C-stands: chrome or black-painted chrome?

There was a post mentioning C-stand sin another thread but I didn't want to take the thread off-topic so I decided to create a new thread to ask my question.

RichNY wrote in post #9500368
For a gym setup why not just a superclamp and magic arm or small floor stand to support your strobe? The extra few feet the light has to travel isn't going to cost you practically any extra fall off and it makes setup/teardown quicker and safety is improved.

I'm surprised more people here aren't using C-stands.

I just viewed a video (sorry, it's a subscription video so can't provide a link) explaining the C-stands and what their advantages are and I can see where they can come in handy. So, now, I have a question. I see that Avenger carries two types of C-stands, the chrome stands and the black-painted chrome stands. My preference would be for the black-painted chrome stands for obvious reasons. Is any reason why one might be preferable to the other?

I got the black Avenger C-stands. It really is just a matter of taste. I did not buy the chrome because it might reflect some unwanted stray light. Probably not, but the black stands look classier.

All my stands are avenger chrome-plated. Seems like the black finish would safeguard you best against light being reflected by the stand but I can't say I've ever noticed this happening in real life.

On the other hand the silver finish will probably wear better under heavy use, flaked paint never looks good. Plus I occasionally have behind-the-scenes filming/photography on my shoots and the big shiny chrome stands look much more impressive

I say just get whatever version is cheaper. Also bear in mind that most avenger stuff (afaik) is only sold in silver anyway so you'll find it hard to get only black-finished stuff.

I use chrome Matthews stands. Considering the abuse commercial stands get being loaded and unloaded daily from storage rooms and onto trucks I agreee with Hermes that the black paint will most likely flake over time.

If I were looking to buy C-Stands today I would go used buying from a rental house or Craigslist. A good C-stand is pretty much destruction proof and the wear and tear mine got from commercial use before I owned them just gave them a nice patina.

Leo- Perhaps you could share some of the advantages that you saw in the video for those who might not know yet.

PacAce wrote in post #9508005
I just viewed a video (sorry, it's a subscription video so can't provide a link) explaining the C-stands and what their advantages are and I can see where they can come in handy.

Can you post a link to the sites home page so we can subscribe and watch the video? Do they have any other videos people might find interesting or informative?

williejr wrote in post #9508972
I got the black Avenger C-stands. It really is just a matter of taste. I did not buy the chrome because it might reflect some unwanted stray light. Probably not, but the black stands look classier.

That is the reason I prefer the black stand but I also had concerns about the paint flaking off (chrome doesn't seem to hold paint too well over time) as pointed out by Hermes and Rich.

RichNY wrote in post #9509486
I use chrome Matthews stands. Considering the abuse commercial stands get being loaded and unloaded daily from storage rooms and onto trucks I agreee with Hermes that the black paint will most likely flake over time.

If I were looking to buy C-Stands today I would go used buying from a rental house or Craigslist. A good C-stand is pretty much destruction proof and the wear and tear mine got from commercial use before I owned them just gave them a nice patina.

Leo- Perhaps you could share some of the advantages that you saw in the video for those who might not know yet.

1) The video shows how close you can place two regular light stands. With the heavy-duty lightstands used in the demo, the stands could be placed as close as 16" apart from each other. The C-stand, on the other hand, could be placed 1" apart from each other. (Is this what people mean when they say "C-stands stack very well"?)

This attribute is nice but I'm hard pressed to see when I would need to have two stands very close to each other under normal usage.

2) The legs of the C-stand can be positioned any way one desires. For example, two legs can be positioned 180 degrees from each other with the middle leg pointed 90 degrees from the other two (with the legs forming a "T" pattern). Positioned this way, the stand can be butted up right against the wall. I can see this being very useful when you need to get the stand as close to the wall as possible, like for use with a background stand. The closest I can get my background stand to the wall is 11". That may not really be much but when you have a small studio space like I do, that can make a difference in how much separation you can get between the subject and the background.

3) The legs can also be positioned with the two outer legs 90 degrees from each other and the middle leg 45 degrees from the other legs. Set this way, the C-stand will easily fit into a corner without taking up much space like a normal stand would. Again, useful for backgrounds in tight quarters.

Of course, the drawback to them, at over $100 a piece for a stand that extends to 8 ft. or taller, is that they cost much more than a standard light stand. Yes, they are virtually indestructible but that's not really an important attribute when used in a studio environment. If you do a lot of location shooting, then that's a different story.

I can see myself using the C-stands as a background stand because of the space I can get back compared to using the regular background stand, but I don't think I'd replace my regular (heavy-duty) light stands with them because I have yet to see the advantage of doing that for me. But, as always, other people's mileage may vary.

Pyromaniac wrote in post #9509603
Can you post a link to the sites home page so we can subscribe and watch the video? Do they have any other videos people might find interesting or informative?

Here's the link to video on the C-stand: http://www.izzyvideo.c​om/2008/03/30/c-stands/

Izzy has a lot of tutorial videos that are geared mostly towards video but many are applicable to still photography as well.

