Latest addition to my studio

[Manfred M]

Does anyone know what this is?






It's a camera stand; which is about 1.8m / 6ft tall and weighs in at 34kg / 75 lbs. It is a lot easier to use for the still life work that I do than a traditional tripod, especially for "flat lay" work. It is traditionally used for large format and medium format camera work.

I'm planning to photograph some Japanese fans this weekend, so I'm looking forward to see how that works out.

[The amateur]

Good luck !

[pschlute]

Well that won't fall over !

Are those hazard lights on the feet ?

[loosecanon]

some years ago I balked at buying one in an auction.It went unsold ar £3. It was just yo big and heavy.

[rpcrowe]

We used these quite often for large format portraiture. We had a 5x7 view camera in one of the Navy studios in which I worked. It had a split back an took two images on 5x7 cut film. The stand was far easier to use than a tripod - you never had to worry about knocking it over or tripping in the tripod's legs. It was also far easier to move the camera on this stand than if the camera had been mounted on a tripod.

[Manfred M]

We used these quite often for large format portraiture. We had a 5x7 view camera in one of the Navy studios in which I worked. It had a split back an took two images on 5x7 cut film. The stand was far easier to use than a tripod - you never had to worry about knocking it over or tripping in the tripod's legs. It was also far easier to move the camera on this stand than if the camera had been mounted on a tripod.

I've used one of these with a 4" x 5" camera and quickly learned how effective these devices can be. I primarily use this with my medium format camera. The camera isn't particularly heavy, but the lenses sure are.

1. Yes it is heavy, but it is super stable.

2. The legs of the tripod do get in the way of flat lay work. With the camera stand, I can slide the leg under my setup.

3. While I have a horizontal adapter for my tripod, I have to add a lot of weight to counterbalance it. The arm is not nearly long enough for some of the shots I try to do. The one on the camera stand is about twice as long, so that really helps.

4. Height adjustment is super easy, the the whole arm being counter-balanced. I can get a lot lower and a lot higher than I can with a tripod.

5. Downside is the initial outlay (these devices are not cheap) and they don't fold up nicely for storage. I can't just throw it in a bag and carry it to a different location; it weighs about 40kg / 88 lb.

Yes, for the type of still life photography that I do, this is really an essential part of my workflow now.