****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This is one of the best stands on the market. I prefer Matthews over the Avenger mainly due to Matthews' knobs are very smooth and feel good in your hands. Other than that they are the same product. You maybe wondering if the turtle base or the lazy leg base is the one for you. I have both and prefer the turtle base. The turtle base comes completely off and folds up. If you do a lot of traveling with your c-stand this comes in handy and if you fly to your destination this is the one for you. my last trip I forgot to pack the base and had to put it in my suitcase. It fit with no problems. I would recommend the lazy leg version for people who do a lot of location shoots on uneven ground. the third leg will raise and lower to accommodate uneven ground. Other than that the lazy leg base is a pain for me. Another pro for the turtle base is you can order different sized poles to fit your needs.The Grip head and arm are a must have. this acts like a mini boom arm and this satisfies most of my shooting needs. I have not pulled out my long boom arm in a while. I actually mount my lights to the bare end of this arm while most will use a baby pin or other pin and mount them to the grip end. This method has worked well for me and I have had no issues at all. Mounting my lights in this manner allows me to use the grip head as a big knob in order to turn the lights to the desired direction.Another plus for this is now you can mount another arm in the grip head for another light or a flag. This comes in handy for commercial photographers shooting products.This stand is heavy but it should last your entire shooting career. My suggestion would be to buy at least two so if you are on location you use can use these as stable background stands or stable light stands. This along with sandbags should stand up to windy conditions.
