What do you call it/where do you get it?

Good advice on using a std tripod for this type of shot.

Hmm, I can't quite tell if it would work with yours but it's slam dunk easy with my tripod. The 'pole' to which the camera mount is attached will slide into the leg assembly either 'normally' (from the top) or upside down (from the bottom). I.E. For a straight down shot, instead of the camera 'on top' I can reverse the pole so the camera is under and between the legs.

Mine doesn't have that lower leg support like yours, though, it's just three legs with a pole down the middle and leg flair is 'stopped' by the central hinge.

Looks sort of like this one

except there's no 'ridge' on the pole end, like it appears that one has, so mine will slide right out the top and then slide 'er back in from the underside.

I've had it forever and couldn't tell you where I bought it to save my life.

Some tripots let you take the central pole out and stick it back in upside down. Then you place the legs straddling the target and ...

If you can't do that, it might work to make one leg (much) longer so the tripod is tipped on its side holding the camera out away from the two close in legs. You would probably have to place a weight on the long leg to keep it from tipping over.

--
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's.  I hate spam.

For just a tripod with a good swivel/tilt head, I bought a cheap spirit level with laser line projector for £5 in a dicount store, its no more than DIY stores charge for just a spirit level and the screw fitting fits my camera (and webcam). So far I've used the spirit level a few times but the tripod now lives with my camera and I've yet to use the laser projector.

Good suggestion. But the central pole won't come out :-(

But it might work to get another tripod head and figure out how to mount it to the pole slide.

That's a good possibility. ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
      The only thing bipartisan in this country is hypocrisy

Could you put the object-to-be photographed on a board supported at an angle - then you wouldn't have to point the camera straight down - and you could select the angle to keep the tripod legs out of the picture.

--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI  
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca  
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

That would work for those pieces that didn't want to slide.

What I'm looking into is a cheap head that will attach to the bottom of the pole slide. ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
      The only thing bipartisan in this country is hypocrisy

A strip cut from a sheet of roofing lead could be wrapped around one of the legs as a weight, or better still lead flashing for roofing can be bought with self adhesive coating on the back and should be available in smaller quantities.

I haven't looked at tripods for a few years, but the heads of the ones I used in the past would unscrew from the top of the mast and reattach at the bottom. See if yours is threaded -- mine has a 1/4-20x3/8 stud. Lock the mast and give the pan/tilt handle a good counter-clockwise whack. I suppose newer stuff might omit this feature to save a few pennies, but you might get lucky.

Ken

Think outside the box; a ceiling-mounted mirror over a desk, just use a long lens and aim up. Photoshop has no problem with reversal, and the depth of field is better than in a 'closeup' arrangement.

Use poster putty or somesuch to hold the thing in place.

Tripod threads are 1/4-20 - get a piece of 3/4 x 3/4 thin angle from Home Depot, and a short 1/4-20 bolt and a couple of nuts. Drill a

1/4" hole in one face of the angle, near the end, for the camera mount, and one in the other face, a suitable distance from the end, for the tripod.

--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI  
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca  
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

To be precise, camera and tripod threads are 1/4 -20 Whitworth thread, which is ever-so-slightly different from 1/4-20 NC (National Coarse) like one sees in common hardware items. Regular hardware will work, but is a tad loose-fitting.