The TALLEST tripod

[Uri A]

Hi friends,

I want a tripod for a project ... in a perfect world it would be super rigid (naturally) and go up to, say, 12 feet without a column.

Does this beast exist???

Thanks in advance :)

[Armin Seeholzer]

The biggest I know is the Manfrotto 161 MKII as far as I know! It is super rigid but not so high! 2,80m with column if I remember right!

Cheers Armin

[Jim Jones]

Two legs can be added to a ladder for a practical tall tripod. Darius Kinsey http://www.skagitriverjournal.com/S-W/Library/Kinsey02-KinseyAce-RJ.html used these for his legendary photos of the Pacific northwest.

[Uri A]

Jim:

I looked at that photo carefully - I don't see a ladder. But that kind of tripod is EXACTLY what i want. anyone still make 'em?

Thank you Jim!

[rdenney]

The tallest tripod I know of is the Bogen 3050 with extension legs. But it only goes to 9 feet.

Rick "thinking you may need to construct something" Denney

[Scott Davis]

There's a guy on Ebay who periodically lists some monster tripod. I can't remember if it was a Gitzo (I think so) or something like a Majestic or Davis & Sanford. It was almost 2 stories high. Keep an eye peeled for it.

[adam satushek]

I've got a gitzo 1504 giant, its 10ft without a column. Bought it to shoot over chainlinked fences. Its great and can be purchased new. It is aluminum and weighs like 17lbs. They also have a carbon fiber version...I forget the model number, it weighs a lot less but also costs twice as much. But, yeah id recommend the 1504, I'm sure they can be found used also.

[Jehu]

My old Majestic tops 10' and it's pretty stable. A little creative boosting with blocks could get to 12'

[Corran]

My business is sound recording classical and jazz music. I have a couple of lightstands with adapters for microphones that go up 15 feet. Perhaps you could try something like that? Definitely would want two for stability, but the Manfrottos I use have very wide legs and I'm sure they would support a camera. But I wouldn't do it in wind!

They were $75 on ebay used.

[Mark Sawyer]

Get three 10' aluminum tubes that slide snugly over the bottom tubes of your tripod legs. You may have to take the feet off the tripod. Depending on your usage, you may want to drill small corresponding holes through the tube and tripod legs for a pin or screw to hold the tubes on securely.

Or you could "pull an Ansel"...

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Owen21k/1aa.jpg

[Brian C. Miller]

Why not contact Reis (http://riestripod.com/) and ask them? They have extension legs, and perhaps two sets of legs could be added to the tripod. Or perhaps they could accommodate a custom order.

Another thing you might want to look at is an orchard ladder. These are like tripods with steps. They don't fold down conveniently, but one would be a bit cheaper and definitely sturdier than a camera tripod.

[ROL]

Or you could "pull an Ansel"...
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Owen21k/1aa.jpg

I don't see any credit with the posted image. Is it in the public domain? Do you own the copyright to the image? Did you take the photo?

Of course, I'm just being facetious. It is a well known image. I see uncredited third party image use (quite often Adams') frequently on this forum. While everyone on these LF and other forums seem to be concerned about image theft and uncredited use on the net, it would seem as though they are really only concerned with their images.

Just Sayin'.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Get your self a 10' aluminum ladder. Mount a board on the top with a tripod head clamp or just drill a hole that'll accept whatever bolt size that'll fit into the bottom of your own tripod head. I did this a couple of years ago downtown Vancouver to photograph the Marine bld. I wanted to be up high so that I could get the top in, minimize key-stoning, and make the doors look small.
Hey, even if you get yourself a huge tripod, you will still need a ladder to get up there...Of course the ladder wouldn't be a good option if you have no way of transporting it.

andrew

[Arne Croell]

I've got a gitzo 1504 giant, its 10ft without a column. Bought it to shoot over chainlinked fences. Its great and can be purchased new. It is aluminum and weighs like 17lbs. They also have a carbon fiber version...I forget the model number, it weighs a lot less but also costs twice as much. But, yeah id recommend the 1504, I'm sure they can be found used also.

Carbon Fiber: http://www.gitzo.us/product/72038.71837.72020.0.0/GT5561SGT/_/Series_5_Carbon_6X_Giant_Systematic_Tripod_-_6_Sec_G-Lock

Aluminum: http://www.gitzo.us/product/72038.71837.72020.0.0/G1504/_/Series_5_Aluminum_Giant_Systematic_Tripod_-_5_Section

[Jim Jones]

Jim:

I looked at that photo carefully - I don't see a ladder. But that kind of tripod is EXACTLY what i want. anyone still make 'em?

Thank you Jim!

I couldn't find a photo online that shows the ladder steps, but have seen it elsewhere. Back when photographers and almost everybody else were producers, not consumers, they often improvised such accessories. Any town should have had a carpenter who could design and build one on order. He'd just need a little guidance on how to make and attach legs so they would be sturdy, something a few modern makers of inexpensive tripods haven't mastered.

[bvaughn4]

I've used this "light stand/camera stand" to photograph real estate from a higher vantage point and it's very stable.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/525379-REG/Manfrotto_269HDB_3U_Super_High_Camera_Stand.html

[John Koehrer]

Gitzo made something like an orchard ladder years ago.
same layout, ladder w/2 legs.

