Table top tripods

I use the 3 legged thing Docz2, It's built like a tank and very strong.
 
One of my favorite equipment-review sites is The-Digital-Picture.com. Most of the reviews show gear mounted on a pretty sophisticated looking table top tripod. I've always coveted that tripod but it looked a little too fancy for my purposes. Your post made me look it up, and I found it right on that site.

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Really-Right-Stuff-Ground-Level-Tripod.aspx

Tripod is called the Really Right Stuff Ground-Level Tripod. It looks like the one in the review has been discontinued, but replaced by one that looks almost identical. At $395 USD, it's pricey, but if you're looking for top-end gear, this might be the one.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._right_stuff_tfa_32g_fixed_apex_3_series.html
 
The Leitz / Leica tabletop tripod:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explor...gs-we-love-leica-table-tripods-and-ball-heads
http://jeffmellody.com/blog/2014/4/21/leica-table-top-tripod-review
http://www.ronmartblog.com/2014/01/drastically-improve-your-handheld-shots.html

It's a unique and rock-solid design that's sturdy enough for a large format camera, but folds (or rather swivels) flat. No vertical adjustment, but the matching heads are made in various lengths. They've been making these things for decades with only small variations, so you can pick up an old one for about £50 (about the same for the head, if you need it).
 
ancient_mariner said:
I bought that one too, but the legs don't always stay where they're put, and can splay a little too easily.
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I know, so I got a length of velcro to feed through the slots. Makes it easy to adjust, if you dont want it flat open :)
 
JohnFar said:
Another vote for the old Leitz, bought used - very solid, will take a range of heads.
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Also, I should have mentioned it has a standard screw thread, and so will take any head. Leica's own ball heads lock down very solidly, though there's no friction control - it's all or nothing. The longest one is designed so that a Leica (which has a tripod mount on one side of the base plate) can be positioned in portrait orientation well above the legs, so you don't risk it banging into one if you are careless. This is also handy for the 'chest pod' trick linked above. For other purposes, one of their shorter heads, or a third party ball head, may be preferable.
 
Dangerous said:
@cruso

I use one of these but swapped the head with my spare arca swiss pan & tilt as I don't like ball heads.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0725TFWKL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...


Should have added that after finding the pan/tilt head less convenient I replaced it with an Andoer M-12 Monopod Tilt Head

(https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0799KTPLJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 )
which reduces its minimum height from 7" to 6" and could, if required , reduce it further to 4.75" by cutting the bottom 1.25" off the centre colum as I don't normally extend it. I onlt loosen slightly to all me to pan with now only having a tilt head. Maximum height is now 19" and not 20" as supplied.


0.jpg
 
J62bISo.jpg


equipped with standard 1/4 and 3/8 tripod mounts amd Max Load (Tripod) :80kg / 176lb
legs spread 10 inches at lowest setting
 
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Kev I have an older version of induro's hi hat .https://indurogear.com/dr-hi-hat-tripod-set.html It's not made of carbon fiber like the newer version but ali. I bought it from a member here. It's built like a tank I have a gimbal on top rob's lensmaster it would easily cope with your 600F4 Not the lightest option of small tripod but if it's use is for a big lens to get low and not have long legs taking up lots of room ,say a compact hide,this might be worthy of consideration..... Having those legs that slightly extend make it really flexible also holes in the feet mean I can anchor it say in a more conventional bird hide,the video style 1/2 ball mounting again adding to ease of set of in awkward places. It's a great design Kev it simply works and as I say built like a tank. !!

I'm curious what do you want it for mate?

cheers

stu
 
Retune said:
The Leitz / Leica tabletop tripod:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explor...gs-we-love-leica-table-tripods-and-ball-heads
http://jeffmellody.com/blog/2014/4/21/leica-table-top-tripod-review
http://www.ronmartblog.com/2014/01/drastically-improve-your-handheld-shots.html

It's a unique and rock-solid design that's sturdy enough for a large format camera, but folds (or rather swivels) flat. No vertical adjustment, but the matching heads are made in various lengths. They've been making these things for decades with only small variations, so you can pick up an old one for about £50 (about the same for the head, if you need it).
Click to expand...

How tough are these things? Might be useful for certain things, but I'd want something pretty tough, with a ball head can can take a bit of weight (Not pro DSLR +600mm F4, but y'know). I quite like the look of those old Leica ones.
 
AZ6 said:
How tough are these things? Might be useful for certain things, but I'd want something pretty tough, with a ball head can can take a bit of weight (Not pro DSLR +600mm F4, but y'know). I quite like the look of those old Leica ones.
Click to expand...

The one I posted holds a canon 90D with tamron 150-600 zoom (heavy combination) steady even with the centre column extended and the top section of the legs extended giving it a height of 15.5". Never tried with legs fully extended but I think it would it would still be steady fully extended especially it weight was added to the bottom of the centre column (1/4" tripod mount)
 
AZ6 said:
How tough are these things? Might be useful for certain things, but I'd want something pretty tough, with a ball head can can take a bit of weight (Not pro DSLR +600mm F4, but y'know). I quite like the look of those old Leica ones.
Click to expand...

I personally find small ball heads too weak for a heavy combo unless is stays level and balanced. That why I swapped to the tilt only head as pan can be achieved by slightly loosening the centre column so it turns with some resistance.

EDITED TO ADD.

with one section of legs and centre column extended it took 6 stone and legs/column did not slip.
 
