The Compact Cambo Redwing Booms :

The Cambo RD-1100, RD-1101, & RD-1105 are all versions of Compact Cambo REDWING Booms well known for smooth, easy movement, precise positioning, and quick setup.

When mounted on the standard C-stand, the boom reaches full extension at approximately 7 feet, design to accommodate the average ceiling heigh of a home studio ( about 8 feet ).

They come standard with a 12″ head extension, which is the part connecting the light source to the boom. It determines the distance your light source can extend horizontally from your stand. With my Profoto head and OCF softbox, I got about 36″ from the center of my modifier to my C-stand pole. Longer head extensions are available up to 48″.

All 1100 booms are essentially the same. The only difference is the counterweight that comes with it.

Whats the difference?

Most light booms have a hook at their tail end to hold counterweight. While they are secure, they limit the position of your weight to very end of the boom. This means if your boom is off balance, you either have to physically add or take off excess weight from the hook, or depending on the design of your boom you may have the option to slide the boom arm back and forth at the fulcrum. This method, while effective, eliminates your control over the lights horizontal distance from the C-stand.

Cambo redwing booms weight bags are specially designed to glide along the booms tail and fasten in place with the two screws at the top. This allows movement of the weight to and away from the fulcrum without having to adjust the position of the boom arm itself. A 15 lb weight bag can now be used to counterweight almost any light source thats realistic to mount on the compact boom.

Movements

The smooth and easy movements of the 1100 booms are highly coveted by table top & portrait studio photographers. Especially for those who may find 40+ pounds of combined light source, modifier and counterweight to be a challenge. See below a demonstration of the two key movements available on the redwing boom.

Pivoting the modifier with the head extension is a lesser known movement of the 1100 series. Theres a nifty handle you can spot at the base of the extension to assist this movement.

You can technically achieve this on other booms if you’re willing to loosen the light to spin it around the pin its mounted on. For me, the fear of my precious ( and expensive ) light sliding off is enough to deter me from such maneuvers.

Need more boom?

If the compact boom is too small, Cambo also offers the RD-1200 series booms as a larger alternative. Below is the comparison of the RD-1101 compact boom to the RD-1201 standard boom. ( the options for each series that have weight bags included )

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