Top down photography setup/rig?

[PaintGuru]

I can't seem to find anything to stabilize my camera (DSLR with macro lens) over my frag vat while I attempt to take top down shots of things. My tripod (admittedly it is pretty cheap) can't reach that far to get right over the middle of the vat. Anyone have a good rig/setup to do top down photos? Is this a simple "find the right tripod/head" problem, or is there something else clever that must be done?

 

[Dino]

How far does it have to reach? And what type of camera/lens combo are you using? There are quite a few tripods which you can turn the vertical extension horizontal. I have a Manfrotto 3021BPRO which has the option albeit I don't use it very often, and there are many other sets of legs which will allow you to do the same thing.

 

[PaintGuru]

D70s with Tamron 90mm macro.

 

[CAreefer]

Hope you don't mind, but I'm having a similar issue with the same camera and potentially the same solution, so rather than start a new thread...

D70 with a 105mm Nikor and acrylic TD box. Resting the box against the bracing/side of the tank will only get ya so far. 25" tall tank on a 34" tall stand, plus upper cabinetry and light rack, I really see no way of getting a tripod up and in there in. In addition, the acrylic box mounts to the camera via the tripod screw mount.

Overall shots are decent, but for 100% crops, they are unacceptable due to camera shake.

Paint Guru- Apologies if this is inappropriate, LMK and I'll move on and open a new thread.

CAReefer

 

[PaintGuru]

Hey no problem....I'm guessing many people have problems with macro over the top of tanks/vats because of camera shake. I thought if there was some way to have an attachment mount to a rail system, then you could build some support structure over top the tank and just use the timer function to shoot, but right now I am drawing a blank.

 

[PaintGuru]

Look what I found....thoughts?

http://www.amazon.com/Photek-eXtender-Telescopic-Horizontal-Tripod/dp/B000EY21BI

 

[KurtsReef]

I have just been hand holding it, bracing against the side of the tank. My biggest issue right now is getting by my lights which are in large reflectors 8 inches above the tank...mounted hard with screws.

I think I will change the mounting to some form of chain so they move a bit then perhaps using a tripod with legs extended over three sides of the aquarium would work.

 

[maroun.c]

Recently I got a tripod head that attaches to my car window for shooting pics from the car. In my case I can't use it over the tank as my canopy has a front section wood piece that blocs the glass part. may be if you have a more open top one of those could be usefull

 

[Kinetic]

i have a horizontal adapter for my feisol tripod (www.feisol.com), but even with it over the top of the tank, I can't even see what I'm composing unless I stand on a really high chair, grabbing onto something else...

 

[melev]

What I do in situations similar to this one is to use the camera strap around my neck as I stabilize the camera in a top down photo box with my hands. If the flow is off and the subject is well lit, you should be able to get some pretty good pictures with the D70.

If the flow is on, I could see how the box would be pummeled sideways and cause shake issues. The neck strap helps a lot.

 

[RevHtree]

My tripod has a quick release type grip that allows the whole head of the tripod to be flipped sideways or any other direction including straight down. It works great but only for stuff closer to the glass.

 

[PL-Reef]

Manfrotto 3021BPRO is what I use and I love it!

 

[aural]

okay let me jump on my soap box real quick....

there is no substitute for a good tripod.
there is no substitute for a good tripod.
there is no substitute for a good tripod.

okay, stepping down now.

 

[Bigbibi]

option for rimless tanks

option for rimless tanks

Here is my rig, made from a viewing box and some heat molded plexyglass