balancing weights at corners of intersections are free. So is sand here in Arizona...

Cuff weights used in Physical Therapy to wrap around ankles. Includes Velcro strap and reinforced hole with o-ring to slip hook through. Various weights available. Clean, simple and durable.

Glad I saw this as today I will be shooting 50 yard line Senior Day portraits with Mom And Dad at my Alma Mater's Football game. Three Canon 600 EX-RT's Bare flash on a light stand. Better secure with a cold, windy day here.
Just wished we had a photographer back when I was a senior. Way back.

Wilt wrote in post #18746830
But sand is not as dense as lead, so you need more sand for the equivalent amount of counterbalance force...about 7 times more volume of sand is needed as 1 unit volume of lead

Sand 2.65 g/cc
Lead 11.34 g/cc

4.28x

that is solid lead not shot which would be less dense due to spaces between the shot.

28316.85 cubic centimeters in a cubic foot

Our standard lead shot is #8 (.09”/2.29mm diameter). Density is approximately 436 lbs. per cubic foot. Per: https://marsmetal.com/​lead-shot/

So, 0.01539719283748 lbs per cc

6.98 g/cc

2.63x by my calculations.


... well I went to double check weight of sand because the calculations didn't seem quite right, 1.6 g/cc is probably a better weight for dry but damp sand can add 20-30 percent.

So, @ 1.8 g/cc it ends up being 3.87x

@ 2.0 approx 3.5x

This seems reasonable, and yeah, I use to reload shotgun shells and have carried around plenty of bags of bird shot. Also use to work retail at a landscape company throwing around bags of rocks and sand.

YMMV.

Either way, it is going to make a good problem to challenge my kids.

I use the Manfrotto-style counterweights, although all mine are real old--I bought them as Larson Reflectasol weights--Manfrotto apparently copied the design.

But I also use bag weights, and I've got quite a few of them. I put barbell plates in them--5 or 10 pound plates. Keeps them a compact, flat shape. I slip pieces of yoga mat in the bags to keep them from clanking.

I use the ankle exercise weights for around your ankle. The weights are made up of 5 or 6 individual, sealed bags of sand. You can use as many or as few as you need.