Nobody talks about this Tripod & Camera problem - Macro Tripod Hack.
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- Опубликовано: 16 ноя 2024
- With many tripods having invertible centre columns, the flexibility to steady our cameras almost anywhere has been a given for some time now. But what nobody talks about is the sheer difficulty of using your camera when it's been inverted. Almost every control is now in a different place and that's a bit of a mind**** for lots of us.
Well, I have a macro tripod hack for this and it's simple and very low cost.
Well, I have solved it with a few low-cost parts.
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Your double L bracket design Andrew is brilliant!
Thanks. SpudUna in another comment offers some other options too. You could also use two camera L brackets and screw them together if you can get long enough 1/4 UNC screws (which will be specialist fixing supply only in metric countries). The drawback of the bracket is it's bulk which makes it more difficult to carry. I would love a folding design which does exist from Ulanzi, but it's about $100(£)
Great idea, Andrew. I have a tripod like that but don’t invert the column for the same reason you described. Instead, I use a mini-tripod or bean bag for low setups - not always ideal. Your suggestion is gold. Thanks!
Great idea with the double L bracket! Thanks, now I just need to decide, which travel tripod to buy together with this solution.
Very interesting, thank you !!
I've been wondering about this problem for ages. Thanks.
I’d been thinking of a similar, but less flexible, solution myself, though yet to try and implement it. Essentially just provided the bottom and side mounts. Your idea goes a step further to include the overhead bracket with mount too. Nice. I recently ended up buying a custom L bracket just to try that first, still to mount it to see if I can put up with it when using handheld.
Some other comments have mentioned just using an L bracket and moving the ball head to the side position. I guess that will work fine too but the weight is in the wrong place for finicking the composition. Additionally, if you use a long arca plate on the Double L brackets, you have a lateral motion option without moving the tripod.
There are many ways of doing something like this, each with positive and negative points.
What a great idea, cheers, andy
Thank you! Cheers, John.
There are other options, but none I have thought of that are as useful with such a small spend.
If you already own a cage you can use that too . And more compact and rigid .
Or use a tiny tripod for low level work. Or just make up a long 1/4 20 ground spike out of 1/4 20 threaded bar
Yes, of course if you have a cage already these ideas are unnecessary, but most people won't have unless they are into video work.
Tiny tripods are generally beyond useless in my experience. I have a number of these ranging from Gorilla Pods (don't get me started on these) to Manfroto Pixi tripods to bendy leg ones and more. The most robust I have is a Cullman one, but it's too tall and has all the manoeuvrability of a dead whale. There's also the simple matter of clearance, any tripod UNDER the camera forces the camera off the floor.
I like the idea of a spike, but there would be serious usability implications of such a thing including the risk of injury in pressing it into the ground. Height adjustment will be next to impossible and if you need to move it half an inch, the hole you have just made for it will make the next one loose. Not to mention of course you're damaging the soil and any roots.
In countries that use the metric systems, getting 1/4 inch UNC threaded bar will be from specialist suppliers only.
Tiny tripods are useless with my set up. I use a bean bag or struggle with my upside down camera.
I find bean bags are quite useless too. Difficult to position and as solid as a jelly. In the past, I have built positions out of sticks and pine cones, but no more! :-)
I purchased a cage from SmallRig about a year ago and stays on my camera most of the time as I’ve add Arca-swiss plates to the top and side.
2 seconds before you said it, I said 'gamechanger' 😁 very cool idea.
It's made a lot of my work a lot easier, for sure.
The double L brackets are exactly what I did years ago. Works like a charm.
Yeah, it's simple, effective and cheap!
Very, very good idea!
Thank you, Simon
thanks for the shout-out Andy 🙂 We've had a bit of an online conversation about this solution for a while now!
I came up with that hot-shoe fix some time ago now and agree - it's not for heavy kit, really regular use or indeed the more ham-fisted ;-)
For the very few occasions it's needed though it can get you out of a pickle, is cheap and easy to make and then cart about!
I've moved on to one of those Nisi Wizard brackets now that allows 180 degree rotation of the camera in it, meaning I can mount my camera really close to the ground and it (and me) still be the right way up 🙂
Now, if only I could come up with some sort of tripod-mounted hoist to get me back off the ground...
Hi, Nick. Those Nisi products are a copy of the almost identical design originally by Silence Corner in Taiwan. Great idea but, like any solution, limited. These things don't work with the OM and Olympus bodies as they are too large and interfere with the camera grip.
You say few occasions of needing it. I have found over the last few weeks that I will use it a lot, especially in mushroom season. I estimate that it's been deployed in upwards of 50% of my outdoor macro in recent weeks and has saved a great deal of time in setting up too as I no longer need to faff about so much with a tripod that I can just put OVER the subject rather than farting about with leg positioning and such. It's a real game changer, making shots so much easier.
It's drawback is its bulk as we have discussed.
Now, getting up off the woodland floor is the next problem to solve, I am with you there.
