Support for Long lens and Gimbals in small spaces.

[Vintage Racer]

When using large lenses, the weight of the outfit often means we need additional support. In many hides and small spaces, a full size tripod, or monopod is not suitable. Of course, I can use a simple bean bag for support, but often, I still want to be able to use a gimbal to its full use and range of movement. By definition, small 'table top' tripods are not 'man' enough to support this kind of weight (15 kilos).

I had a 'eureka' moment this afternoon for when i'm shooting with my prime lens and gimbal in these situations and here is my solution, which I knocked up in my garage in around 15 minutes. - I have already tested it on a shallow shelf in a local hide for stability and it works perfectly!

Simply position a 3/8th bolt up the inside of the support tube (a hole already exists and just use spacers) and 'bob's your uncle'. The column height can easily be adjusted using the existing holes, and it can support up to 2 tonnes, so great stability!

I happened to have a set of these axle stands in my garage, from years ago, but they can be bought brand new from Halfords (UK) for just £18.00 per pair! (probably similar from Norauto)

Anyway, here it is, and I hope that some of you might find it useful.

IMG_0544 (2) by Glynn Hobbs, on Flickr

[Simpo Two]

I really appreciate that post because the trend seems to be 'Oh I can do all that on my smartphone/mirrorless camera yada blah'...

A system too heavy to lift has my respect!

[Vintage Racer]

I'm hoping to convince the wife that I now need a new Land Rover Defender to carry all my gear around!

[toohuge]

Nice solution! I use a heavy duty mini tripod - it doesn't have the height of yours, but it's superb! But the 400/2.8 is a little heavy