We sat down with local Guerrilla Filmmaker Tim Hamilton to chat about the OZEN 6AL2S Tripod he's been using while working on his first feature film.
What kind of Tripod do you usually like to use?
"There are a spectrum of Tripods. On a big cinema set, typically you’ll use heavy, massive steel legs. Broadcasting is about being lightweight, so journalists can carry their tripod around. And then when you’re doing travel / vlog type of things, you end up with these shocking, really flimsy ball head tripods, which are great if you’re going to be traveling around in a van and climbing mountains for 6-7 hours at a time."
Tim is fully comfortable climbing difficult structures with the Ozen, and says it still provides a lot of the stability that a film studio tripod would.
"It’s probably the best fluid head I’ve used, in fact i’d say it’s probably better than a lot of the heavy duty fluid heads i’ve used down at Stone Street."
Is there anything that makes the OZEN stand out to you?
"There’s a couple things in particular that make this Tripod stand out and suit my needs as a guerrilla filmmaker. It has a great side handle, so when I’m out and climbing it’s pretty easy to kick it up, close the legs and carry it one handed, not worrying at all about the camera."
The whole purpose of a tripod is that 3 legs is a self leveling shape, a quad-pod wouldn’t work; therefore it makes little sense that the spreaders are quite often at the bottom of a tripod, that only works on flat floors otherwise you have rocks and sticks and other stuff lifting the middle component off the ground.
"Luckily the Ozen tripod has its spreader half way up the legs, which means you still have all the great parts of the tripod, it can self level out without having to worry about all the stuff in the space in between the legs."
What else does the OZEN offer that works well for you?
"It also has rotating feet, which is ideal for one of the tricks I often use when I want a bit of camera movement; the Tripod Dolly. You essentially pick up one of the legs, and then move the camera forward on the two stationary legs, making it look like we're on a dolly. This might hurt the feelings of a lot of professional DoP's out there, but when you're out in the bush with a tripod and you just need that shot to look great, it really works."
"This is also finally a Tripod with a really decent, long handle. The more distance you have on your handle, the more control and smoothness you end up getting in your final shot."
The OZEN 6AL2S 75mm Aluminum Tripod & Agile 6S Fluid Head System works with 1 to 8kg payloads. It offers 8-step counterbalance, 3/3 + 0 pan/tilt fluid drag, and working heights ranging from 56 to 150cm. The two-stage tripod comes equipped with a fixed, extending mid-level spreader and wide rubber feet. Also included is a SoftCase 75, which has a carry strap and an internal pouch for storing the included pan bar.
Specifications
General
Head Mount Type 75 mm Bowl
Load Capacity 15 kg
Maximum Working Height 150 cm
Minimum Working Height 56 cm
Closed Length 68nbsp;cm
Materials Aluminium
Weight 2.5 kg
Legs
Leg Lock Type Twist Lock
Leg Sections 3
Feet Features Rubber
Spreader Mid-Level
Tripod Platform
Base Mount 75 mm Half Ball
Pan & Tilt
Drag Control Pan: Variable 3-Step Plus 0
Tilt: Variable 3-Step Plus 0
Drag Type Fluid
Vertical Tilt +90° to -80°
Independent Pan Lock Yes
Independent Tilt Lock Yes
Physical
Material Aluminium, Stainless Steel
Load Capacity 1 to 8 kg
Counter Balance Incremental 8-Step
Pan Handle Fittings 2 x Rosette
Bubble Level 1 x Illuminated
Operating Temperature --40 to 60°C
Dimensions 172 x 100 mm
Weight 2.18 kg