monopod or light stand to hold camera and pan/tilt head weighing 7lb +

scoped

scoped

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Andy
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Hi,

I'm looking for a height adjustable monopod or light stand to clamp to my wheelchair - I know a light stand is slightly unorthadox, i just mention it due to the weight of what i want to put on top and that they are height adjustable
I will be attaching an electric pan/tilt head to it, which weighs 2.3lb (1.1kg) a camera (heaviest would be 2.2lb - 1kg) and a lens, likely heaviest 3lb (1.4kg).
What would be the best option in this case?
 
I've found a monopod from 7dayshop (7dayshop Monopod - 170CM High Quality Aluminium 4 Section with Shoulder Case) which states up to 7.7lb - but it costs under £8.
Does anyone have any experience of 7dayshop monopods, or suggestions as to if i should be looking at different ones
 
Just looking at the photos, the top plate on which you would normally mount a head is small and my feeling is it is going to act as a flagpole in the wind :-( You might be better off looking on ebay for a cheap manfrotto (if you can find anything at £20 +PP it might be a better choice).
 
What do you mean by flagpole in the wind?
Sorry, not a term I'm familiar with!
But, I shall have a scour for a manfrotto too
 
A monopod has two points of support. One on the ground and one at the camera level where the camera is resting on a hand or against the head etc. What you are suggesting - attaching the monopod to the wheelchair (if I got it right) - leaves the top of the monopod free to vibrate. Anyhow, I wanted to add, if you look for manfrotto monopods look for models 679, 680 (there is also a 280). Manfrotto has ranges of lighter monopods and the telling difference is the top plate against which the head would screw, if it is small the monopod is for light cameras.

If it helps a little :)
 
TLR-330 said:
A monopod has two points of support. One on the ground and one at the camera level where the camera is resting on a hand or against the head etc. What you are suggesting - attaching the monopod to the wheelchair (if I got it right) - leaves the top of the monopod free to vibrate.
Click to expand...
^that

I'd look at a sturdier tube upright and make the height adjustment via the fitting securing it to the chair at the bottom, then use a Manfrotto Super Clamp to attach the head to the tube. A bit more weight, a bit less height adjustment, but a lot steadier.
 
Alastair said:
^that

I'd look at a sturdier tube upright and make the height adjustment via the fitting securing it to the chair at the bottom, then use a Manfrotto Super Clamp to attach the head to the tube. A bit more weight, a bit less height adjustment, but a lot steadier.
Click to expand...

I wondered about having a tube within a tube, with drilled holes to put a stopper through, or are there premade ones that you are talking about in particular
 
scoped said:
I wondered about having a tube within a tube, with drilled holes to put a stopper through, or are there premade ones that you are talking about in particular
Click to expand...

I can think of a few sources of sturdy telescoping poles, but to work out if they'd be appropriate could you answer a couple of questions please..
  • What maximum height would you like?
  • How long can the base section be? (i.e. from an operational ground clearance for the base of the pole to a convenient work height for you at the lowest position)
From the answers we can work out how many telescoping sections would be needed. The fewer sections that are required the more sturdy the end result will be.
 
Realistically a maximum height of around 140cm would be good, I think trying to get it as close to 50-60cm for lowest position would be good
 
If you could go with 60cm as the lowest height, that gives a base section with 50cm with allowance for ground clearance plus the height locking devices. Giving 40-45cm rise per elevating section allowing for stability? So a 3-piece riser to your chosen height.

I've had a thunk about a few different systems, but what I keep coming back to is the idea of taking a sturdy aluminium photographic background support system as a source of parts and making a few adjustments: These tend to be strong, are of simple construction and include all the fittings for locking the extension.
  1. Remove the legs.
  2. Seperate the sections
  3. Cut the sections down to lengths to fit the chair and give an acceptable working height at the lowest extension
  4. Reassemble and attach to the chair
  5. Use a super clamp to attach the head to the upper section
For strength and stability you might look to lose the upper section and use the larger second-upper section as your upper section. Or if you're using the super-clamp you could use the upper section for extra height when using a lightweight body/lens combination (standard fast prime) and use the second highest for heavier combinations.
 
Alastair said:
If you could go with 60cm as the lowest height, that gives a base section with 50cm with allowance for ground clearance plus the height locking devices. Giving 40-45cm rise per elevating section allowing for stability? So a 3-piece riser to your chosen height.

