[Irvine Ross]

Bit of a daft question but some of you might be able to help.

I want to make a very tall but lightweight monopod for my camera so that I can take photos from 5-6metres above the ground. I wondered about a telescopic pole as is used in some kinds of  coarse fishing. I would just fix a camera mount on the top.

I have seen some 7 metre telescopic poles advertised for less than £10 which struck me as very cheap. Would they be OK or should I spend a bit more?

Irvine

[Kevin Muir]

Hi Irvine

Having bought a cheap (£10.00) fiberglass 6 metre telescopic pole which I converted into a dapping rod I can say with some confidence that this would not meet your needs, they have a very flexible tip and would not support the weight of a small camera.

A possible option would be a 5 metre levelling staff, these are usually made from an aluminium extrusion or fiberglass and will be significantly stronger than the coarse pole.  These aluminium staffs are much more rigid in one plane than the other although a few small wedges (wooden clothes pegs) would take up any lateral play and be easily removed when you need to collapse the staff again.   See the link for the type of staff I have used at work.  http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5M-SURVEY-LEVELLING-STAFF-/150516292500?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item230b785b94

These staffs extend and a button clicks into place near the top of each of the four lower sections  (except the top one, not required) to prevent them from collapsing again, you could drill the top section and fix a small bracket for the camera with a cheap "gorilla type tripod" to give you the best flexibility in attaching the camera.

Hope this is of some use to you.

Kevin.

[John Reid]

Irvine

I think this is a big ask for a mono-pod.  It is a fair height and if its got to remain still for good photos then it will be pretty tricky.

Some of the aluminium pruners for tree surgery have sturdy poles but keeping it steady will be the issue.  Let us know how you get on.

Good luck. 

[Mike Barrio]

I'd like to try a standard tripod on the Nikon sometime, I've never used one and haven't got one

What am I looking for? Are they all the same, or do you need one that fits your camera? Excuse my ignorance?

Cheers
Mike

[Rob Brownfield]

We have a monopod here at work which extends to 6-7 metres. Made by Nikon and we use it offshore for supporting HD video cameras when filming in confined spaces etc..trouble is, is cost more than most cameras!!! Around £400!!!

It is extremely heavy (stability) and cumbesome and packs down into a tube about 1.5 metres long by about 25cm diameter. It looks like a radio mast when up!

What you could possibly do is buy one of these http://www.fostersofbirmingham.co.uk/ST28425 which has a bog standard 3/8" thread one side and a camera thread the other and have a blacksmith make up a sectioned pole or weld a bankstick threaded head to something.

You could buy the butt sections of a carp pole as these are strong and rigid, If you bought say sections 8, 7, 6, 5 that would give you about 7 metres with a diameter of about an inch at the "tip". Here is a link to sections of a cheap but strong carbon carp pole. http://www.fishingspares.co.uk/index.php?cPath=1_50_159 If you went for my pole you would be about £400 lol

Mike,
Everyone likes lightweight tripods, but you really want a heavy one. The heavier the pod, the more stable it is. Again, our ones at work must be in the order of 15-20 pounds in weight for professional camera work.

However, for DSLRs if you use a cable release then you can get away with a lighter pod. Mine is light because if comes fishing with me in a rucsack, but I hang the rucsack from it to add stability.

[Irvine Ross]

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice.

It will have to be something like a carp pole to keep the weight down. We are already lugging about a plane table, plus it's tripod, 50metre tape and surveying poles so it will have to be something light that I can strap onto my rucksack or it will get left behind. I will only fit a light compact digital camera on top, nothing heavier.

I know it has already been done. See  http://www.armadale.org.uk/pole.htm
The team from this website are using an 8m fibreglass carp pole from Aldi for £18, but I have reservations about using something so cheap.

Is a carp pole telescopic, i.e. do the sections slide up inside the next biggest or do they fit over each other? If the latter, do they fit inside each other for transport?

Any information would be welcome.

cheers

Irvine

[Matt Henderson]

I give in. I'm really nosy and would like to know what you are planning to do with a camera on a 6m pole? Take pictures in through people's upstairs window?

[Irvine Ross]

I give in. I'm really nosy and would like to know what you are planning to do with a camera on a 6m pole? Take pictures in through people's upstairs window?

Not quite, I might get arrested

My other pastime is archaeology and I am part of a team recording some of the abandoned farm settlements in the countryside for the Scotland's Rural Past project.  http://www.scotlandsruralpast.org.uk/

When you try to photograph sites from eye level you only tend to see the bit of ruined wall that's nearest to you and it's hard to convey the lay-out of the building. You get a better illustration with a photo taken from a camera hoisted higher up.

The pros use this technique to photograph houses that are up for sale but their gear is a bit heavier.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/propertysnaps/2319200311/

Cheers

Irvine

[Peter McCallum]

Like Kevin (in fact I bought the poles) I have a 6 mtr pole with 1 mtr sections. To be honest you couldn't use, at least, the top  section - they're just too weak. I suppos a length of broom handle at the bottom would help

[Rob Brownfield]

Carp poles are not telescopic, they have to be put in for the strength.

Anything telescopic these days is classed as a "whip" and as such, is very flexible.

I bought the £18 Aldi pole for my daughter, its crap and very floppy 

Anything fibreglass is going to be cheap and nasty these days as all reasonable poles are carbon.

I "MAY" have an old glass pole at home from my youth that you could have to experiment with. I will have a look tonight. Its more rigid than modern glass poles.

[Kev Danby]

Irvine if you can wait till the new year I should be able to get you a pole for free that might be ok for you. I'm back down South over Cristmas and I'm sure my dad had some with broken top sections. My brother thinks he now has them and will check tonight and PM you if you confirm you are interested.

These will be the take apart type, you dont want an expensive camera on a telescopic pole the sections have a tendency drop.

Never forget about 6 m of pole and power cables or lightening.

I have a very expensive pole gathering dust up here it gets an airing about every two years i once had a trout from Haddo on it Dapping. You chaps that put rings on the telescopic poles did you ever consider using the internal elastic set up. Using the right rating this stuff will stop most trout.

Czech nyphing would also be interesting but perhaps that is pushing the boundaries of some of the die hard fly guys a bit too much.
 

Cheers

Kev

[Rob Brownfield]

Czech nyphing would also be interesting but perhaps that is pushing the boundaries of some of the die hard fly guys a bit too much.

I have that one ticked. When I first moved up here 20+ years ago I had an 8 metre pole that I used on a small burn on the outskirts of Auchenblae. To get the weight to flip the flies out I used a very heavily weighted shrimp with a spider a foot above it.

The Brownies could not get enough. I think it was no. 6 elastic as the fish only went upto about 12oz