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VDB boom poles: yay or nay?


Landon Johnson

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I used a boom pole with a counter balance once.  It doesn't help with the rainbow, since that is a condition caused by the flex of the pole and the mic weight, and it really doesn't help much with fatigue.  I found it distracting and it obviously adds to the overall weight of the pole.  There may be times where this feature would be useful, but I never saw the need and I thought it was kinda silly.

Robert

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  Disassemble and clean your poles once a month?!!  That's a lot of work, with the q-tip and stuff.  Damn.  My Ambient poles have worked in almost all weather, windy beaches, dusty houses, windy/dusty unpaved parking lots, and rain and snow, and I've never cleaned them once and they work just as good as the first time.

  But what about Panamic poles?!  Aren't they the gold standard?  I've never felt such a smooth and solid device.  Except maybe for Loon.  Haven't tried the PSC but I'm definitely interested in it.  I need a 20' pole and I might try the PSC since I don't have $1500 for a Panamic.

  Dan Izen

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  • 2 years later...

Used a VDB the other day on a commerical shoot and was quite impressed with it. Not sure if it one of the older or newere styles. What are some of the differences to look for? I think the mixer I worked with bought them new in 2004.

Really old ones are skinnier, later ones are wide enough @ narrowest point to pass an XLR A3F.  Some older ones had gold bands about every foot or so on the upper stages. 

phil p

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When a really long pole is fully extended, it can flex, and many graphite poles are guilty of this. One way to cut down on this is to keep each section and inch or two from being fully extended. Usually what I do is extend a section all the way and then pull it back a little. Even an inch or two really helps on the pole flexing issue.

The "hodges effect" counter weight that goes on the bottom of a K-Tek pole is designed to reduce the amount of torque on the boom operator, therefore causing less physical stress on the operator. Yes, it does add weight, but requires less "work" (in the physics sense). If Manfred were still around, he could explain it way better than I could.

I should also add that if anyone has  "POS" k-tek pole that k-tek can be easily contacted to resolve any service issues they may be having. We pick up the phone and answer e-mails, so please contact us if you need to.

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I should also add that if anyone has  "POS" k-tek pole that k-tek can be easily contacted to resolve any service issues they may be having. We pick up the phone and answer e-mails, so please contact us if you need to.

I'm sure its not necessary, as K-Tek has a great reputation, but I just wanted to say that my K-tek pole has been the single most reliable piece of gear I've owned.  In 7 years of very regular use, it has only needed to be recabled once, and continues to work smoothly day in and day out.  When it eventually wears out, I will almost certainly be replacing it with another K-tek.

e.

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Anyone else experience their VDB pole shedding carbon? I'm not sure what happened but about a year ago mine started to get my hands really dirty. I'm guessing some sort of unapproved cleaning wipe was used, and that's just how that pole is going to be. It's weird because it happened pretty suddenly.

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Anyone else experience their VDB pole shedding carbon? I'm not sure what happened but about a year ago mine started to get my hands really dirty. I'm guessing some sort of unapproved cleaning wipe was used, and that's just how that pole is going to be. It's weird because it happened pretty suddenly.

The mixer I was booming for wrapped his VDB's with the tape they put on tennis rackets. Worked pretty but would require changing out every 1-2 months.

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The mixer I was booming for wrapped his VDB's with the tape they put on tennis rackets. Worked pretty but would require changing out every 1-2 months.

I wrap all my poles with tennis wrap and cover the pole with shrink tubing. Last's forever.

Eric

post-21-13081509559_thumb.jpg

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I have used an older VDB booming for a friend on commercials, very light weight, and seems ok to use. My start in the industry as a 3rd on feature film was using Panamic Poles, I felt spoilt. My first purchase of a boom was the Ambient QP480. A bit heavier than similar models as has been mentioned, but only slightly. It is seriously smooth, quiet, a great size for doco, realtiy etc... Its definitely worth having a try if you can find one to test out. I admit I haven't cleaned it since i bought it 3 years ago, but thats mostly because it hasn't tripped me up once ever ... now that I think about it I will take it apart and give it a clean :)

Maybe look into the Rycote boom??