[Heroique]

Here’s Norman McGrath getting high (from Photographing Buildings Inside and Out).

He doesn’t say what tripod he’s using, but looks like he needs a ladder to operate the 4x5 camera mounted on top of it. Take a look at the tripod’s third leg – it’s resting on a rung of the ladder!

Say, looks like Norman is shooting 35mm film. How come?

“Here,” he explains, “I was shooting the 35mm hand-held version of the view so I could get even higher on he ladder than was possible with my 4x5, tripod-mounted camera. Be warned, it’s easy to become giddy in a situation such as this one.”

[Peter De Smidt]

Aluminum: http://www.gitzo.us/product/72038.71837.72020.0.0/G1504/_/Series_5_Aluminum_Giant_Systematic_Tripod_-_5_Section

When I can find this one listed at a store, B&H for example, it's listed as discontinued.

[Merg Ross]

Innovative, but perhaps not practical. This is my father on a commercial assignment in 1938. I have a print of it on my darkroom wall, and it always brings a smile.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14389&d=1215287752

[Uri A]

Thanks for all the great ideas people! I like the alu tube idea.... Gonna suss it out.

[cosmicexplosion]

What about mounting your tri pod head to the top of a ladder?

you could even stick the height adjust pole in some how,
you could cut the ladder off at legs if to big, or buy one to near enough right height. and be sturdy.

would that do or do you need more flexibility.

are you on the street or out doors or indoors?

[Marek Warunkiewicz]

This is a shot that is NOT Photoshopped....

[Ed Richards]

I have one of the tall Gitzo's. It is great, but you do need a ladder. If you have to carry the gear very far by yourself, I think a transportable ladder with a tripod head would be the best best bet. But get a long cable release so you can get off the ladder before you shoot.

[domaz]

I have one of the tall Gitzo's. It is great, but you do need a ladder. If you have to carry the gear very far by yourself, I think a transportable ladder with a tripod head would be the best best bet. But get a long cable release so you can get off the ladder before you shoot.

Inevitabley you will climb off the ladder get ready to shoot and realize you left the dark slide in..

[cuypers1807]

Mark beat me to it. I put my tripod on the back of my truck.

[johnielvis]

12 feet is getting nuts...and very unstable....and very wobbly....best to get a heavy duty ladder and mount the head to that...you'llhave to get a ladder anyways, right?

[Uri A]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Looking into the options...

For my purposes, it can't be a car or a ladder, 'cos it has to be able to meet luggage specs for commercial flights. I'm thinking the aluminium tube leg extensions for my current Gitzo are the way to go. I will be able to borrow a ladder on location for viewing.

[Ed Richards]

> 12 feet is getting nuts...and very unstable....and very wobbly...

The Gitzo Giant at full extension is still rock solid. But it does weigh quite a bit.

[Tom Monego]

There is also the Davis Sanford B will get to 8ft without a head, fairly stable. Gitzo used to have a ladder pod, but that was years ago.

Tom

[Leigh]

It's trivially simple to mount a tripod head on a ladder.

- Leigh

[Steve Gledhill]

It's trivially simple to mount a tripod head on a ladder.

- Leigh

I suggest mounting it on a 'pruning ladder' which is essentially a tripod with steps.
Or get a ladder brace for use with a simple ladder.

[David R Munson]

It's trivially simple to mount a tripod head on a ladder.

- Leigh

Seconded. Also: grip equipment is godly for this stuff.

[Peter De Smidt]

Seconded. Also: grip equipment is godly for this stuff.

Right. Super clamp + 3/8ths inch stud + Tripod head + Ladder

The first three also work well on railings, posts, pews, tripod legs (for getting the camera really low) ...

[Mark Sawyer]

The trouble with mounting it on the ladder is that either you'll be up there with it swaying the ladder during the exposure, or you'll be pulling the darkslide, climbing down, using a veeeerrry long cable release to trip the shutter, then climbing back up to replace the dark slide. Maybe it's just me, but I don't like my dark slides out for extended periods. And with so little weight on the ladder, it seems it could sway in any appreciable wind.

Tripods are more rigid with a wider stance. (I've been up on enough tall A-frame ladders to know how much they sway!) I'd use a tripod and a separate ladder for the photographer.

[Frank Petronio]

Real pros use scaffolding, cherry-pickers, sandbags, and concrete pilings. Short of that, a metal Gitzo Giant-Lux ,111 inches without column.

[Marc B.]

Here are a couple of modern orchard ladders.
Have the party at your destination get a couple of these at the ready,
or as suggested use rented scaffolding/staging at your destination.

http://www.acutabovetree.com/images/IMG_3895.JPG
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafemama/3879970195/lightbox/

Scaffolding
http://www.scaffoldingdepot.com/scaffolding%20internal%20stair%20unit%20picture.jpg

[vinny]

Careful with those aluminum tubes, the last iraq war started cuz of aluminum tubes!
Somewhere on here i've posted a pic of my home built tripod using schedule 40 aluminum. 11ft max but it's heavy.

