Recommended Travel Friendly Macro Tripod

I am an avid fungi photographer. My goal is to take shots as close to ground level as possible, to show a perspective unseen by humans who tower over these small, fascinating organisms.

To achieve this, I have a tripod with the centre column inverted, which allows my camera to be at ground level, and very stable to set up 10-20 shots on manual focus, which are then stacked when I get home.

This does mean operating the camera upside down, which takes some learning. Fortunately my camera has tilting display, so I do my focusing and metering from the screen.

Get yourself a Platypod or something similar and put a ballhead on it or just use a bolt and/or quick release plate on it and you can get your camera down very low with very little weight.

maggiemole wrote:

EarthMurmurs wrote:

I am an avid fungi photographer. My goal is to take shots as close to ground level as possible, to show a perspective unseen by humans who tower over these small, fascinating organisms.

To achieve this, I have a tripod with the centre column inverted, which allows my camera to be at ground level, and very stable to set up 10-20 shots on manual focus, which are then stacked when I get home.

This does mean operating the camera upside down, which takes some learning. Fortunately my camera has tilting display, so I do my focusing and metering from the screen.

What make is your tripod? I have a heavy Hama Traveller Compact Pro which allows me to invert the centre column, but the head is large and fixed and gets in the way of the tilt screen on the camera from my viewpoint. Something lighter and perhaps with a detachable head would be better for me.

thanks

With a ball-head, it shouldn't matter whether it's right side up or upside down.

With a little travel tripod, you might not have to reverse the column. Just invert the legs. I don't know why the ball-head would get in the way.

maggiemole wrote:

EarthMurmurs wrote:

I am an avid fungi photographer. My goal is to take shots as close to ground level as possible, to show a perspective unseen by humans who tower over these small, fascinating organisms.

To achieve this, I have a tripod with the centre column inverted, which allows my camera to be at ground level, and very stable to set up 10-20 shots on manual focus, which are then stacked when I get home.

This does mean operating the camera upside down, which takes some learning. Fortunately my camera has tilting display, so I do my focusing and metering from the screen.

What make is your tripod? I have a heavy Hama Traveller Compact Pro which allows me to invert the centre column, but the head is large and fixed and gets in the way of the tilt screen on the camera from my viewpoint. Something lighter and perhaps with a detachable head would be better for me.

thanks

Hi Maggie - the tripod I use for inverted shooting is an Inca i5315, and I replaced the stock head with a cheap, compact Neewer ball head. I chose this head because it doesn't have a panning arm to get in the way.

I've seen this tripod on FB marketplace from time to time for around $20 (used) and the ball head was also around $20 (new)

Avoid that neewer ball head. The rubber on the knobs slips badly, and it’s a bit heavy.

R

StevenJR wrote:

Avoid that neewer ball head. The rubber on the knobs slips badly, and it’s a bit heavy.

R

Yes, what a stupid design. Two of those rubber rings have disappeared from mine. Knurled knobs would have made for a better product. Alas, you get what you pay for, and that head is $20.

maggiemole wrote:

Right now, I’m more interested in your fungi expertise - especially if you live in southern England.

I won't sugar coat it - hunting for fungi is hard work. You will get very dirty, you'll walk for hours at a time in dense forest, many days finding nothing at all. My greatest finds have all been well off any established walking trails. And usually a very long way from my home, 2+ hours driving.

I've been attacked by dogs, came home with mysterious skin irritations, been bitten by swarms of fire ants, struck at by a snake, swooped on by agressive birds, sustained ligament injuries. Yet I still keep chasing that next beautiful specimen.

Is it worth it ? For me, yes. I enjoy searching for less common things to photograph. Here's some of my finds over the past two seasons:

https://earthmurmurs.com/fungi/

Can't help you with locations in England, as I'm based down under. But if you have FB, there's a very active private group called "Fungi of the World", maybe you can join the group and shout out to members who could recommend some spots in the UK

Good luck, and I hope you find some funky fungi on your travels

I probably use the column reversed more than upright for nature subjects, so it's easier with a single action ball-head with a lever. Then, you can just float the camera into position and lock it down. You're in an awkward position anyway and you don't have to think about the thumbwheels. It doesn't matter where the lever is. You just flip it to add tension. Being upside down, it doesn't take much to hold it. It's quick and easy when you have to keep moving the tripod around.

The single action head might be why I don't hesitate to use the column reversed. There's no effort involved. With the gear below, it doesn't take much of a tripod to support it.

Bobby2Shots wrote:

There's no need to shoot upside-down if you have an L-bracket for your camera. Using the same set-up you're using now,,, with the column inverted,,, just drop the ballhead's top-plate into its' 90* portrait-notch, then attach the side of your L-bracket to the ballheads' quick-release.

You are a GENIUS . While I've become somewhat familiar with using the camera upside down, it would be a HUGE quality of life improvement to be able to read the light meter from the top LCD display. I'll definitely look into an L-bracket setup for the 2023 season.
Thank you so much for the suggestion.

EarthMurmurs wrote:

I am an avid fungi photographer. My goal is to take shots as close to ground level as possible, to show a perspective unseen by humans who tower over these small, fascinating organisms.

To achieve this, I have a tripod with the centre column inverted, which allows my camera to be at ground level, and very stable to set up 10-20 shots on manual focus, which are then stacked when I get home.

The VariZoom VZTP760 has two center columns: one is 3", the other 12".

The short column permits the tripod to lay almost flat on the ground, as the 3-section legs can be adjusted to the desired angle needed.

It's been my travel tripod for 7 years. 3lbs, 22' collapsed.

With the short center column, the tripod height is 50" which is fine for me for landscapes, so I don't use the longer column.

richj20 wrote:

EarthMurmurs wrote:

The VariZoom VZTP760 has two center columns: one is 3", the other 12".

Thanks for the suggestion The image you shared.... isn't positioning the camera anywhere near low enough for the shots I go for. With my inverted column method, I can have the camera body suspended 1/2 inch from the earth. There's no gains for me using a tripod like the one you shared, if that's the lowest to the ground it can go. I do not want to be pointing down to the subject, I want to be level with it where possible.

I have actually considered buying a second identical tripod to the one I own I use, and completely sawing off the centre column, but haven't bothered, for the reasons outlined above.