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It looks like Trew Audio has a few of the older style poles on consignment if anyone is interested.

The biggest issue with mine is that the plastic end cap had the thread stripped out. It seems like spare caps are sold with spare cables, and (fortunately) I don't need a new cable yet. Overall I really like mine. I agree about finding that perfect spot on the collars and the friction will allow you to open and close the pole as needed without adjusting them. Might not work with a long rifle mic in a full zeppelin, but works with a 416 in a softie. great for those ENG/doc jobs where you need the reach.

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It looks like Trew Audio has a few of the older style poles on consignment if anyone is interested.

The biggest issue with mine is that the plastic end cap had the thread stripped out. It seems like spare caps are sold with spare cables, and (fortunately) I don't need a new cable yet. Overall I really like mine. I agree about finding that perfect spot on the collars and the friction will allow you to open and close the pole as needed without adjusting them. Might not work with a long rifle mic in a full zeppelin, but works with a 416 in a softie. great for those ENG/doc jobs where you need the reach.

I used a newer style 12' VDB yesterday with a CS3-e in a full Zepplien and had some trouble with the internal cable. Couldn't calm it down when I was swinging from actor to actor. Only had the pool extended to maybe 8'. I've used 17' K-Tek's before with full Zeppliens and didn't have a problem with the internal cable. Have you noticed any of this with your VDB?

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How did  I miss this topic?

 I primarily work as a boomie, based in Australia. Here the boom swinger is expected to own their own pole. Which I am glad of as I know my poles are well maintained. Have worked with many that haven't been and that can turn what would otherwise be a good pole into a piece of Shit. While I don't clean my poles once a month, I will clean them as soon as I can feel them getting dirty and usually carry a cloth (or at least my shirt) to wipe any dust/water etc off as the day goes by.

Dan spend the money on Panamic, you will not be sorry(unless you want internally cabled, not possible with Panamic). They are a little heavier, but the most rigid pole I have used. Never have to release more than a quarter of a turn to easily adjust length. You can adjust the tension in which the pole slides in and out(have to pull apart the pole to do so). Which I have only done a couple of times when I knew I was going to be on full extension a lot swinging a KMr82 outdoors in high wind. Oh and a simple quick release system. But one of the most important things is you can separate ever part in order to clean the pole thoroughly. 

Love my short/doco K-tek pole. When doing reality/doco/bag type work I like to be able to change the length of the pole during a shot.  This is not possible with Panamic poles due to the compression effect. Alas it has a tendency to come loose. As for my long K-tek  (6m?), politely, not a fan. Issues mentioned before, rainbow effect, creaking. In hindsight I would not have brought the longest pole K-tek make.

I too liked the older VDB poles the few times I have used them, although found them a bit flexi. 

Sorry really didn't like ambient or Gitzo. That said have only used rentals that had not been looked after. 

 

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I used a newer style 12' VDB yesterday with a CS3-e in a full Zepplien and had some trouble with the internal cable. Couldn't calm it down when I was swinging from actor to actor. Only had the pool extended to maybe 8'. I've used 17' K-Tek's before with full Zeppliens and didn't have a problem with the internal cable. Have you noticed any of this with your VDB?

I never had that issue with my VDB. I forget the exact size of mine, probably a L? I think it extends to about 13' or 14'? To be honest, if I am going to go full length on some sort of narrative work, I will probably pull out my Loon 18' pole anyway. I don't *often* need that full extension on doc work.

Was it cable slap? If you were only partly extended, the cable may be twisted up or stretched out and hitting the insides of the pole more than it should be. Just a guess. Generally my VDB cable holds up really well. I've had more issues with my Loon Audio cable getting stretched in hot weather and kind of jammed up when collapsing the pole.

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