@@AndyBanner I say "few" because right now my mobility is virtually zero. My friend Alan from photography for enjoyment also pointed out re the Nisi Wizard (and other designs) that with certain Olympus and other cameras the tripod screw and lens aren't completely aligned rendering them useless. So, yes, caution is required before buying!
The double L-bracket solution is much more universal 🙂
Wishing you well, Nick.
Really like that idea with the l brackets.
Cheers, Steve. Plenty of other suggestions in comments too.
I saw you use the hot shoe rig a month or so ago and went to my local camera shop to buy the parts. I have not used it yet except to experiment in my house. I put the camera on the floor and that was okay with the weight, but I think I need to upgrade to your double L-bracket device. Now to get a neck apparatus to allow use of the EVF while belly down on the ground.
How lucky are you to have a local camera shop. Things of the past is most towns. I have used that hot shoe arrangement occasionally in the past, but I bent it recently when making adjustments as described in the video. If the shoe clamp is loose, it would be possible to bend your camera mount too and that would be bad. The biggest issue I have with both setups is things coming loose. The l brackets are thin metal, so over-tightening the thumb screws will strip the threads. I have overcome this with a 'nut' which binds just enough to be effective, but threadlock would be a good idea.
Excellent. Even if I myself don’t take photos in that way. Perhaps should I?
But if so, I would use my CamRanger where I connect wireless the camera to my IPad from where I could handle the camera functions. Very clever gadget. Anyway, take care, Göran in Latvia
My Olympus has wifi control, but I don't like using it. It's clunky and there's no access to focus stacking and such. A cable release is my preferred control method.
Friggin awesome!
Short video, what, but I have all night.🤣 Nicely done.
Genious
I fit an LBracket to all my cameras, so when I invert the head I just twist either the boll head or the geared 3 way head (preferred) to the side then mount the side of the LBracket to it. Now the camera is still upright and being held by the (side of the) LBracket. No extra brackets to carry around.
Yes, if you have an L Bracket. I don't much like L Brackets because they fundamentally interfere with the handling of the camera.
There's also a disadvantage to your point in that the weight on a ball head is to the side whereas if you undersling the camera (and manage to get it close to inline with the mount as I have), it's quite well balanced.
I am sure there are other options too. This is quite heath-robinson, but it's very inexpensive. Just wish I could make it easier to carry.
@@AndyBanner You are absolutely correct that it's not as good with a ball head, which is why I absolutely love using it with a geared head. The geared head also makes framing for inverted macro so much easier and precise. I could never get on with ball heads for macro because of the tiny movement you almost always get when tightening them and then letting go, so almost always ended up shooting a little wider than I'd like and then having to crop. I don't have that issue with the geared head. I had seen the hot shoe method used before but never trusted it with the weight (as you pointed out).
I love using a geared head, but I suffer the same issue with it as I do inverting the camera - namely that every control is 1) in a different place and 2) even more annoying than 1 is that they all now do something different. For someone who gets confused two two-gang light switches, that's a pain...
Top banana Andrew i do like your version its awesome, with regards to the other version maybe just put a small rig cage on the camera that has a cold shoe etc. anyway love the video. look forward to the next one.
A cage is the better option by far, but a smallrig cage for almost any camera is going to cost at least 3 times the amount of these bits. I have often looked for a cage for my Olympus, but as it's an 8 year old camera from a lesser-supported brand, they aren't easy to come by.
Put your ball-head into the position you would use for a portrait orientation, with the shaft between the ball and the baseplate in the slot on the side. Reverse your centre column. Get an L-bracket and attach it to your camera then attach that - side on - to your now vertical baseplate. Keep the shaft horizontal. It's cheaper - you might have an L-bracket anyway - and you get more wiggle room.
Other than that, your videos are nicely down-to-earth
The only reason I didn't think of that, Ron, is that I don't use an L bracket. Too bulky and would prevent my camera from fitting in the backpack. Regarding the cost side of things, it's only cheaper if you don't already have an L bracket. If you buy a tailored one from Smallrig or someone, those things cost a fortune. A generic, cheap one might interfere with your battery door. The benefit of this contraption in this sense is that it's quick to remove because it uses the Arca system you probably already have.
I am very aware it's a bit heath-robinson, but camera grip often is. :-)
@@AndyBanner I find that works for me. The bracket gives me an extended grip as well as convenience for portrait orientation in normal use. Then it occurred to me to mount the camera on the plate at the side for macros. It also doesn't take up hardly any room in the rucksack. Horses for courses and some might find that just as easy.
That seems like a solid solution - nowhere near as terrifying as dangling it off the hot-shoe (which isn't built to be loaded in that direction). Obviously, a lens with a collar just allows you to rotate, which is nice, but that's not much use for macros or the widest focal lengths which tend not to have them. I wonder if you can achieve that orientation by dangling a gimbal head and flipping its slider? Good thoughts anyway, Andy - looks a lot more comfortable than my usual practice of a bean-bag in the mud. Cheers.
