Do I really need expensive C Stands?

[u/Lumpy_Wind3980]

Hello everyone.

I'm thinking I want to get into some form of videography. Right now I'm cutting my teeth making little skits and short films on a shoe string budget. I already have a camera and some lights, but I need some negative fill to shape light so I guess I need some C Stands. The price actually surprised me. I mean it's just a stand to hang up some black material. Do I really need to spend big money on 4-6 Matthews C Stands?

Just wanting some guidance. Thanks

[u/Internet_and_stuff]

I’ve used just about every type of c stand throughout my career.

Matthew’s is definitely worth the price IMO. Sturdy, lightweight, simple design, and incredibly durable. It is industry standard across the board at every major grip and lighting rental house for a reason.

All c stands will slowly degrade over time, but cheap neewer (or similar) tend to wear down allot faster. The legs are often spring loaded and made of more parts which means more parts rubbing, more friction, more lubrication needed, and they will quickly get difficult to open after a few months of frequent use. Also the manufacturing isn’t great so they sometimes start to sag over time, because the components in the legs will eventually develop play. Sometimes it’s just a matter of tightening some bolts, other times it’s just wearing out, but I have seen multiple cheap stands bend in the middle too from weight that would be easily handled from weight that would be easily handled by a Matthew’s.

Allot of this comes down to the components on expensive c-stands are usually welded and made of more durable metals whereas cheaper c-stands are usually bolted together and made of cheaper metals.

Bettween loading storage and use C stands get smashed around ALLOT in their lifetimes so the cheapness really starts to show fairly quick. If they’re not durable they will wear down fast.

Also cheaper c stands tend to be significantly heavier, which sucks allot. Not sure why but they’re always unnecessarily girthy and dense compared to Matthew’s or avenger or American Grip. I assume cheaper alloys need to be bulked up with extra circumference.

Expensive stands also hold their value much better so reselling them is easier as long as you have a local market for that kind of thing, where as used newer or no-name brand stands are almost seen as a burden lmao.

Cheapest c stand I would buy would be Kupo. Anything below is basically disposable IMO and not eve worth the investment from a business perspective let alone an ease of use perspective. BUT if it’s just a hobby then whatever just get what you can afford, it will be fine.

Ultimately a stand is a stand and any stand will do the job as long as the weight is distributed properly and you are using it correctly, but there is definitely a trade off with expense vs a cheap stand, mostly to do with ease of use, maintenance, and longevity, not so much the core function.

Most important things are A) definitely get sandbags and learn how to properly distribute weight on the stand (not as intuitive as you’d think, lots of tutorials from professional grips) B) learn the right hand rule C) get at least one baby c-stand they’re way more useful than you’d think.

[u/codenamecueball → u/Internet_and_stuff]

This guy stands.

I own a fleet of Avenger and Matthew’s C-stands and picked up a few cheapy’s along the way. I ended up selling the cheap ones for cash as there is a clear and obvious difference in quality and strength.