Is anyone using this Matthews Steel stand?

I've been reading and researching new grip gear and light stands. One by one I'm replacing all my Impact and cheap aluminum stands with heavy duty stands.

I love the Avenger product line but I'm also a little turned off to many of the roller stands that have a steel base and first column but have aluminum risers. The only Avenger stands I can come up with that are steel from top to bottom and will accommodate a simple and smallish boom with a strobe and octa or beauty dish have an enormous footprint. Since I would be using a weight or sandbags on any stand with a boom mounted I can't see getting a stand that has a 51" footprint like the A5042CS. If I had a large studio I might not even care but I don't and that stand isn't a great choice.

So that led me to Matthews, which is a company I also like very much, and after some research and discussion with a B&H salesman that I like and trust, I came across the Matthews H386022 Junior Double Riser Rolling Steel Stand.

It looks great, the size and dimensions work well, it's strong with a smaller (smaller, but not small) footprint, and it comes highly recommended.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …86022.html#spec​ifications

Anyone using one? Any info?

I'm not familiar with that exact stand but my gut tells me it's probably a good one for what you want to do. I had hollywood beefy baby, preemie baby and mini- preemie baby stands. The Beefy Baby dual rise is the one that I always recommend to people for the 74inch octa. The review at BH says that the stand you're looking at is solid with a 74inch octa and a boom and I'm inclined to totally believe that after my experience with the beefy baby. I used the octa as a reference since it's probably the biggest modifier that most people would ever use on a stand and boom. The price range is about what would be expected too...

It's really cool that you're looking at the steel matthews stands.

Gentleman Villain wrote in post #11113363
I'm not familiar with that exact stand but my gut tells me it's probably a good one for what you want to do. I had hollywood beefy baby, preemie baby and mini- preemie baby stands. The Beefy Baby dual rise is the one that I always recommend to people for the 74inch octa. The review at BH says that the stand you're looking at is solid with a 74inch octa and a boom and I'm inclined to totally believe that after my experience with the beefy baby. I used the octa as a reference since it's probably the biggest modifier that most people would ever use on a stand and boom. The price range is about what would be expected too...

It's really cool that you're looking at the steel matthews stands.

Thanks for the feedback Mike. The Matthews stands are really supposed to be outstanding and in some case they look to offer more than Avenger, although some of the Avenger stands are really nice.

You mostly see people using matthews stands for heavy modifiers. for holding basic strobes/umbrellas, the matthews stand is really overkill. It is useful for boom work.

The extra weight to the stand is a deal breaker (for me).

c2thew wrote in post #11113413
You mostly see people using matthews stands for heavy modifiers. for holding basic strobes/umbrellas, the matthews stand is really overkill. It is useful for boom work.

The extra weight to the stand is a deal breaker (for me).

I have stands dedicated to the studio and other dedicated to location work. The weight of the stand isn't an issue and actually works out well in the studio. A nice heavy stand balances better with almost any load and doesn't require counterweights as quickly as if you were using a lighter weight stand. I use a boom in a great deal of the work I do in the studio and most of the time it's not for extended reach but for the purpose of getting a modifier above me with the light stand riser offset so I have room to shoot. I'll also be using short arms to offset modifiers to achieve greater downward angles. Once the load goes too far off center aluminum stands begin to bow and flex. I'm tired of that.

One thing to think about is air-cushioning. The steel stands are solid but can actually get sort of scary at how fast the risers will come down when the brake is loosened. That makes it really easy to pinch a finger or break a light.

Gentleman Villain wrote in post #11113514
One thing to think about is air-cushioning. The steel stands are solid but can actually get sort of scary at how fast the risers will come down when the brake is loosened. That makes it really easy to pinch a finger or break a light.

Very true but after working with stands that are air-cushioned and then those without, I think I prefer stands without it. I definitely recognize the possibility of having a stand and light come crashing down if I'm not careful or not thinking.

