When I had a pick-up truck (yeah, a Republican) I could stand in the bed with a normal height tripod - ideal for cityscapes! and most landscapes too.
When I had a pick-up truck (yeah, a Republican) I could stand in the bed with a normal height tripod - ideal for cityscapes! and most landscapes too.
I use the Bogen 3258 (as well as a smaller Bogen), and have found the struts really do help with elimination of leg flex and such. It's quite solid at full extension.
On the recent Mare Island excursion, I was shooting from the back of my Suburban (I have cargo-style doors on the back) at several spots - just about the right height to shoot over chainlink fences. I also have a somewhat make-shift clamp-o-pod that I connect to the rear strut of the luggage rack. OK for 4x5, but I need to modify it for more stability for the 8x10.
There's two days left on eBay for a Tiltall which has been modified to go up to NINE FEET. BIN price is $85. Search: tiltall tripod. Looks good to me.
Wilhelm (Sarasota)
You can always do as Ansel Adams did...make a platform top for your vehicle. He made a top for his wagon out of (I think I remember this right) 3/4" plywood with an aluminum rail around the edges to tie things to; just had to be still a few moments before clicking the shutter.
The ultimate tall tripod, of course, is the Luksa (http://www.luksa.com/). Their Vista-50 has a minimum height of 8.5' and a max of 50'.
Can you imagine the length of the shutter release? :-)
Majestic tripods are great and alot cheaper than Gitzo, Bogen, etc. when bought on eBay.
They are absolutely stable and will hold anything you would put on them.
Look at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=30094&item=3852517400&rd=1
It extends to over 9 feet! and I'll bet will sell for less than $250.
Jerry
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