Tutorial Which Lighting Stand?

[Garry Edwards]

Garry Edwards submitted a new resource:

Which Lighting Stand? - Stands do just one important job, which is to support the lights and hold them safely in position

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Most of my articles / tutorials are about technique rather than equipment because knowledge always trumps gear, but it’s hard to concentrate on technique and creativity when we’re struggling with the wrong gear, so I thought that I should share my thoughts on lighting stands.

They do just one important job, which is to support the lights and hold them safely in position, at the right height for the job. The “right height” will vary a lot, so you need both high ones and...

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[Petrochemist]

An excellent resource Gary, can't beleive I've only just seen it! Just one comment:
The obsolete Witworth camera threads are fully compatible with the American UNC standard which is actually what all recent models are. UNC 1/4-20 & UNC 3/8-16.
UNC threads are the normal standard in the states, though UNF are also seen where finer threads are required (then there are NPT etc for pipes...)

 

[Sky]

Nicely done Garry, that should save people some money. Like so many I learnt the hard way many years ago.

 

[Garry Edwards]

An excellent resource Gary, can't beleive I've only just seen it! Just one comment:
The obsolete Witworth camera threads are fully compatible with the American UNC standard which is actually what all recent models are. UNC 1/4-20 & UNC 3/8-16.
UNC threads are the normal standard in the states, though UNF are also seen where finer threads are required (then there are NPT etc for pipes...)

You're right of course, but the history is weird - 1/4" (and 1/2") was the standard back in the 50's and maybe earlier, in Germany, where they've used the metric since 1872.

Nicely done Garry, that should save people some money. Like so many I learnt the hard way many years ago.

Yes, I learned the hard way too, but it's always better to learn from other people's mistakes whenever possible.

 

[johnb5271]

Excellent article, thanks.