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AZ6 said:
How tough are these things? Might be useful for certain things, but I'd want something pretty tough, with a ball head can can take a bit of weight (Not pro DSLR +600mm F4, but y'know). I quite like the look of those old Leica ones.
Click to expand...
The Leica one is really tough. I've never tested its limits, but people mention putting large and medium format camera on them, and pro SLRs with big f/2.8 lenses. An advert for the current version of the optional matching ball head head gives its load capacity as 15.4 lb (7 kg). This video will give you a better idea of how the tripod works (see 2m22s):

http://randolphimages.com/my-single-most-favourite-piece-of-gear-for-travel-photography/
 
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drsilver said:
One of my favorite equipment-review sites is The-Digital-Picture.com. Most of the reviews show gear mounted on a pretty sophisticated looking table top tripod. I've always coveted that tripod but it looked a little too fancy for my purposes. Your post made me look it up, and I found it right on that site.

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Really-Right-Stuff-Ground-Level-Tripod.aspx

Tripod is called the Really Right Stuff Ground-Level Tripod. It looks like the one in the review has been discontinued, but replaced by one that looks almost identical. At $395 USD, it's pricey, but if you're looking for top-end gear, this might be the one.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._right_stuff_tfa_32g_fixed_apex_3_series.html
Click to expand...
I have the RRS; but I'm really not very fond of it... SunwayFoto makes the T1A20 which is about identical and 1/4 the cost. I mostly use the SunwayFoto T1C30N for low level/tabletop type work... even with my D5/D850 and 400/2.8.

But it really does depend on the intended use/need. I also have a little tripod/clamp thing that I use with smaller gear (Nikon1)... it's a surprisingly useful piece of junk.
 
toohuge said:
Nice! How are you finding it?
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It's compact, sturdy and reasonably priced. What's not to like? (Although I think they're closing this model out. Amazon doesn't have any more in the US. Got this one from Momon on Ebay for $10 off MSRP.)

Edit: Just checked again. No more on Ebay now, and Amazon UK is sold out as well.
 
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with the fluid head Nikon D800 and Nikon afs 70-200mm F2.8 lens
oM6ZJar.jpg


What I like about it is the short stubby handle just right for panning (video in mind) without having to walk around the tripod as you might have to do with a longer handle. Also having a long plate allows one to get the balance right. I also use this plate on the ball head


Both ball and fluid heads also fit my other tripods which is handy
 
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Firstly, apologies to Kevin for hijacking your thread! Hope you don't mind too much!

sk66 said:
I have the RRS; but I'm really not very fond of it... SunwayFoto makes the T1A20 which is about identical and 1/4 the cost. I mostly use the SunwayFoto T1C30N for low level/tabletop type work... even with my D5/D850 and 400/2.8.

But it really does depend on the intended use/need. I also have a little tripod/clamp thing that I use with smaller gear (Nikon1)... it's a surprisingly useful piece of junk.
Click to expand...

I was toying with the idea of getting that RRS tripod for outdoor low-level macro. My current Benro will go down to 120mm (to the top of the plate) but the resulting large footprint can make it difficult to avoid flattening vegetation, which is far from ideal, so this one looks far better in that respect, as well as the lower minimum height. What is it about the RRS that you don't like? What about the build quality of the SunwayFoto equivalent (or SunwayFoto in general)? I don't have money to burn but I'll buy a more expensive option if I think the cheaper equivalent isn't up to the job (I once saw someone with £5k+ of kit hanging off a £12 shoulder strap, which broke and dropped said kit about 1m onto limestone pavement!). I would be putting about 2.5kg of kit on the tripod, and while it wouldn't have far to drop if the tripod failed, I'd rather it wasn't going to fail at all! Of course, the other way to look at it is: is the RRS really 4x better than the SunwayFoto?

Cheers,

Dave
 
Callophrys said:
What is it about the RRS that you don't like?
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For a tripod that's supposed to be small, it's actually quite heavy/bulky. I'm also not fond of the way the legs adjust for height, and if using the rubber foot there's no stop to keep the lower leg section from falling out... I really prefer the smaller/lighter T1C30N.
I have several Sunwayfoto products (as well as RRS, Gitzo, etc); IMO they are very well made.
 
sk66 said:
For a tripod that's supposed to be small, it's actually quite heavy/bulky. I'm also not fond of the way the legs adjust for height, and if using the rubber foot there's no stop to keep the lower leg section from falling out... I really prefer the smaller/lighter T1C30N.
I have several Sunwayfoto products (as well as RRS, Gitzo, etc); IMO they are very well made.
Click to expand...

Thank you, that's useful to know. Looks like a bit of a re-think!
 
Callophrys said:
I was toying with the idea of getting that RRS tripod for outdoor low-level macro. My current Benro will go down to 120mm (to the top of the plate) but the resulting large footprint can make it difficult to avoid flattening vegetation, which is far from ideal...
Dave
Click to expand...
A Gorilla Pod with a quick release plate attached direct (no ball head) gets really low and the legs can be adjusted for level and height.
 
presume that is the Manfrotto XPRO Ball Head with Top Lock Plate in the lower picture? expensive bit of kit but I wish !! don't recognise the top photo ball head.
 
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realspeed said:
presume that is the Manfrotto XPRO Ball Head with Top Lock Plate in the lower picture? expensive bit of kit but I wish !! don't recognise the top photo ball head.
Click to expand...

This is the little one. It is excellent, all metal with a panning top plate.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B078947BL5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the Manfrotto Ballhead, I got it years ago, don't use it anymore because it makes the tripod very heavy.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0049F327U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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