Low Angle Shooting Platform
Apr 22, 2020 15:01:37 #
fetzler
Loc: North West PA
Nice Idea. I have a MeFoto Roadtrip tripod with a short column. With the legs spread flat the camera is just a bit more than the height of the ball head off the ground. I use the flippy screen or a field monitor as the view finder.
Apr 22, 2020 15:04:19 #
aphelps
Loc: Central Ohio
tommy2 wrote:
I need one too so when looking around for parts I'm wondering what the wing nut in the last photo is a part of - some sort of ring clamp? Very good option of being able to set the camera height with the dowel resting on the floor.
It is actually a wing screw...into a threaded insert. I originally thought I would need the additional clamping force to keep the platform from sliding down. It turns out that with the weight of the camera so far off center the platform binds to any preset position with no screw necessary. This will work if the hole is only slightly larger than the pole. In this case, the pole was a nominal 7/8"which is actually 1/64 under size. I drilled tne hole for 7/8" and it works perfectly.
Apr 22, 2020 15:12:24 #
aphelps
Loc: Central Ohio
cascadejunkie wrote:
A tripod does the same thing. Use the inverted center column for the camera and a remote shutter release (cable, IR, or electronic). Framing the image can be done via flip screen. Use the auto focus system of your camera.
I found I was always moving the tripod to get one leg or another out of the fov. That's one reasom I went with the offset design.
Apr 22, 2020 15:12:25 #
Apr 22, 2020 15:15:41 #
aphelps
Loc: Central Ohio
dave.m wrote:
I worked in my parents hardware shop as a youngste... (show quote)
I have no interest in a patent. I just offered this up for anyone to use.
Apr 22, 2020 15:16:32 #
tommy2
Loc: Fort Worth, Texas
aphelps wrote:
...It is actually a wing screw...into a threaded insert...
The wing screw and threaded insert provides a non-complicated bind feature. The slightly oversized hole is a stroke of genius too.
Apr 22, 2020 15:18:20 #
aphelps
Loc: Central Ohio
OnDSnap wrote:
Having a bad back myself and like your way of thinking except for the thumb screw and having to bend over to adjust. So I drew up a couple alternatives. The second one can probably be done via cable or with a rack and pinion setup to avoid the thumb screw.
The thumb screw is not needed. I found the platform to be self-binding with the off-center weight of the camera and tripod head.
Apr 22, 2020 15:24:51 #
aphelps
Loc: Central Ohio
BboH wrote:
Thank you, Sir - expect to do what you have presented
The thumb screw proved to be unnecessary. The platform will bind at any level on the rod due to the off-center load of the camera. I use it with a cable connected shutter release with focus at half press. So aside from adjusting the camera tilt angle there is no need to reach down to operate. That, after all, was the original design premise.
Apr 22, 2020 15:29:12 #
aphelps
Loc: Central Ohio
dsmeltz wrote:
I was thinking the same thing and then two thoughts came up;
1) Is it tapered or was the shot taken with a wide angle lens at a weird angle. (I still think it is tapered)
2) What if it tapered the other way? With the fatter part at the bottom, there would be no in-shot slippage.
1) Is it tapered or was the shot taken with a wide angle lens at a weird angle. (I still think it is tapered)
2) What if it tapered the other way? With the fatter part at the bottom, there would be no in-shot slippage.
The rod was not tapered. Just some optical distotion.
Apr 22, 2020 15:33:15 #
aphelps wrote:
I found I was always moving the tripod to get one leg or another out of the fov. That's one reasom I went with the offset design.
Much lighter and more compact too ....
Apr 22, 2020 16:02:49 #
Excellent idea. Bending over is getting to be more of an issue for me and I love low angle shots.
Apr 22, 2020 16:07:22 #
aphelps wrote:
After 8 back surgeries including full fusion of al... (show quote)
Good work. clever and efficient.
Apr 22, 2020 17:19:38 #
tommy2 wrote:
Some really nice contraptions shown here.
My thinking is KISS though - a sliding platform on a long dowel and a 1/4” X 1” thumbscrew through the platform to attach the camera. This thought is from buying a tilt head for my mono-pole - didn’t like the extra weight and never adjusted it, just tilted the pole to align the camera with the subject. (KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid)
My thinking is KISS though - a sliding platform on a long dowel and a 1/4” X 1” thumbscrew through the platform to attach the camera. This thought is from buying a tilt head for my mono-pole - didn’t like the extra weight and never adjusted it, just tilted the pole to align the camera with the subject. (KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid)
Quite. Simple, cheap, and works. All the extras add weight, complexity of manufacture, and by the time you wind something up and down, adjust this adjust that, the dowel solution has been adjusted, photo taken, and photographer walked on. KISS indeed!
If it ain't broken, don't fix it.Mind you there are a number of irresistible human motivations - one of which is to improve someone else's creation - sometimes it does, as often as not it doesn't - as I have found out with some of my mods in the past
Apr 22, 2020 18:56:42 #
Apr 22, 2020 19:17:08 #
aphelps wrote:
After 8 back surgeries including full fusion of al... (show quote)
Great idea. I have the same problem, but I am not fused yet. Now all you need is a flip screen or a phone to see what e shooting. I shoot with a non flip screen, so I use my phone. Thanks for the idea....I think I'll make before you get it copywrited.
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