Carbon Fiber Rods Tough Enough For Film Work? Heck Yeah!

The news yesterday morning had something that really intrigued me; the new Boeing 787 was shown yesterday to a lot of hoopla.

It didn’t catch my attention so much because it was Boeing’s newest airplane in 10 years, but because this one was made almost entirely of plastic composites (on the news, they described it as “plastic composites” – but they probably should have said “carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites“). They said that the lighter weight composites will help it save on fuel consumption, add strength, etc., etc.

I know they’ve been using carbon fiber for a while on airplanes with wings and such, but the truth is that plastic – namely carbon fiber has become so durable and strong that it can support all the duties of a massive jumbo jet’s fuselage! Okay, why talk about a jumbo jet on a film news site? I’m glad you asked.

My 15mm rods are made of carbon fiber and are very durable. I can trust my expensive lenses sitting on them, even with the massive abuse I dish out. I know, aluminum rods are less expensive – and they are fine and dandy, but they are somewhat flexible, and can get bent if abused enough (especially if they are hollow). If they are solid aluminum, they are a little heavier than they have to be (when you have to carry a camera all day, every ounce adds up fast).

So, the moral of the story is this: If Boeing can trust their new jet to Carbon Fiber, so can filmmakers.

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