I use a Manfrotto giant stand (015B?). I have seen nothing that comes close to these for design quality. They are very light, stable and beautifully made. Not expensive when you consider their importance.

Our local camera shop, Loomis Camera, carries some "made in China" light stands that are nicely constructed and very stable and they range in price from about 50 to 75 dollars and are extentable to the heights you need. I am sure there are other stores that carry these imported stands. We just bought two stands from HGR in Cleveland that go to 20 feet, were new in boxes and even had the correct microphone connectors (5/8" 27 threads) on them for approximately $50.00 each. The box said they were made for a company that does acoustical measurements. They look like expensive stands but they were surplus and sold below cost. Some times you just have to look around and see what is available. Hope this helps....

Shure makes a 15´ stand which is economical,
lightweight, and folds up to a smaller length than
most. The downside is that it is awkward to fold
up and down, and can break if you use it with
a long horizontal extension which wieghs it down
too much on one side, such as a long middle
extension of a decca tree.

Used to own an S15 (actually made by PIC) and it was unusable after a few years-- everything was loose, and the thumb screws stripped out.

Avoid it.

The Bogen/Manfrotto 3076 extends to 17ft and can handle a pair of SDC.

The

The new Shure S15's are much better- they don't use those stupid little screws. Rather, they use a twist collar.

That said, I still use photographic light stands (Bogen, Talon, etc...)

--Ben

Folks-

Thanks for your thoughts! I find that my client will actually require stands of at least 21 feet-- and four of them.

I will probably go the rental; route, as I don't usually need that height. But still- any folks own stands that tall that work well for you? I am probably going to rent some 'Mombo Combo"s- these are lighting stands that happen to go up to 26 feet- probably too expensive to buy without excellent reason...

Exsultavit wrote: Folks-

Thanks for your thoughts! I find that my client will actually require stands of at least 21 feet-- and four of them.

I will probably go the rental; route, as I don't usually need that height. But still- any folks own stands that tall that work well for you? I am probably going to rent some 'Mombo Combo"s- these are lighting stands that happen to go up to 26 feet- probably too expensive to buy without excellent reason...

JTL makes some inexpensive (~$120 stands which go to 19'. Add a boom or a gooseneck and you can easily get to 21') stands which are quite sturdy and light. (They're rated at 50lbs max load. I don't know if I'd trust that, but I've easily put two large/heavy mics on them without issue.)