RichNY wrote in post #9509486
I use chrome Matthews stands. Considering the abuse commercial stands get being loaded and unloaded daily from storage rooms and onto trucks I agreee with Hermes that the black paint will most likely flake over time.

If I were looking to buy C-Stands today I would go used buying from a rental house or Craigslist. A good C-stand is pretty much destruction proof and the wear and tear mine got from commercial use before I owned them just gave them a nice patina.

Leo- Perhaps you could share some of the advantages that you saw in the video for those who might not know yet.

Rich, the Impact and the Matthews stands at B&H are described as "chrome finish" rather than "chrome steel construction" like the Avengers are. Can you (or anybody else who know) tell me what differences there are, if any, between the two types of construction?

I usually go with the chrome. I actually ping reflections off the stands from time to time. C-Stands are the way to go for the studio enviroment.

PacAce wrote in post #9510246
1) The video shows how close you can place two regular light stands. With the heavy-duty lightstands used in the demo, the stands could be placed as close as 16" apart from each other. The C-stand, on the other hand, could be placed 1" apart from each other. (Is this what people mean when they say "C-stands stack very well"?)

This attribute is nice but I'm hard pressed to see when I would need to have two stands very close to each other under normal usage.

2) The legs of the C-stand can be positioned any way one desires. For example, two legs can be positioned 180 degrees from each other with the middle leg pointed 90 degrees from the other two (with the legs forming a "T" pattern). Positioned this way, the stand can be butted up right against the wall. I can see this being very useful when you need to get the stand as close to the wall as possible, like for use with a background stand. The closest I can get my background stand to the wall is 11". That may not really be much but when you have a small studio space like I do, that can make a difference in how much separation you can get between the subject and the background.

3) The legs can also be positioned with the two outer legs 90 degrees from each other and the middle leg 45 degrees from the other legs. Set this way, the C-stand will easily fit into a corner without taking up much space like a normal stand would. Again, useful for backgrounds in tight quarters.

Of course, the drawback to them, at over $100 a piece for a stand that extends to 8 ft. or taller, is that they cost much more than a standard light stand. Yes, they are virtually indestructible but that's not really an important attribute when used in a studio environment. If you do a lot of location shooting, then that's a different story.

I can see myself using the C-stands as a background stand because of the space I can get back compared to using the regular background stand, but I don't think I'd replace my regular (heavy-duty) light stands with them because I have yet to see the advantage of doing that for me. But, as always, other people's mileage may vary.

Here's the link to video on the C-stand: http://www.izzyvideo.c​om/2008/03/30/c-stands/

Izzy has a lot of tutorial videos that are geared mostly towards video but many are applicable to still photography as well.

On the other hand, you can't adjust the size of a c-stand's footprint like you can with folding stands, which is just as vital when shooting in a small space.

With stands like the A510 and A700, I often only open the legs out a small amount when they only have to support something lightweight and centred which means they take up very little floor space. When they're holding something heavy on a boom I open them out to the full 1.5m (ish) where they're rock solid. With a c-stand you're always fixed at somewhere in-between which can be a disadvantage if you need versatility.

Hermes wrote in post #9510432
On the other hand, you can't adjust the size of a c-stand's footprint like you can with folding stands, which is just as vital when shooting in a small space.

With stands like the A510 and A700, I often only open the legs out a small amount when they only have to support something lightweight and centred which means they take up very little floor space. When they're holding something heavy on a boom I open them out to the full 1.5m (ish) where they're rock solid. With a c-stand you're always fixed at somewhere in-between which can be a disadvantage if you need versatility.

That's a very good point about being able to adjust the spread of the legs on regular light stands which isn't possible with the C-stands. I do that as well.

If you use the C's in photog studio enviroment, they will not suffer the same abuse as in a movie studio enviroment. I've had mine black almost two years and they look brand new. My regular lightstands have more wear.

I've bought C's that were used in film/movie studio enviroment off craigslist and they are banged up like you would not believe, but they work and I got them for cheap. I use those to flag my strobes, hold up background support or to hold scrims.

C stands are great. I rave about them. I refuse to use the excess of regular light stands we have in the studio now that I have enough matthews stands of all sizes. I have destroyed two lights in the last year with regular light stands. Never destroyed anything with c stands.

Be sure to check the other Matthews grip gear. I got a few small clamps with baby pins and won't believe how useful they are. You can put a light just about anywhere without need for a light stand. In fact, on location scouts the first thing I think about is how to place the lights without the need for stands.

I have been planning to write a blog post titled something like "Hey photographer, you don't always need to use a light stand!"

Oh you will need some sandbags. Don't use that grip head and arm without sandbags.

American C-Stands are the best! Better knuckles and friction pads. When used properly, they can support just about anything...

Matthews black paint sucks. I sent them pics of mine which were obviously collapsed while the paint was still wet so it looked pretty blotchy but they just ignored it...so much for the "stand 100% behind our manufacturing quality" in their catalog ;-P
Get chrome...they're fairly heavy to use on location too. I prefer the Lowel Grand Stand for location use...