Please note that Stuart Vu, a visitor here pointed out that Amazon has the exact same focusing rod as the one I purchased from Cheetahstand:
Certainly a highly convoluted description! But it the same unit. And the price comparison:
- Cheetahstand $158.88 – Amazon $119.99 = $38.89 less. 25% savings
- Cheetahstand shipping from Texas to California $29.02 – Amazon Prime $0.00
So in total the Amazon unit would have saved me $67.91!!!
If I need another one of these I will be purchasing mine through Amazon. I found that the shipping of $29.02 to be a bit much from Cheetahstand.
I wanted to mount my 69″ Elinchrom Octa I often use with a focusing rod I fabricated. Here it’s using the new Mark II version of Cheetahstand’s focusing rod.Anyone who follows my blog knows that I prefer to use focusing rod modifiers for my client base. I find the quality of light and the flexibility invaluable in my work. I’m not going to go through all of the advantages I find in focusing rods in this post. You can read about my experiences with focusing rods on other pages:
During a recent visit to the Cheetahstand site to find something unrelated to focusing rods, I happened upon Edward’s new Mark II system. Unlike his prior focusing rod (which I highly modified to use any Bowens mount modifier) which was specifically designed for his proprietary small diameter tension rod diameters, his new system now accepts any Bowens modifier. So I purchased one to find out if it would meet my needs without having to do any fabrication.
His Mark II version uses a very standard swivel which is supplied with many instruments like a boom arm I use. Parabolix uses a very similar swivel system. It’s rock solid.
Very nice that the center puck is silver and not black.
This is the proprietary portion of the focusing rod Edward had designed. It simply slides onto the end of the actual rod and is held in place by three set screws. Be advised that my unit did not come with an Allen wrench and the Bowens collar was detached from the rod. Just as a FYI it uses a 3mm hex wrench to cinch down the setscrews.The Bowens modifier mount can be placed at different places along the shaft of the focusing rod. I chose to mount mine at the very end of the unit to allow the most distance when I want to flood the light. I don’t plan to test the unit for ‘quality of light’ simply because I have no doubt it will perform well. I’m very happy that someone has manufactured a focusing rod this well done that accepts any Bowens modifier. For $158.88 I view it as a bargain. I was a bit taken back by Cheetahstand’s shipping charge for California via UPS ground. $29.02 seemed a bit excessive, but oh well.
Hi Mike, You can buy the same identical rod on Amazon for $119 with free shipping 🙂 Link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CJX9XYT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
GAH! LOL Stuart thank you for sharing that link. It does appear to be the very same unit, for less money AND free shipping. I will purchase from Amazon if I need more in the future. Thank you.
I bought the one on Amazon, it appears very solid and high quality unit. Be aware you might get the black inodized inside the Bowens mount not in silver as shows in the Amazon’s photo. Also I found the Bowens mount is a bit loose when mounted so I replace the identical one with springs loaded 🙂
The black puck can be painted. Bowens mounts vary greatly and unless it is so loose that the modifier would fall out I doubt it to be an issue.
Thank you Stuart, thank you Mark 🙂
You are both more than welcome 🙂 Cheers.