I find it interesting that as you look more at the pro stands there are fewer with air cushioning and the bulk of what's out there is not air cushioned.

Wonderful stand, worked with them
for decades, will last forever and you can leave them to your children in nearly the condition as when new.

They are so strong that if you can't quite reach the light to make an adjustment, a 200 pound person can stand in the outstretched legs to gain height. They are fast and easy to work with, add a large grip head with a senior 1 1/8" spud and you have amazing gripping power, get a riser for extended height and well- Matthews has been providing grip gear for the movie industry forna very long time- they have to be tough and they have to do their job very well or Matthews hears about it loudly.

I love this particular stand when shooting tabletop food shoots as I could put a 5K fresnell on one, get it high or low enough and move it around easily.

Jannie wrote in post #11113549
Wonderful stand, worked with them
for decades, will last forever and you can leave them to your children in nearly the condition as when new.

They are so strong that if you can't quite reach the light to make an adjustment, a 200 pound person can stand in the outstretched legs to gain height. They are fast and easy to work with, add a large grip head with a senior 1 1/8" spud and you have amazing gripping power, get a riser for extended height and well- Matthews has been providing grip gear for the movie industry forna very long time- they have to be tough and they have to do their job very well or Matthews hears about it loudly.

I love this particular stand when shooting tabletop food shoots as I could put a 5K fresnell on one, get it high or low enough and move it around easily.

Thanks Jannie. Regardless of what else I add or what stands I use I want at least one very serious stand that can hold and support anything I put on it under any conditions.

Considering how close the Matthews is in price to a comparable Avenger stand I don't see a reason not to get the Matthews.

Can Mike or Jannie answer this.......

Do the legs fold the same way as on the Avenger roller stands? or do they collapse like on other tripod stands? I can't tell from the image how the base and legs fold.

TMR Design wrote in post #11113535
Very true but after working with stands that are air-cushioned and then those without, I think I prefer stands without it. I definitely recognize the possibility of having a stand and light come crashing down if I'm not careful or not thinking.

I find it interesting that as you look more at the pro stands there are fewer with air cushioning and the bulk of what's out there is not air cushioned.

Don't think there's really any way you can air cushion rugged steel stands of this size and weight. The only stands I've ever seen with air cushioning are thin aluminium ones which are pretty much useless for this sort of load.

I know Avenger have springs under the risers of their steel stands which do a fairly good job of cushioning the impact if a riser comes down too quickly. Would hope that matthews do the same.

Really interested as to your findings on this stand. I'm currently waiting for Kupo to deliver something similar (and a bit more modular). If that turns out to be a dissapointment I may be looking at buying a few of these too.

You loosen the hand bolt at the top of the three legs and pull up, there also should be two pins sticking out at the top of where the leggs end up to mount the stand along a studio wall or on a door in a grip truck. The leggs are heavy enough that when setting up, loosen the hand bolt and give one legg a pull in the middle and all three will just drop into place. The wheel locks are great, just press your toe on the top one way or the other to lock or unlock.

Wow, this is really sounding great.

I was ordering some other items this morning from B&H and decided to hold off for a day to get some feedback on this stand. I'm glad I did.

Not to mention that my 'guy' at B&H has my order sitting there ready to be completed tomorrow morning and he'll walk it over to shipping for me tomorrow so it's the same as if I placed the order today.

I'm not a big fan of paying New York State sales tax but I just can't beat the service and support from B&H.

The stand is in stock so it will ship tomorrow and I'll have it on Tuesday. Once I get a chance to play a bit I'll report back with images and feedback.

I just completed the order at B&H. The stand and some assorted pins will be here Tuesday.

These are the times when it's a pleasure to NOT pay shipping.

Looking fwd to seeing your impressions, as am considering that stand myself as well.

This would have been a better choice because it has a grip head built in:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …REG/Matthews_H3​77573.html

I have two of those medium rollers and a high roller and love them. They are like C-stands are steroids.