Welp, I did it, I ordered a lightweight 8x10

[Peter De Smidt]

One of the reasons why I buy less than ideal stuff, is that I've mentioned before, I worked with A LOT of 8x10s back in the 80's. These were studio settings. Imagine working at a garage and using house tools. Not so great shape, and you got to do what you got to do. I've learned a lot of these guys makeshift, DIY (before DIY was a real term I guess) on how to get stuff working.

What I've learned:

1. Tape anything that can and will fall off (you may be working with a camera that you are not familiar with)
2. A-clamp that flatbed so you don't get "creep" focus especially with working with tabletop setups
3. Make you own gobos
3. Make your own lightstands with old paint can, a 1X piece of wood, and an quickcrete
4. Tape the legs to the studio floor, someone will eventually trip on it
5. Tape all the extension cords to the floor
6. Tape the tops of 8x10 film holders, most of the time, the locking thing is broken off and nothing worse than handing a holder to someone only for the slide to come loose. Oops.
7. when in doubt, ductape the connections on tripods too. These are old, not yours, belongs to the studio and has seen some sh**, so tape it

Most of these guys are working on 2 or 3 tabletop or room sets and going back and forth so they absolutely positively can't have anything move, fall, tripped on (me!, that eric assistant is always tripping on stuff!) while going back and forth different set ups. Usually my job is to set up, make everything rigid and not move, and he'll move from set to set. If he thinks is good, I'll take a bunch of light readings, take the shot while he is working on next set. It then gets processed inhouse lab (yah, we had a E6 lab in house) and then look and determine the wratten filter to be used. And the filters, hahahah, I kid you not, we taped them on right in front of the lens.

All these I learned cause they need to get the shot, get paid, and buy booze. Priorities man. Not like the studio is gonna buy new holders or a new tripod head. It'll be "ummm work with what you got, it still works".


And it works, and I've seen our work in magazine, boxes, billboards, galleries. And I can remember heck! The shutter on that lens wasn't even working and we had to do 30 pops on the speedotron.

I guess my rule of thumb is "make it work dumdum"

As someone who's worked in a big studio, this list made me smile. Oh...and I've also schlepped a ton of Speedotron blackline gear around. There was no need to go to a gym to lift weights....

[ericantonio]

Surveyor tripods have 5/8-16 threaded standard.. adapters to 3/8 and other are easily available and very common.
https://www.tigersupplies.com/Produc...NED061837.aspx

Moderate weight, low cost wood surveyor tripod would be something like a Leica GST101 (about 12 pounds, made in C, low $ and..) $130 USD.
https://www.allenprecision.com/leica...hoCJlUQAvD_BwE

Compare this to a $1000+ carbon fiber Gitzo legs only.. no thanks.

Guess which tripod is going to be a LOT more stable, abuse tolerant, long term durable, reliable and .... at significantly lower cost.


Bernice

AWESOME links!!! Thanks!

[r.e.]

Moderate weight, low cost wood surveyor tripod would be something like a Leica GST101 (about 12 pounds...)

To be exact, 5.7kg/12.6lb + a few ounces for the 5/8" to 3/8" adapter. Plus a solid tripod head.

Just what the doctor ordered for an Intrepid 8x10 that weighs 2.5kg (5.5lb)

From Eric's first post: "I want to be cool like you guys, not some guy with 100 pounds of gear in a garden cart."

How much do 18 year old porters cost?

[ericantonio]

To be exact, 5.7kg/12.6lb + a few ounces for the 5/8" to 3/8" adapter. Plus a solid tripod head.

Just what the doctor ordered for an Intrepid 8x10 that weighs 2.5kg (5.5lb).

From Eric's first post: "I want to be cool like you guys, not some guy with 100 pounds of gear in a garden cart."

How much do 18 year old porters cost?

OMG! 12.6?! Turns out I have a Bogen 3051, not a 3036. A 3051 also weighs 12 pounds. Plus my Rational #3? or something (the one with the longer handles). I need more creatine to carry everything around.

[Axelwik]

Old Ries C tripod for the 5x7, Berlebach for the 8x10, both wood and very stable and vibration-free. No center column. The Ries is light enough to strap to my camera backpack.

[Bernice Loui]

Defocusing from the weight of the tripod thing... Other stuff to consider:

~Number of 8x10 film holders to become "mobile", each 8x10 film holder weights about 700grams or ~1.5 pounds = ?

~Lenses on lens boards to be used with this 8x10 camera, total weight all added up = ?

~Dark cloth or similar GG viewing device, total weight all added up = ?

~Light meter, GG loupe, tape measure (bellows factor if needed), cable release, B&W contrast filters and holders, total weight all added up = ?

~Case for this 8x10 outfit and other misc, total weight all added up = ?????_?

Get a hiking or trail cart with wheels... why "carry" this outfit and all else related to these endeavors?
Once wheels are involved, few extra pounds are not gonna make That much difference..


Bernice

[j.e.simmons]

What kind of weight can these surveyors tripods hold? One of the laser thingies the surveyors use seems to be about 12-pounds. I don’t think that’s enough for 8x10, is it?

[Bernice Loui]

Typically 50 pounds or more depending on the specific tripod.. Most surveyor tripods weight in at 16 pounds for wood or wood/composite with some just past 20 pounds.
https://www.baselineequipment.com/ho...veying-tripods


Then there Astronomy telescope tripods like the Berlebach BIG planet, weights 12Kg or 26.5 pounds, rated to support 100Kg or 220 pounds:
https://www.berlebach.de/en/?bereich=details&id=350

Weight of the whopper 8x10 camera might be _?_ pounds, then moving to ULF camera which could easily approach 50 pounds, maybe not 220 pounds.


IMO, weight capacity is a "nil" factor, stability, vibration control, toughness in difficult environments and weather, bash-ability (toss and beat around during transport) are factors often not that considered for a tripod. The big Gitzo that has been "used" lots in years past has a LOT of missing paint and not so good looking fittings any more.. Same with the Bogen 3021.. Tripods are to be "used" and not pampered..


Bernice

What kind of weight can these surveyors tripods hold? One of the laser thingies the surveyors use seems to be about 12-pounds. I don’t think that’s enough for 8x10, is it?