[Leigh]

The trouble with mounting it on the ladder is that either you'll be up there with it swaying the ladder during the exposure, or you'll be pulling the darkslide, climbing down, using a veeeerrry long cable release to trip the shutter, then climbing back up to replace the dark slide.
You must do all of those steps, exactly the same, if the camera is mounted on a tripod of the same height. :rolleyes:

In addition, with a tripod you have to lean over to access the camera, thus increasing the likelihood of a fall. :eek:

- Leigh

[Mark Sawyer]

You must do all of those steps, exactly the same, if the camera is mounted on a tripod of the same height. :rolleyes:

In addition, with a tripod you have to lean over to access the camera, thus increasing the likelihood of a fall. :eek:

- Leigh

With a ladder and a tripod, you can stay at the camera throughout the exposure process, without shaking the camera. I don't see it increasing the chance of a fall, although with a loss of equilibrium under the dark-cloth, either method could prove hazardous!

[Andrew ren]

not the tallest, but its plenty for my 2.5-year old boy.

[David R Munson]

FWIW, when I was in Yodobashi last week, I saw a notably tall CF Slik tripod that was also notably light. Alas, I did not note the model number.

[deadpan]

not the tallest, but its plenty for my 2.5-year old boy.

Max Height and Model please (of the tripod ;) not the 2 yr old)

[David A. Goldfarb]

The Majestic with the extension legs (they're all essentially the same model, with the option of different center columns that attach to the head in different ways, it seems--maybe there were more variations in their long history) is probably at least 10 feet (I recall I couldn't extend it all the way in my apartment at the time, which had 8-foot ceilings, plus it has a telescoping rapid column inside a geared column, good for another four feet at least. If you need the column, I'd think about strapping the column to a ladder to stabilize it. If you're traveling, I suspect it wouldn't be hard to rent a tall ladder somewhere.

[Andrew ren]

here is a side-by-side with a gitzo GT3531LSV. it's around 80in tall, ries J series with custom-made red oak extension legs.

[deadpan]

Thanks Andrew,
much appreciated.



here is a side-by-side with a gitzo GT3531LSV. it's around 80in tall, ries J series with custom-made red oak extension legs.

[anglophone1]

Didn't someone post some ideas using deer hunting ladders?

[Uri A]

OK, at the risk of controversy, I will just go out there and say that simple physics/geometry would suggest that mounting a camera on any tall ladder will not be stable: tripods rely on the idea of covering a LARGE amount of space with their legs, whilst ladders are compact (at least in the second dimension).

not true?!!

[David R Munson]

I'd say it depends a lot on the quality of the ladder and the conditions involved.

[rdenney]

I'd say it depends a lot on the quality of the ladder and the conditions involved.

Not just the quality. Ladders are designed to be strong, not so much to be stiff. There is no diagonal bracing or triangulation, except for the possibility of some small angle braces in the corners of the bottom rung. Some ladders have a few more of those angle braces. But those braces don't include enough of the diagonal to provide real stiffness for the application being discussed. Thus, ladders are stiff enough longitudinally because they are angled in that direction, but not in the lateral direction where they are only lightly braced. Even very strong step-ladder designs sway side-to-side rather easily.

But it would not be too difficult to add that diagonal bracing. Given that ladders are strong, it's possible to use guy wires to stiffen them laterally. That adds to the vertical load, but they are strong enough to handle it. So, sink a couple of screw-stakes into the ground about half or two-thirds the height of the ladder to each side, and run a steel cable from the top of the latter to the stake. A turnbuckle could be used to provide tension. Steel cable is reasonably stiff and easily available. Rope is not stiff enough, in my view. I see this as requiring some effort to set up, but in return will provide reasonable stiffness with lightweight and compact (in storage) additions to a ladder.

Rick "noting that the guys are quite stiff, even in compression, as long as their tensile stress is higher than their compressive stress" Denney

[Jeff Keller]

I don't know if you saw the 20' Manfrotto on ebay (320741713789). No connection nor knowledge, just saw it.
Jeff Keller

[johnmsanderson]

i have the Gitzo 504 (predecessor to the 1504) and it's great. I bought a collapsible ladder to go with it.

http://home-solutions.hsn.com/5-foot-compact-folding-ladder_p-4468787_xp.aspx

[Frank Petronio]

320741713789 is a cine stand for heavy movie lights with a stud mounting system.... not very airline friendly. Ignorant seller probably stole it from a production company haha.

[Steve Barber]

My tallest tripod--


Elevation -203 feet (Furnace Creek) to 17,500 feet and very stable.

[Ed Richards]

I use construction grade aluminum and fiberglass ladders. They are rigid. It was a real surprise to me how much better they are to work from the usual all aluminum ladders. (I use them for painting and the like, not photography.)

Since you are going to have to buy a ladder at the end of the flight to use the tall tripod, maybe the answer is get a tripod and adapter to attach it to a ladder. Then all you need to take with you is the head and the adapter, and a long cable release.

[Drew Bedo]

Go out to a Bass Pro Shop, Gander Mountain or Cabella's. They might have a portable deer stand that will work for you.