Cross Bar

[Fogey]

I recently purchased a cross bar for my tripod for the sole purpose of taking very low angle shots as gravity won't let me get up once I'm at ground level.

This is the configuration I was after.........

 

 

To get this kind of image........

 

 

 

This was taken in live view with my Laowa wide angle lens with the aid of a remote shutter release.

 

[Clicker]

  Well that looks like it does what it says on the tin Fogey ... A smashing point of view that emphasises why I like this lens .. It means you can really add so much  context  by choosing  really interesting  backgrounds and colours to enhance the Macro part of the image ... AND   your new  accessory for the tripod looks  like a very useful  piece of equipment !    Nicely done Fogey ...

[Fogey]

I have to say it took a lot of working out and assembling.  You can put a ball head on the sliding camera attachments, but that raises the camera to an unacceptable height.  I had to fix the camera directly to the attachment, using an adapter screw from 3/8 to 1/4 inch thread to get the right height.  Then it was a case of positioning the legs of the tripod to counteract the weight of the camera.

Once all that was done and the crossbar set up, it was easily manoeuvred to any situation.  I could have used the ball head in the portrait position on the end of the bar, with the legs of the tripod spread a little wider to keep them from showing in the wide angle lens.  A counter balance would be useful to keep the tripod steady on uneven ground, but other than that I reckon the crossbar works very well.

It's all a case of trial and error, I suppose, but the possibilities are endless.

The use of live view was a breeze - so easy to set up and use.  I pre-set the camera's ISO number with the lens' aperture setting and used the shutter speed for a good exposure.

[markknittle61]

Interesting. I think I will add that to the want one list. It seems the ground gets farther away every passing year.

[CMunzel]

Interesting set up with the cross bar and it changes everything to be able change the perspective, doesn't it?

I used to take low angle shots with a medium format Hasselbald film camera that had a top down viewing eye piece. It was easy to sit it on the ground because of its square box shape and take photos with a worm' s eye view. I look forward to seeing more photos.