turning trekking poles into a real tripod?

[Marek Janda]

Hello,
did anyone try to use three trekking poles as a tripod? I think, something with 3 holes on one side (for poles tips) and standard tripod screw on the other should work. I think this idea is quite obvious, so I don’t want to reinvent the wheel…yet, I didn’t find anything on the net.

and second question – is there any ligher and still stable head than BH-25 from Really Right Stuff?

I need some support for my 6×6 camera (square, mlu, leaf shutters = vibrations are probably quite low) and my current setup seems like unnecessary weight (Gitzo 1227 legs, 1270M head)
What do you think? Should I bother with trekking pole idea? Should I try some lighter tripod (those new 6X CF tripods from gitzo are nice…yet quite pricy).

[Bill Fornshell]

Yes

[Inaki Diaz de Etura]

the idea is obvious but if you want it to work properly (easy to assemble-disassamble, stable) there’s some work to do. My idea was just as you describe. I started from a regular tripod (not a expensive one), cut the legs off and installed some tube joining screws (this I had done by somebody else, I think it’s some electrical stuff thing). Quite simple. It doesn’t work as smooth as a real dedicated tripod but it does the job.

[Bill Fornshell]

When I answered your question yesterday I couldn’t find the thread the thread where I had posted the picture.

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My Home-Made Trekking Poles will turn into a full size Camera Tripod.

I can use both my cameras with this setup. My current heavy Sony Digital – 23oz works well with the tripod. The Cannon in the picture weighs about the same.

The third pole is packed when not in use. It is made in 3 sections the longest 2 sections are 24.5″ long and the 3rd section is 8″ long. All the extra parts necessary to complete the tripod weigh 5.51oz.

[Marek Janda]

Thanks for replies.

Inaki’s solution is really interesting and far surpassing what I had in mind when I was thinking about it.

[andy winz]

I like both ideas, Bill is it possible for you to post some pictures detail the head or a quick blurb on how you made yours? Thanks!

[Bill Fornshell]

Andy asked:

I took an Olympus Mini tripod
Olympus Tripod Link
and cut off most of the legs. The legs are a flexible spring thing and is where most of the weight was. I left enough of the flexible legs to slid into pieces of tubing that attach to the top of my trekking poles and the third tripod leg pole. The ballhead is the one that came on the Olympus mini tripod. It has a strong locking mechanism and holds my camera in any position without any problem. The part of the mini tripod that I saved, ballhead and the short sections of the three flexible legs weigh 2.67oz.

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