Tell me what tree arm you are using, and tell me what you like about it, and what you dislike about it. I'm curious what other people are looking for in their tree arm. For me, I want something that is lightweight and compact for packing in without sacrificing stability and smoothness.
I have a custom made arm I got a few years ago. Think I am going to be looking for a new one for next season. It is rather heavy and overkill for my XA10. Sent from my iPhone 5S using Tapatalk
I used a muddy outfitter the last two years. Honestly I had nothing to complain about. Maybe being a little longer when you are having to wrap the camera arm around you sometimes. Lighter with anything will be nice no matter what. For the price and how it works I dont know if u can top the outfitter. I sold mine a little bit ago to upgrade to there new one they came out with this year. really like how they put together two of there arms to make one. Also the silent strap will be real nice when setting up trying to be as quiet as possible. I really think this camera arm is going to be a big hit for people filming hunts
I had the Primos camera arm. It was solid but did not fit nicely in a small pack. Since then I am now using the 3rd Arm Mini Pro XL. It fits nicely in a pack and sets up pretty easy. The Canon Vixia HFM500 is light too so no problems there.
Muddy outfitter arm - stable, like the built in levels, good cost......but heavy and bulky to pack, and the ratchet strap is too loud IMO. You can operate it silently, but it takes longer. I am thinking of selling my Muddy and looking for something lighter and easier to pack like the LW arm.
I have the Lone Wolf Tree Arm with an additional arm extension to make it longer. I have the Manfrotto 701RC2 Mini Video head and it works really well for me being my first year videoing my hunts. It is very light weight, very stable and easy to pack and setup.
Dwayne, is that a fairly fluid and sturdy set up? Pretty much what I was thinking of getting this year, otherwise stepping up in size to a Muddy. You might need to bring it to the G2G so I can check it out
I've used a 3rd arm pro series and while it is stable and fairly fluid, it's huge and heavy. I self film, and carrying it in, it's just very cumbersome for me. I think if you hunted as a team with a cameraman, then it would be just fine. I also have on made by Skip Peterson. There are lots of things I like about it, it's small and light, yet handles my XHA1s with no issues. It packs great and is set up using a tree step instead of a strap. My complaints are that there's no built in level and I have to use the level on the fluid head. I also carry a small bubble level that I can use to level the base, but I've dropped it out of the tree on more than one occasion. Also, the pivot points are a little stiff sometimes and taking the arm off the base to pack up can be tough, especially in cold weather. I'm working on a plan to build one that hopefully can eliminate some of the issues I have with other arms. Looking to build it out of lighter material, with smother articulation and easier adjustments. All small enough that a solo hunter can easily pack it in, while not sacrificing stability.
Yes it is very fluid and sturdy too. They have a 3/8 to 1/4 adapter that they offer for it, but it moves and unscrews too much when you rotate the camera. Even when the base was screwed tight. Checked online and people suggested boring the hole to fit a 3/8 bolt and it worked amazingly well and it stopped the from base moving and loosening when the camera was rotated. I definitely will bring it to the G2G.
I have the lone wolf camera arm, its not a fluid head but works pretty well. Its light, compact, and easy to setup. This year I plan to change to the hunting beast arm, very similar with some upgrades.
That pistol grip fluidhead on the hunting beast arm is interesting. I would be concerned about keeping the camera level and not on an angle. Thoughts?
Got a muddy outfitter arm month or so ago. Haven't really used it much but seem pretty well out together and like it will be pretty sturdy. While it will up the cost of setup hoping to pick up couple of the bases to just leave in the tree to cut down on packing so much in and out but it straps onto my pack fairly well and most places I have stands aren't that long of a walk. Also wanting to check out the new strap they came out with to replace the ratchet strap but that's not a huge deal really. Can't really say much about it cause haven't really used it but hoping to maybe get used to it before next season taking cam along while scouting.
I'm not sure how the pistol grip will be, its not by definition a fluid head, but the reviews I've seen on it people seem to like the grip. If I don't like it I'll replace it in the future with a fluid head and use the pistol grip for a secondary fixed camera. I don't think leveling will be an issue, smooth adjustments would be the issue I'd worry about.
The reviews I have seen, people seemed to like that pistol grip as well. Let us know how much you like it!! What are the upgrades you like on the beast arm vs your old LW arm?
It comes standard with the 3rd extension, it flips the mounting bracket so the weight is on the v-bracket instead of the screw in peg adjustment. Once on the tree it can be adjusted to be leveled instead of needing to be level on the tree, and the pistol grip looks like it will be much better than the lone wolf head.
Here's a good review on the Hunting Beast Arm. I'm leaning towards the Muddy Outfitter myself since I already have a fluid head.
