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Recommended Travel Friendly Macro Tripod

Started 5 months ago | Questions thread
john isaacs Veteran Member • Posts: 8,414
Re: Recommended Travel Friendly Macro Tripod

gugim wrote:

Greetings,

I am looking into carrying a travel friendly (small, light) tripod I could use when photographing mushrooms or early morning insects, and that could double as a monopod maybe for using with birds.

I have a light system (Olympus OMD 1iii) .

Currently I am considering the Peek Design Traveller tripod.

Any recommendations will be appreciated.

Thank you,

Ariel

I have the Peak Design Carbon Travel tripod. I like it, but I can't recommend it for low macro shots. The center column can be shortened with a hex wrench, and the legs will flatten out pretty well, but it doesn't get as low as I want in normal orientation. The center column can be inverted easily, which can get the camera quite low if you want to try using the camera upside down. Which will work if you use a remote shutter cable or the wireless remote.

But, the tripod only has two positions for the leg angle; normal and flat. I find it difficult to get it positioned on uneven terrain, and nearly impossible if you are trying to make room for an upside down camera as well.

There are tripods that can be converted to monopods. I don't have one; I just use the tripod as a monopod by keeping the legs together.

The problem with low shots is being able to adjust the height. I take two approaches; use a tripod with inverted center column, or use a plate (like the Platypod), and folding Z-head. The plate has leveling legs, the folding Z-head can adjust height.

I use the Decade Mini Tripod Base, similar to the Platypod, but it has a sliding mount screw so I can adjust where things mount on the plate.

https://www.amazon.com/Lightweight-Universal-Mounting-Compatible-Mirrorless/dp/B071ZNTWJF/

For a folding Z-head, I use the MSM Pan Tilt Head, which has tightening knobs for tilt and rotation. I also have Edelkrone Z Flex Tilt Head and a few others, but the MSM is small, light, and I don't need to dig out a hex wrench if things need tightening.

https://www.amazon.com/Easiest-Payload-Panorama-Multi-Angle-Photography/dp/B08Z8KX287

I also use a Sunwayfoto XB-28II low profile ball head, and a Sunwayfoto T1A12 Table Tripod on occasion. But these are not the lowest height, although they are quicker to use.

For my inverted column tripod, I use an L-Bracket to keep the camera in the normal position, and a nodal rail to adjust distance of the camera to the subject (so I don't have to constantly move the tripod.  I sometimes align the camera along the base of the L-bracket, so that rotation of the ball head doesn't change the distance  to the subject.

I use an Arcatech Ultimate ballhead.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/327811-REG/Acratech_1115_Ultimate_Ballhead_w_Quick.html

This ball head can be tilted up when I have the camera aligned along the base of the L-bracket.

These are some pictures of the tripod setup.

The Arca clamp on the L-bracket (seen in the second picture) can be rotated, and then camera adjustments can be done sideways with the camera base plate in the nodal rail, or front/back with the nodal rail in the arca clamp.

 john isaacs's gear list:john isaacs's gear list
Panasonic GH5 Olympus E-M5 III Olympus E-M1 III Nikon Z6 II Nikon Z7 II +15 more
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