I've had a thunk about a few different systems, but what I keep coming back to is the idea of taking a sturdy aluminium photographic background support system as a source of parts and making a few adjustments: These tend to be strong, are of simple construction and include all the fittings for locking the extension.
  1. Remove the legs.
  2. Seperate the sections
  3. Cut the sections down to lengths to fit the chair and give an acceptable working height at the lowest extension
  4. Reassemble and attach to the chair
  5. Use a super clamp to attach the head to the upper section
For strength and stability you might look to lose the upper section and use the larger second-upper section as your upper section. Or if you're using the super-clamp you could use the upper section for extra height when using a lightweight body/lens combination (standard fast prime) and use the second highest for heavier combinations.
Click to expand...

Another alternative here would be to use an old style aluminium Manfrotto 055 tripod, these have sturdy legs, and basically you could hack a leg off (theres 3 here so you can have 3 bites at the cherry). The reason for Manfrotto is that they typically have llatch lamps on the legs something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/professio...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 or http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Manfrotto...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

The latch clamps on the legs can be tighten up easily with an allen key if they work loose.

The superclamp is a good idea for the head attachment.
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Another alternative here would be to use an old style aluminium Manfrotto 055 tripod, these have sturdy legs, and basically you could hack a leg off (theres 3 here so you can have 3 bites at the cherry). The reason for Manfrotto is that they typically have llatch lamps on the legs something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/professional-Camera-tripod-manfrotto-art-055-excellent-condition-/282255729834?hash=item41b7c0a4aa:g:yHQAAOSw4GVYKbx~&nma=true&si=H4lVSQVGcFn3NaU9mKTy%2Fh6Ja%2FA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 or http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Manfrotto-055CL-Professional-Camera-Tripod-Excellent-Condition-/122253657474?hash=item1c76e2c582:g:W~MAAOSwo4pYQvfK&nma=true&si=H4lVSQVGcFn3NaU9mKTy%2Fh6Ja%2FA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

The latch clamps on the legs can be tighten up easily with an allen key if they work loose.

The superclamp is a good idea for the head attachment.
Click to expand...

I hadn't thought about upside-down options :D

Unless you can find a broken one for repairs the cheapest I can find a used 055 is twice the price of a new PhotoSel (for example) background support system - and that gives you two bites at the cherry as it comes with two stands.
 
Might be helpfull to know what head the OP is planing on using, as this may alter the mounting profile, where are you based, perhaps someone could pop round and offer more practical advice.
 
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The other market that has similar items, and a market which can be considerably cheaper than photostuff is cheap DJ speaker stands - ranging all the way to Hifi speaker stands. They are plenty strong and simple enough, usually cheap also. ie
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HEAVY-ADJUSTABLE-SPEAKER-SATELLITE-POLES/dp/B00T6U8RJ6/ - which just about covers the range. There are a 100's of similar items with different types of adjustments.
 
dizidav said:
Might be helpfull to know what head the OP is planing on using, as this may alter the mounting profile, where are you based, perhaps someone could pop round and offer more practical advice.
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I'm near cambridge, and the head is a Hague PH Pan & Tilt Camera Powerhead 340°
 
The speaker stand looks like a good idea, they tend to be pretty strong, some of those speakers are heavy, looking at the spec on the head, you may be close to its limits with the 60d, if thats what you will be using, looks more suited to lighter kit.
 
Mr Perceptive said:
You might just be best off buying the Hague stand and adapting that, at least you know it was designed for their motorised heads, and has the correct fitting (and of a decent diameter) to mount the tripod head.
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With a collapsed height of 110cm it's going to be very awkward to set-up from a wheel chair without having to detach the pole to attach the head and camera and then re-attach the pole to the chair with the mass of the head and camera swinging at the top. And at £42.50 it's not cheap for something that appears to be little different to a background support stand - the 1/4" mount at the top is the only difference. Too expensive to go cutting up, and at only 2-sections it won't give much elevation once cut-down.
 
