Opinions on the Manfrotto Expan System?

danieljamesphoto

danieljamesphoto

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Hi,

Looking into re-arranging my studio and the main issue I have is that currently i'm using a screed covered garage which has a white painted floor with a very large thick white sheet hanging that currently serves as my background. This has got dirty/marked over the past year or so, not so much that it's a big issue but I feel that a paper background system such as the Manfrotto Expan system may be a good replacement for the new year.

Can I have some opinions on this system please? and also if not, what would you suggest instead? or a different type of background (vinyl etc)?

thanks :)

Dan
 
The Expan system is great.... But is designed only for paper and other light rolled backgrounds, and certainly not vinyls. Manfrotto even added 'B/P' (background paper) into the product title a few years ago to make this clearer. There are several cheaper copies of this system on the market as well, although interestingly Manfrotto have very recently discontinued plastic chains, which will snap for a pastime unless you have the brake adjusted correctly.

There are other heavier duty systems available which will deal with paper, heavy canvas and vinyl backgrounds - see herehttp://www.studiodecor.co.uk/index.php/background-management. Expand the Read More links and most of the pros and cons are listed.
 
Manfrotto's Expan System is IMO the small studio industry standard for background paper handling - I have also use it for heavy weight vinyl, but not full widths. However one thing I would caution against is the cheap eBay versions, whilst the brackets are absolutely fine the actual drive units are rather poor in the context of the quality of the plastics, which is of considerable importance in the friction system and the overall finish isn't great on those that I've seen and used.

Having said that I'm currently using a complete Chinese made set, mounted on autopoles with superclamps that cost less than just the Manfrotto triple bracket on their own. But I know full well that in time I'll be replacing the expan drive units with the real thing...which I should never have sold in the past!

Paul
 
danieljamesphoto said:
Thanks for the information :)

I'm thinking of not using the autopoles, partially to cut down on the cost, but overall would you recommend a paper system? i'm partly worried about cost of the paper but think it would produce a smoother overall effect in the long run
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Would be my first choice for paper handling and don't forget (subject to a suitable structure and fitting skills) they can be ceiling mounted.

Paul
 
I've seen an expan system old 3 vinyl rolls(white,grey,back) using metal chains, my own expan system I have 1 white vinyl and 2 paper rolls on plastic chains the plastic chain and weight doesn't hold the vinyl and I've clamped a break onto the system so it doesn't unravel
 
The Expan's have a rated capacity of 10kg, so as long as the vinyl is under that weight per role it shouldn't be a problem. Personally paper is a far superior surface in most instances and of course available in a wide variety of colours. Vinyl IMO has only one real advantage and that is of longevity...and then only really if used on the floor.

Paul
 
If your doing the whole white background thing with the background coming down into the floor then vinyl will last alot longer, if it just comes down the wall and no kids are standing on it, then paper all the way , I just use background clamps as a break. But you can buy an actual break think karlu sell them and that's where I got my background clamps
 
As a postscript to this thread, at Focus last week I had about five people on the stand every day asking for something stronger than expans, either because the chains were always snapping, they weren't holding vinyl backgrounds or they were just disintegrating.
Discussion revealed that all were cheap copies of the Mannfrotto expans ( which are now only supplied with metal chains incidentally)

We sold rather a lot of Standard Chain Systems as a result
 
That's interesting, so interesting in fact that I copied and pasted the webpage into Word so that I could actually read it, I'm not great with grey on grey...

The problem as I see it is that these products always seem so complicated and it isn't easy to see exactly what is needed and how much it will cost. If the cost is reasonable it's an obvious no brainer with paper rolls, let alone with vinyl, even if its only going to be used occasionally. What sort of price are we looking at for a 3-roll setup?
 
But it is completely understandable that a novice/amateur/impoverished photographer would choose the Chinese option over the Manfrotto one! Given that the retail price from Manfrotto UK direct would be £326.80 for a wall mounting Triple hook Expan system;

1x pair of Triple Hooks 045 at £38.95
3x Expan sets 046MC’s at £95.95
(yes, I know you can get them cheaper)

I’ve had a set of Chinese ones I paid under £40 for, for over a year now and they are still going strong, but the quality of the plastic is quite poor as I mentioned earlier in this thread, but the brackets are fine. I have mine bolted to Superclamps and mounted on Autopoles. Now for a busy studio these just wouldn’t be viable, but for light use, non-pro’s I can think of far better ways of spending £300 on studio related kit.

As always you have to pay for quality, but there has an issue of the individuals expectations and being realistic, you pay less that 15% of the cost of a ‘pukka’ Manfrotto set-up like I did and you’d be absolutely stupid to expect it to perform as well as the real thing – for me, they performed beyond their price point and I’m happy! I’m careful with my kit, I wouldn’t dream of using these with wide rolls of vinyl, my set-up is only 2 metres wide. If a chain should break, no problem they are made of individual links (and I always use shortend chains so have spare links) if the main Expan ‘type’ unit breaks, I might get a second hand Manfrotto set – they are always on eBay, or buy a new set, but then again, perhaps get another eBay set and have loads spares!:D

Paul
 
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Paul, could you please link to the ebay shop where you got your system from, cheers Tel :)
 
TG. said:
Paul, could you please link to the ebay shop where you got your system from, cheers Tel :)
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Pro.photo no longer sell this kit and now only do a single unit at £39.99, however, I recently used another set-up from a German supplier (though I suspect it still originated in China) which was better than the ones I use, although still nowhere near a Manfrotto set-up. The invoice had it listed as a DynaSun ESB3 and a quick Google shows them on eBay, but a bit cheaper on Amazon. I didn't think to measure the spacing of the holes to see if they were compatible with mounting on Superclamps or the Manfrotto spacers/standoffs.

Paul
 
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Garry Edwards said:
The problem as I see it is that these products always seem so complicated and it isn't easy to see exactly what is needed and how much it will cost. If the cost is reasonable it's an obvious no brainer with paper rolls, let alone with vinyl, even if its only going to be used occasionally. What sort of price are we looking at for a 3-roll setup?
Click to expand...

As listed, a complete set for 3 backgrounds with 2.85m poles retails at £249+VAT= £298.80.

Also available in 3.05m pole length, and custom lengths are frequently made too
 
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