Low angle tripod for 5x7 camera

[Panoman617]

I'm looking to get a tripod to shoot some nature stuff low to the ground. What would be a good set up for this? Tripod and head??

Thanks :confused:

[Vick Vickery]

I'm still using an old Davis and Sanford "floating action" tripod thats built like a tank...they made an accessory arm that attaches to the bottom of the center column and sticks out to the side with a height-adjustable foot on the end and a place to mount your tripod head above the foot. Works very well and will get you within a few inches of the ground. See these tripods and accessory arms occassionally on eBay; they made a couple of different models of this tripod...one of which will also reach UP about 8' high...they are easy to spot because the upper leg section is rectangular while the lower section is round. Oh, by the way, don't have your chin above the head when you release the column lock...it'll take your head off on the way up! :)

[Greg Y]

Ries are very adjustable to get the low angle

[Panoman617]

Thanks Vick I'll check them out.

[Dan Fromm]

Panoman, how low is low?

I ask because I sometimes try to shoot low little flowers from the side. I shoot 2x3 with 2x3 Graphics, used to do it with a Nikon. Would still use the Nikon but can't get KM processed.

The best solution I've come up with may not work with your aspect ratio. Camera vertical with a 45 degree front surface mirror in front of the lens. This makes looking at the GG easy, no lying on my front in the dirt, lets me put the system's optical axis nearly at ground level and parallel to it. I say nearly because the mirror has some height; putting the optical axis at ground level would require digging a little hole for the mirror.

Gear use? Starting from the tripod, Berlebach 8023 with inverted center post. Manfrotto 131 B attached to the inverted center post. Bogen 3028/Manfrotto 115 head attached to the 131 B. Camera attached to the head. Spiratone Mirrotach attached to the front of my macro lens via Ser. VII adapters.

Adjust the optical axis' height by sliding the center post up and down. Adjust focus/composition by sliding the 115 forwards/backwards. Also adjust using the head.

Not fun to use, very slow-working but highly superior to the alternative of lying on my front and trying to focus with the GG.

I don't think any of the tripods suggested will get you as low or as comfortable as my rig. A big Benbo (or Uniloc) might let you put the optical axis parallel to the ground and nearly as low as your lens' center's distance above the ground but won't save you from having to lie face down etc. I have a Benbo 3, its just too tippy.

If you go my way, you may have to make a holder for a front surface mirror. The Mirrotach is fine for 2x3 but may be too narrow to work with 6x17.

[Ash]

The Benro tripod I have will get almost flat to the ground if it wasn't for the center column. I'm use I remember seeing a Manfrotto that would turn the column sideways for these purposes.

[Brian C. Miller]

I use a ball head on my Benbo, and I can pretty much set the camera on the ground. If you don't want to dig a bit of a hole, then Dan's mirror technique trumps that.

The next question is, how about movements? Get the camera low, and then shift the lens down.

[D. Bryant]

I'm looking to get a tripod to shoot some nature stuff low to the ground. What would be a good set up for this? Tripod and head??

Thanks :confused:

Take a look at the Giotto carbon fiber models with the center columns that can be used as an extension arm, with either a good ball head or a 3 way Bogen 3047. If you need to get really low take a look at the Bogen clamp on head that can be attached to one of the legs. There are a lot of potential solutions for this problem.

[mdm]

Some tripods allow you to reverse the center column and hang the camera underneath, although it is not always easy to manage long bellows extension with a leg in the way.

[John Koehrer]

Any Gitzo Performance model with the column removed & replaced w/a shorty.

[William Whitaker]

A hi-hat (http://www.alangordon.com/s_tripods_hats.html). Need not be expensive or commercially made. Can be homemade to use the head you already have. Use your ingenuity.

[venchka]

I've tried several ways. The jury is still out.
Gitzo 3 Series carbon, RRS BH-55, Zone VI field camera. The tripod center disk is on the ground, but the centerline of the lens is almost a foot off the ground.
Same set up, center colume inverted. The lens centerline is half the height of the rear standard from the ground.
In either case, the lens can be tilted to get lower.
Third setup: Zone VI Lightweight tripod. Legs flat. RRS BH-55. Linhof or Zone VI camera. The lens is slightly closer to the ground due to the RRS head sitting lower on the tripod.
All 3 arrangements were very sturdy.

[cjbroadbent]

DIY with the help of a fender-bender. The hole is tapped for 3/4".

[Drew Bedo]

Mount your favorite ball head or pan head on a small board (12'x12' or so). Yoy can't get lower unless you just plop the camera down in the dirt.