Manfrotto 085BS is it enough?

Hi, I would like to get a second opinion. I went to buy a light stand and boom in which I ended up with the Manfrotto 085BS. I told the sales guy that I was interested in a c stand and a boom. He had a lot of c stands but he asked me what I was gonna put on the boom. I told him the Elinchrom RX600 and the Elinchrom Deep throat 100cm. He then advised this combo kit. It sounded good and the price was comfortable with me. I noticed with the boom fully extended with the counterweight balanced, there was some flex and was a little nervous.

My question is that is the Manfrotto 085BS not enought to handle the head modifier combo? Also, can I use a sand bag instead of the counterweight that comes with it since I sometimes travel to other studios?

Any help would be appreciated.

squaresnappr wrote in post #11785488
Hi, I would like to get a second opinion. I went to buy a light stand and boom in which I ended up with the Manfrotto 085BS. I told the sales guy that I was interested in a c stand and a boom. He had a lot of c stands but he asked me what I was gonna put on the boom. I told him the Elinchrom RX600 and the Elinchrom Deep throat 100cm. He then advised this combo kit. It sounded good and the price was comfortable with me. I noticed with the boom fully extended with the counterweight balanced, there was some flex and was a little nervous.

My question is that is the Manfrotto 085BS not enought to handle the head modifier combo? Also, can I use a sand bag instead of the counterweight that comes with it since I sometimes travel to other studios?

Any help would be appreciated.

Stick with the clamp-on counterweight as there is no provision for attaching any other weight such as a bag. You will need every bit of the 15-lb weight as well. I have extra clamp-on counterweights in different sizes for my boom for when they may be needed.

Thanks Skip, I was hoping you would answer, lol. I always see you help others when it comes to stands and low and behold, you are the first to reply. Is this combo enough or should I return it and spend a little more? My friend is showing off his matthew setup with a magic stand and boom but he paid double what I did.

squaresnappr wrote in post #11785698
Thanks Skip, I was hoping you would answer, lol. I always see you help others when it comes to stands and low and behold, you are the first to reply. Is this combo enough or should I return it and spend a little more? My friend is showing off his matthew setup with a magic stand and boom but he paid double what I did.

I have the predecessor to the 085BS and don't foresee any reason to replace or upgrade it. It's rugged and very easy to use (unlike some boom rigs that use the two-piece pivots with the round clamps having mating sawtooth patterns to hold them in place).

Thanks once again Skip, your always very helpful with other member. One more question, there was a brown cardboard roll inside the pivoting clamp. I threw it away but my fellow photog friend said you need it. Is it protection for the boom arm or can I do without it? It would have been nice if Manfrotto had some kind of instructions with it.

squaresnappr wrote in post #11805380
One more question, there was a brown cardboard roll inside the pivoting clamp. I threw it away but my fellow photog friend said you need it. Is it protection for the boom arm or can I do without it? It would have been nice if Manfrotto had some kind of instructions with it.

You definitely need that part, as the hole bored through the clamp is larger than the 35mm diameter of the boom. The insert not only provides the correct size but allows the boom to slide smoothly through the (loosened) clamp without gouging up the boom.

My suggestion - dig the part out of the trash or order a replacement. You definitely need it.

SkipD wrote in post #11805403
You definitely need that part, as the hole bored through the clamp is larger than the 35mm diameter of the boom. The insert not only provides the correct size but allows the boom to slide smoothly through the (loosened) clamp without gouging up the boom.

My suggestion - dig the part out of the trash or order a replacement. You definitely need it.

Okay I smell like garbage now. Luckily garbage day is Thursday and my wife was wondering what the hell I am looking for but I got it. Skip thanks for all your help and I have 3 shoots this month with this great boom.

squaresnappr wrote in post #11806528
Okay I smell like garbage now. Luckily garbage day is Thursday and my wife was wondering what the hell I am looking for but I got it. Skip thanks for all your help and I have 3 shoots this month with this great boom.

That had to be fun, but I'm glad you found the part.

What you'll have to learn now is how to set up and balance the boom. I always get mine set up so that the boom - with the load and counterbalance weight all installed - is nearly perfectly balanced. When you have that set up, making adjustments to the position of the boom is extremely easy and you have no sideways force on the stand that would tend to tip it. Make all the balancing adjustments with the stand as low as it goes (so you and possibly a helper can easily control it) and only raise the stand's height when the boom is balanced.

A last thought - make sure that ALL of the setscrews on the boom connectors are tight before you start applying weight to the boom. It is possible that the setscrews that hold the boom connectors to the tubes as shipped may not be tight. You need to ensure that all are properly tightened.

One other precaution I would add to Skip's is to attach a filled weight bag or a clamp-on weight to the bottom of the 008BU stand. WIthout it, with most of the load being on the ends of the boom arm, the stand would be top heavy.

I love this stand. The clamped weight is the ticket for counter-weight adjustment.

Only things I wish it had was air cushioning and the ability to swivel the boom arm bracket.

windpig wrote in post #11808927
I love this stand. The clamped weight is the ticket for counter-weight adjustment.

Only things I wish it had was air cushioning and the ability to swivel the boom arm bracket.

There is an air cushioned version of that stand. When I got my 2nd boom stand, that's the version I got.

What do you mean by "swivel the boom arm bracket"?

PacAce wrote in post #11809056
There is an air cushioned version of that stand. When I got my 2nd boom stand, that's the version I got.

What do you mean by "swivel the boom arm bracket"?

I mean rotate the boom assy horizontally.

I think I've figured it out, I'm going to try it when I get home.

I don't own this stand, but it is very appealing to me. Just bought a secondhand boom for $75 with the sawtooth joint that Skip describes, and while it isn't incredibly difficult to deal with, it is a hassle. Having a separate joint for the pivot really does look like a great feature. I'm not complaining at $75, mind you, but at some point in the future I will likely buy something like this as an upgrade.

windpig wrote in post #11809876
I mean rotate the boom assy horizontally.

I think I've figured it out, I'm going to try it when I get home.

Merely loosen one of the stand joints and rotate to your heart's content. If one section is not raised, that's the joint I would use to rotate.

I would NOT loosen the connection of the clamp to the stand and attempt to rotate things there.

SkipD wrote in post #11810006
Merely loosen one of the stand joints and rotate to your heart's content. If one section is not raised, that's the joint I would use to rotate.

I would NOT loosen the connection of the clamp to the stand and attempt to rotate things there.

Loosening one of the stand joints is what I've been doing, it's just that with the weight of everything above the joint, it takes an effort to keep it from collapsing down.

Loosening the connection of the clamp to stand was what I was going to try, but it wasn't a route I've gone with in the past.