It’s always dangerous for a photographer to walk into Vanbar. You may go in with a plan to purchase a specific item but then all kinds of other toys catch your eye and your original plan promptly goes out the window.
I recently walked in intending to buy a lighting stand suitable for supporting a boom arm I owned. Instead I was talked into buying the Phottix P-3950 combination stand/boom for only marginally more than the Manfrotto stand I’d intended to buy.
This stand isn’t small or compact but when it comes to supporting a loaded boom arm complete with sandbag, “small and compact” isn’t really the best idea. As just a lighting stand it’s pretty solid and can extend up to 3.95m (!) in height.
Where it gets interesting is the way the central column can be quickly turned into a boom arm. Rather than trying to explain how it works, it’s probably better to show you some photos.
![](http://photos.gilliver.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/15036206_10154906082099610_655594087063714038_n.jpg)
The key trick with this stand is the way it allows the centre column to be pulled up and out:
![](http://photos.gilliver.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/blah.jpg)
The centre column has a drilled hole in the end so that the supplied (empty) sandbag can be attached.
![](http://photos.gilliver.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/15085538_10154906094084610_7489340053582357167_n.jpg)
The spigot in the top of the stand is removable so that you can adjust the mounting angle:
![](http://photos.gilliver.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/blah2.jpg)
I know Manfrotto make a similar boom stand – I assume this is essentially a cheaper clone of it.I haven’t used booms much in the past but I’ve recently embraced using one to place a hair light directly above/behind a model. You do have to be careful when using them because a single mistake can easily lead to disaster. You don’t want to skimp on sandbagging a stand like this.
The stand weighs 3kg and is specified to hold a 3kg load. I’ll only be using this to mount a speedlight (with modifier) so that should be completely sufficient for my requirements.I picked this up for $AU187. This is the Vanbar website listing for it: http://www.vanbar.com.au/catalogue/product.php?id=111376
If you’ve found the above rant useful, you may like to sign up to one of my regular outdoor lighting workshops that I run in the Melbourne CBD. I run those through my meetup.com group Melbourne Photography Education.