Looking for a vertical tripod adapter to shoot vertical footage.
 

We have some shoots coming up in the near future that require us to shoot vertically with our EX-1. We've been scouring the internet looking for some sort of "L" bracket or "elbow" mount tripod adapter that will allow us to flip the camera on its side and shoot vertically but haven't been able to find anything.

Any suggestions?

We have a EX-1 and Sachtler FSB-6 tripod.

Can't be that hard to make a "L" bracket.
Put the tripod/camera plate on it so that you can attach it to the tripod then screw the bracket to the camera.

Paul.

Look for what is called a "dutch" head...it's basically two fluid heads mounted at right angles to each other. They are pretty pricey, though...

If you are doing something like a greenscreen shoot, where you need to get a full body shot of the person in a vertical format, and there's not a ton of movement, you might look at buying or renting a beefy still photography tripod that lets you tip over to full vertical.

Probably wouldn't work for a full sized camcorder, but a good medium-format still tripod would likely support an EX-1 just fine.

I think all "photo" heads have that ability. It couldn't be too hard to buy a cheaper photo head and bolt it to your video head. The photo head doesn't have to be fluid since you will be using your existing video head to control pan and tilt.

Here's a right angle cheese plate form Filmtools for 29.95.
Mini L Cheese Plate

Or you can just go rent a Weaver Steadman 3 axis head.

I just googled "dutch" head (wasn't quite sure what I'd get), and found this Cartoni head, for cameras up to 12 lbs:

Cartoni | APDH Digi-Dutch Head | APDH | B&H Photo Video

What do people think of it? All the other dutch heads seem to be for heavier cameras, and they're much much more expensive. This one is around $500.
Cheers, Malcolm

for less you can get the NODAL NINJA made for panoramic photography, I think you should be able to use it for that purpose
Panoramic Tripod Heads, Universal Brackets, QTVR Heads, Compact Lightweight for Amatuers and Professionals

Check out Really Right Stuff ... Your Camera Support Experts They do a lot of L-brackets for stills cameras. Some of the larger ones might work with the Ex1

M

During a recent chroma key shoot I used my Manfrotto 303 panorama head. It´s not the most suitable solution, but it did get the job done. Let me know if you find a more permanent solution. I´ll be doing more vertical chroma keying in the time to come...

-terje

Jeff,
Not sure about your camera weight, but this might work:

Bogen / Manfrotto | 155 Double Ball Joint Head with 2933 Camera

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachmen...1&d=1229622042

Just clamp it onto a C-stand or something firm.

Just curious. What are you doing the vertical shots for? I have always though that would be a very cool way to shoot a doc or something, then mount a projector sideways.

Or if you're not adjusting your angle then any of the bigger Bogen or Gitzo stills camera heads will also work...

the ex-1 is a light weight camera, just buy a cheap head like a bogen 501 and mount it to your plate from your other head, done. i regularly mount a 501 to my 516 with an xl-h1 which is a good bit heavier than an ex-1 and you'll also have something like fluid motion on that axis

angle aluminum
 

you can buy a piece of angle aluminum at any yard that stocks aluminum stock. They will cut a piece to size and you can drill holes to mount.

Or just turn the camera 90 degrees on the tripod and tilt over that way. I've done that many a time for lock-off shots. With a small camera you shouldn't have too much weight problem but you might want to put a shotbag on the opposite leg for safety.

This is what you are looking for: L-bracket

Way overpriced... but built like a tank, very versatile, and super sturdy. I own it and I use it sometimes, and every time it performs great, whatever I throw at it. (And sometimes I do crazy custom stuff...) This is one case when I shelled out top dollars for a seemingly silly piece of gear, yet it paid off.

When you get this piece, you'll understand why other L-brackets don't work as well: this one does not flex, at all.