Alastair said:
With a collapsed height of 110cm it's going to be very awkward to set-up from a wheel chair without having to detach the pole to attach the head and camera and then re-attach the pole to the chair with the mass of the head and camera swinging at the top. And at £42.50 it's not cheap for something that appears to be little different to a background support stand - the 1/4" mount at the top is the only difference. Too expensive to go cutting up, and at only 2-sections it won't give much elevation once cut-down.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of the hacksaw option, but a proper 1/4" mount has to be better than a super clamp, maybe an older s/h Manfrotto monopod is the way forward, the problem is you don't want it too 'Heath Robinson' with a few hundred £££ of camera gear on the top!
 
Mr Perceptive said:
I was thinking of the hacksaw option, but a proper 1/4" mount has to be better than a super clamp, maybe an older s/h Manfrotto monopod is the way forward, the problem is you don't want it too 'Heath Robinson' with a few hundred £££ of camera gear on the top!
Click to expand...
A proper Manfrotto Super Clamp has a 15kg rated load and has an optional 1/4" fitting.

If "near Cambridge" is north of Cambridge, and @scoped isn't in a hurry I've a day to book with a client in Histon in mid-January and could throw a PhotoSel background stand and Super Clamp into the boot of the car. I usually finish with that client around 3-4pm. However, I'm not proposing to take a hacksaw to one of my own background stands!

I'll drag the stands out tomorrow and check something, I've a suspicion that PhotoSel use a 1/4" wingnut to secure the support crossbar. In which case all that would be needed would be a platform spacer to give some additional spread/support to the head mounted directly on top. Something like that could be turned from nylon.
 
Alastair said:
A proper Manfrotto Super Clamp has a 15kg rated load and has an optional 1/4" fitting.

If "near Cambridge" is north of Cambridge, and @scoped isn't in a hurry I've a day to book with a client in Histon in mid-January and could throw a PhotoSel background stand and Super Clamp into the boot of the car. I usually finish with that client around 3-4pm. However, I'm not proposing to take a hacksaw to one of my own background stands!

I'll drag the stands out tomorrow and check something, I've a suspicion that PhotoSel use a 1/4" wingnut to secure the support crossbar. In which case all that would be needed would be a platform spacer to give some additional spread/support to the head mounted directly on top. Something like that could be turned from nylon.
Click to expand...

I'm about 25 minutes from histon, I'm close to ely (people don't tend to know where that is though)

I've been loaned a calumet studio clamp (not sure how similar this is to a manfrotto super clamp) and a manfrotto magic arm.
Did you see if it uses a wingnut, and how big would the spacer have to be, do you think?
If it looks like this might be the right way to go, I might just buy some photosel stands to experiment with

Thanks for helping
 
scoped said:
I'm about 25 minutes from histon, I'm close to ely (people don't tend to know where that is though)
Click to expand...
Ely is even better! :D

I haven't dragged the stands out yet, but I need at least one of them for a shot I'm planning.. one light, a reflector and a wingback chair, I wonder what recent photograph in the media has inspired me this week.. :D
 
Alastair, did you get a chance to look at it at all?
I've now got the pan/tilt head :D But i am yet to try it!

Merry Christmas everybody, Thanks for helping me with this
 
Sorry Andy, forgot all about this.

Checked just now and the thread is larger than a standard lightstand mount but smaller than a tripod screw - so unfortunately not a standard photographic thread. My guess is that it's M8 or thereabouts. But the top with the thread looks easy to remove, push-fit with a securing screw from the side so it's still a good donor for the extendable post but would need someone to machine a piece to take the head (unless you go with the superclamp).
 
Sorry for the huge gap in posting, Uni has been ridiculous in terms of work load.
I'm aware I've probably flogged this topic to death.
However I have just seen that manfrotto are doing a sale, on their pro video monopod - minimum height 67cm, max height 164cm, max payload 12kg - Would a monopod a little higher end like this, work?
Or am i still better off going the background stand/speaker stand route?
 
sk66 said:
Manfrotto Magic Arm attached to the wheelchair with a Super Clamp.
Click to expand...

I have both of these, thanks to the disabled photographers society, and they are great to move around with. However, I was looking to make a set up that had more height adjustment options, as i will be able to alter the pan and tilt, remotely
 
scoped said:
I have both of these, thanks to the disabled photographers society, and they are great to move around with. However, I was looking to make a set up that had more height adjustment options, as i will be able to alter the pan and tilt, remotely
Click to expand...
I would think the magic arm/clamp setup would give a greater range of height adjustments... but in something of an arc rather than just straight up/down.
 
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