A case of professional support: The Miller tripod story

 

There has been a lot of talk in the VideoCamera community of late about tripods. Miller Camera Support Equipment has been designing and delivering professional fluid-heads and tripods for film and television right here in Australia since 1954. Herees the Miller story.

As the holder of the first patent for fluid-head design for film cameras in 1946, Miller can proudly lay claim to the titles of leader and innovator in the field of contemporary camera support.

Before Eric Miller introduced the worldds first patented fluid tripod head system in 1946, camera operators needed bulky and expensive gear-driven assemblies. The fluid head revolutionised filmmaking by giving operators the freedom to shoot more creatively, and reduced production costs of film that previously ended up on the cutting room floor.

Conceived utilising the most advanced 3-D software tools, the Miller camera support range is leading edge precision, from design to final test. The use of corrosion-resistant alloys, high-strength, impact-resistance polymers and dust-proof, moisture-resistant housings combine with sleek exterior design to produce the strongest, lightest products available.

All components of the Miller camera support equipment range are CNC-machined, and then stringently tolerance-tested before installation into sub-assemblies. Quality in Miller camera support products begins in design and concludes in the precision-moulding, die-casting and machining of the most advanced materials available. Light, strong corrosion-free, all Miller camera support components are chosen for their ability to maintain strength and shape characteristics under the harshest temperature variations and climatic conditions.

>A revolution in our manufacturing process over the last eight years has further refined component tolerances and hence product quality and reliability,, explains Miller Managing Director, Grant Clementson. So with the launch of the latest ENG tripod the Sprinter II, again we bring to market a patented innovation in the competitive field of camera supportt.

Sprinter Series

Setup and pull down time for news crews has been halved as a result of Millerrs innovation. The patented locking system on the Sprinter Series of lightweight ENG/location tripods has new features with the Sprinter II.

The New Sprinter II ENG tripod range features Miller Sprint-Loks, dual, side-action leg locks that let you independently adjust both stages of a two-stage tripod using one hand. Each tripod leg has two Sprint-Loks, co-located on the upper leg clamp. The result: high-speed adjustment, no more bending down to adjust the lower tripod stage, and no more accidental unlocking. Millerrs designers have updated the streamline design of the levers to bring you a more ergonomic feel to the level-lock action.

The Sprinter II ENG series is available in carbon fibre or alloy tubing, in 2-Stage or Single Stage, with tripods weighing from 2.5 kg to 3.5 kg and 45 kg carrying capacity. Despite their incredibly light weight, a newly designed 100 mm bowl has increased the torsional rigidity of the tripod to ensure highly stable shooting.

Going Solo

Recent product success for Miller has been driven by the Solo range of tripods both for DV and ENG applications. Proven worldwide as the most versatile DV tripod available on the market, Miller Camera Support now announces a great accessory to the SOLO DV Tripod, the Solo DV Dolly.

Millerrs new Solo DV Dolly boasts a 729 mm width dimension for safe manoeuvrability through standard doorways, while a collapsed length of only 552 mm and its lightweight (2.5 kg) aluminium construction enhances portability. The ergonomically designed carry handle is moulded into the dollyys reinforced die-cast centre bracket for optimum carriage strength.

The SOLO DV Tripod uses a special mounting method using its own foot assembly to ensure a quick, sturdy and easily located mount to the Solo DV Dolly. The high-quality TPR rubber wheels on the SOLO DV Dolly also offer inertia-free start-ups, foot-engaged solid dual-lock braking on each wheel and castor, as well as ultra-smooth fluid-style rolling action.