What tripod am I looking for..?

  • Thread starter Thread starter RobinJ
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RobinJ

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No, it's not a cryptic question! :)
I'm trying to find myself a tripod that will allow me to shoot images straight down! I'm sure I've seen some with a boom arm on a right angle at the top, but can't for the life of me work out what to call it or how to search for it?

Does anyone have any ideas?
 
AdWright said:
Most of the 'pro' manfrotto range have a removable centre column, which you can mount horizontally. Look at the 190pro and the 055pro models
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Thanks for the prompt reply!
That sounds like what I'm after.

I'm going to be shooting clothing laydowns and need to get right over the product without getting tripod feet in the shot!
 
Manfrotto 190X ProB:) Great little tripod.:)
Edit; Be aware though that if you have the central coloumn horizontal and extended, it become very unstable with any sort of weight on it.
 
Aye. I've noticed that. You can spread the legs very wide, which helps with stability but of course lowers the total height.
 
That's my biggest concern with this idea. Do you have a rough idea how far it can extend before I drop my camera? :)

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for weighting a tripod down? Is a good old fashioned sandbag a daft idea? :thinking:
 
You can buy a tripod hammock or Manfortto 'apron support' (about £25).
It sits in the middle of the tripod legs and you put items in to help weight it down and stabilize it.
I dont know how low you can go with the tripod using these though.
 
InaGlo said:
You can buy a tripod hammock or Manfortto 'apron support' (about £25).
It sits in the middle of the tripod legs and you put items in to help weight it down and stabilize it.
I dont know how low you can go with the tripod using these though.
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Ah yes, I've got a hook on the bottom on my current tripod that supposedly allows me to hang my camera bag off it... but I'd have to have the whole thing fully extended to get my bag under it! :)
Haven't heard of an apron support though so will go and take a look.
 
One idea would be to get lighting stands, or backdrop stand etc, and have 2 mounted at either side of the table with beam running betwen them, then see if you can get a tripod head to fit in the middle of that beam.
 
Messiah Khan said:
One idea would be to get lighting stands, or backdrop stand etc, and have 2 mounted at either side of the table with beam running betwen them, then see if you can get a tripod head to fit in the middle of that beam.
Click to expand...

Not such a daft idea!
There are tabletop rigs that do a similar thing but they're quite pricey. Your suggestion makes a lot of sense...
 
You might want to look at the Gitzo Explorer range which offer a lot of the functionality of a Benbo including a vari angle column but in a “standard” size and weight of a tripod.
They also do a range of lateral arms which will give you the top view ability with any tripod.
 
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