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Thread: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

  1. #21

    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    I have given this subject some consideration myself and have a couple of comments.

    Getting on top of any vehicle IMHO has certain logistical and safety issues that need to be properly addressed.The first of these is obviously safety. You could really mess up a camera if it fell from roof level let alone you so having a wide platform with solid edge rails is a must. We all get under the dark cloth and we have an outerbody experience when it comes to image viewing that could be very harmful. Secondly is getting you and your equipment up there and down. Then think of how we move about the tripod to work with the camera. If you have never been up on a platform you should give it a try as it is a unique experience.

    An alternative worth considering is an orchard tripod. Essentially, this is a long front section conventional ladder with a single front post that come in a wide range of lengths that are used to pick fruit from trees in orchards. These are several hundred dollars and come in various lengths. The ladder portion is much wider than a regular ladder for stability and a tripod mount can be affixed to the top. One can use a mark on drafting tape on the tripod head/head base as a shot reference point so that the camera can be rotated back to the camera user for adjustments and rotated back to the reference point to check focus and make the image. The beauty is that these are somewhat mobile and can get one up as high as one could be on top of an auto with a tripod.

    The other alternative is to put a mechanical basket hoist on pull trailer and pull this behind your vehicle. When you get to location you can hand crank the basket to the height you want to work at and at the top is a safety basket to stand in to do your work. With levelers on the corners of the trailer and a basket at the top, I feel that this would exceed the safety issues with a tripod on top of an auto and get you to a higher shooting elevation. Just my $0.02.
    Last edited by Michael Kadillak; 24-Dec-2010 at 10:25. Reason: typo

  2. #22

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    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    I know it doesn't have the mileage you're after but otherwise it beats many other options - how about a second hand London double deck? The additional advantage is that you wouldn't need a tripod with the central column and you could even make a darkroom on the lower floor...

  3. #23

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    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gudmundur Ingolfsson View Post
    Nice. Something like that would cost a fortune over here. If you have a healthy budget, talk to these guys and I am sure they could rig up something:

    http://www.earthroamer.com/


  4. #24

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    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    I understand '39 Ford pickups are in vogue,

  5. #25
    Daniel Stone's Avatar
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    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    Quote Originally Posted by jeroldharter View Post
    Nice. Something like that would cost a fortune over here. If you have a healthy budget, talk to these guys and I am sure they could rig up something:

    http://www.earthroamer.com/

    check out this link for *rough* pricing info :

    http://www.earthroamer.com/tab_xpedi..._purchase.html

    that's more than a FEW master rolls of TMY-2, cut to any size your little hearty desires , with a fat down payment on a new house thrown in for good measure !

    cool looking vehicles however!

    -Dan

  6. #26

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    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    Quote Originally Posted by DanielStone View Post
    check out this link for *rough* pricing info :

    http://www.earthroamer.com/tab_xpedi..._purchase.html

    that's more than a FEW master rolls of TMY-2, cut to any size your little hearty desires , with a fat down payment on a new house thrown in for good measure !

    cool looking vehicles however!

    -Dan
    I referenced a "healthy budget!" I had looked into these before but too rich for my blood. They are really cool though - all diesel including engine, heating/cooling, and appliances - and built on an F550 chassis. Would be nice to drive one from Alaska to Ushuaia over the course of a few years, and then sell it. I would be willing to tag along if anyone wants to buy one for such a trip.

  7. #27

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    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    I guess I'm blessed. The good lord gave me 6'6", so all I need is a milk crate to stand on and an extra long Ries tripod. :-)

    Now, if I can just not break my neck while standing on the milk crate.

  8. #28

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    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    This tripod goes to 11ft.

  9. #29

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    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    Quote Originally Posted by vinny View Post
    This tripod goes to 11ft.
    Vinny,

    Perhaps you could use a pair of these:


  10. #30

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    Re: Best vehicle for rooftop shooting?

    Quote Originally Posted by jeroldharter View Post
    Vinny,

    Perhaps you could use a pair of these:

    A bad idea, Vinny, don't take it. A tri-pod needs more than a pair of those...

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