Hmm. I have never used a Gimbal head, so this never occurred to me. If you already have such a head, you're probably not into macro, but it might work.
Why not look at the Atoll rotatable coller from Silence Corner. It’s an absolute brilliant piece of design
I am glad you asked. Apart from being mostly incompatible with the Olympus / OM System bodies, it's very expensive in comparison to my jerryrig solution. Additionally, even if it were compatible with my bodies, it would be incompatible with my 40-150 zoom because there's already a rotating collar on that. There's other detractions from my point of view too. Handling is impacted by the additional framing, it might also no longer fit in my camera bags without rejigging an otherwise perfectly partitioned bag.
There's definitely a benefit to the Atoll and all the copies that have appeared and, if I had a body that was compatible with it AND I felt that all that money represented good value (I don't, BWT), then it's a great solution. But it isn't the only solution and other options are a lot cheaper. Yes, my rig is bulky where the Atoll is much more compact and that's a big problem for many I know. It's a problem for me as I sometimes have to mount the bracket on the tripod on my backpack or force it inside the laptop compartment or just leave it on the camera.
Horses for courses. I present the idea as an inexpensive option and for many people, they will already have the spare parts and only need to buy two bits of bent metal. :-) That's all I bought as I already had everything else shown.
@@AndyBanner Fair comment Andy, just thought I'd throw it out as a possible solution, do love the channel.
Atoll is a great option for some. I really wanted one until I realised it didn't fit my gear and also saw others using it reading that it introduces as many issues as it solves for me.
@@AndyBanner The only, very small, issue for me is that my fingers don't fit around the camera (R5) as well as they do without it, Apart from that, it works very well for me.
Hi Andrew, well done. The only problem I see (aside from the modest extra costs) is the weight problem. Now I'm extreme in this; I have a quite heavy camera / lens set-up anyway ** and do not even carry my tripod because of the additional weight it means - so, ironically, I could not even use this idea. But, even if I did carry a tripod, I would be reluctant to add extra weight. I guess if I were a specialist macro photographer (rather than an opportunist) I might find a way to carry more clobber anyway. Nonetheless, great thinking and an interesting vid. Many thanks.
** I use a 70-300mm lens on an Canon (APS-C) 80-D DSLR, which has a magnesium body - so resists the knocks but is not light.
Obviously, the requirement to shoot low to the ground is a more niche thing and anyone with a good long zoom should already have a rotating ring mount on the lens. If you shoot environmental macro, this is a very real issue
Another option is to use a Platypod & screw a ball head into it. Their basic model is about $10 USD. Their top of the line model is about $150 USD, but IMHO, it’s well worth it if u frequently find yourself needing to position your camera on the ground, against a wall or tree, etc.. The 1st disadvantage I see to this approach is that having a ball head between the camera & the ground raises the camera by a couple of inches, but this has never been a problem for me. The 2nd disadvantage I can envision is that the Platypod approach doesn’t work well if u need the camera to be between 2 inches & a couple of feet above the ground. When this has happened to me, I just use a small tripod (with spreadable legs) with the camera in normal orientation.
A platipod is OK, but you're adding height with the ball head. The only flexible way to get the camera right on the ground is to undersling the camera.
@@AndyBanner- we were typing at the same time, LOL. Point taken!
Why not just buy an inexpensive desktop tripod for low level work. The one I use is by Andoer (mainly for macro work). The legs have adjustable length and angle, with a minimum height 60mm from the floor. This is very stable, even with a large lens.
You just said it yourself. The minimum height is 60mm. In addition, positional ability is seriously limited and your stability footprint is virtually nothing. Either of these two options will bet your camera right on the ground so perhaps 10mm clearance once you take the arca mount into consideration and you could just screw directly to the bracket if that's too high.
I had never a need to mount a camera Like this. I prefere more stable tripods without middle arms in the field. So i can go far to the ground.
Or i use a Bean bag.
This idea is purely for macro work really. Beanbags are so imprecise as to be mostly useless for such things in my experience. With this bracketry, you can get the camera just 1/2 inch off the ground and fully stable. Yes, there's wobble immediately after adjustment or even operating the shutter, but that's what a cable release is for.
I know the feeling - a week or two past, I reversed the centre pole on my new tripod to get down close to some interesting fungi*. Once the camera was upside down, I had no idea where my buttons had disappeared to. 😂 I was actually considering a Smallrig camera cage (OM-1 version, looks nice and unobstrusive) with a couple of small arca plates screwed on, just like this; although it's hardly a budget option. The twin L plates get my attention - but to be honest, literally just before clicking on this vid I was looking up how to make a groundpod, thinking of raiding the charity shops for frying pans!
*ruclips.net/video/T52x3WVslMQ/видео.html
Yes, the Cage option is hideously expensive. It's great if you do a lot of video work, but total overkill otherwise. The issue with a groundpod of any kind is that it sits UNDER the camera which means you have a minimum ground clearance of multiple inches whereas if you undersling the camera on a rig like this, your clearance is 1/2 inch and you could lose that in the woods very easily.