Speed is always important. We are a culture obsessed with it. From optimising efficiency to having a faster workflow, it matters. Particularly when it comes to client work. How can we get from A to B more quickly? Well, that’s where redesigns of equipment can come in very useful. When companies throw out the traditional ways of making the workhorses of the gear we use, everybody wins. Sachtler Creative Director Alex Krause spoke to DIYP and gave us his ideas about how his company helps creatives speed up their workflow when shooting video.
In the video, you can see Alex demonstrating just how quick and easy it is to change the height of the Sachtler Flowtech 75 tripod. In one deft movement, you can extend or diminish the height of all three legs in one go. For most tripods, you have to extend each leg individually and it can be tricky to get all three at the exact same height.
After the legs, Sachtler decided to re-invent the tripod head. Now you don’t have to unscrew the head to fit it to the tripod, you simply place it onto the Flowtech 75 and you’re good to go! Additionally, it can be frustrating to balance many cameras once mounted on a tripod, and it’s easy to trap fingers in the mechanism by mistake. Not with this one. It’s easy and extremely rapid to level off the head. The other great thing for anyone with back problems is that you can operate the entire tripod system from the top 20cm. You don’t have to bend down at all. That’s fantastic news for filmmakers and camera crews who are often working punishingly long hours hauling heavy equipment. And Sachtler doesn’t just want to save your time, they want to save your money too. Of course, systems such as these certainly aren’t cheap. In fact, the tripod and head are probably worth more than most people’s cameras. But you do get what you pay for. Sachtler has designed the system so that you don’t need to buy multiple heads for each tripod or slider. You can use a single head such as the new Sachtler Aktiv8, and transfer it with the camera attached from for example the tripod, directly to a slider. That’s pretty clever, and as Alex says, it’s all about letting the people using the equipment focus more on creative decisions than on technical aspects. The Sachtler Flowtech 75 tripod is available to buy for $1866.75 and the Aktiv8 Head for $2213.50.
More about IBC
You can find all our coverage of IBC2022, in this linkEnter our $12,000 plus cine gear giveaway here!DIYPhotography’s coverage of IBC 2022 is sponsored bySennheiser, The Future of AudioSachtler, Producer of professional tripodsB&H, The professional’s source
