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[OM] Re: Isle Royale Campers Sendoff - EQUIPMENT PREPARATION

Subject: [OM] Re: Isle Royale Campers Sendoff - EQUIPMENT PREPARATION
From: AG Schnozz <agschnozz@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 06:41:45 -0700 (PDT)
> It's really fun to hear all the enthusiasm with which you
> folks are looking forward to this trip!

Well, as part of the preparation there is the usual camping
supplies stuff and creature comforts. But all that is strictly
logistical issues for the main purpose of the trip:  Taking
pictures, lots of pictures.

To that end, I've been working on a certain tripod setup.
Anybody who's known me for more than 1/30 of a second knows that
I can't leave well-enough alone when it comes to tripods. I just
got done further customizing my Bogan 3001 to make it compatible
with the Canon backpack.

I had previously modified my 3001 by reshaping the leg-splay
thumb-tabs to allow the tripod to go nearly flat to the ground.
This modification basically allows the legs to go wider. I
prefer this as it gives me a much better macro rig at the
expense of a few inches of height. But since I use my Manfrotto
3218 monopod a lot, I'm not overly concerned about the height.
The head on the tripod is the #168 ball-head (hex plate). The
upper-leg-section is covered with pipe-insulation and wrapped
with camo-ducttape. After 12 years, I finally got around to
redoing the ducttape so I wouldn't embarrass my shooting
partners.  I also took the time to do my semi-decadal lube of
the ball with silicon spray.  Just like new again--well,
almost--I'd have to repaint all the war-wounds.

Well, the issue I've always had with the Bogan tripods is
attaching them to the bottom of the backpacks. A couple issues
come into play:  How to keep the legs together and how to attach
it to the backpack so it attaches and releases quickly. Those
buckle-straps are worthless.

In the fabric section of the local wally-world I picked up a
six-foot package of 2-inch wide self-adhesive velcro (tm). This
package has two strips, the hook side and the loop side.  I
wrapped the hook side around the bottom two inches of
middle-section legs. Inotherwords, the tripod is two-inches
longer now when callapsed.  You'll see in a second where this
comes into use.

The rest of the velcro I attached the back of the hook side to
the back of the loop side. Caution!!! The adhesive is so strong
that if you don't get it aligned up right, you'll never pull it
back apart.  You should now have the big, long strip of fuzzy on
one side and not-fuzzy on the other side.  Trim off any exposed
unmatched sticky area.  Now, cut the entire strip in two,
length-wise so you have two strips about an inch-wide. (as an
alternative to the 2-inch version, you can buy them in narrower
widths).

Now, cut one of the strips to give yourself one piece about 16
inches long. This is used to wrap around the tripod legs to keep
them together. The length is much longer than the circumfrence
as you will want the strap to wind around and attach back onto
itself.  This is guaranteed to hold your tripod legs together. 
It's easy and fast.

I took the other long piece and cut it into two equal-length
strips of at least two-feet in length. These go through the
attach points on the bottom of the camera bag. If they won't
fit, you might need to use the old buckle straps to provide a
loop big enough to slip through.

To attach the tripod to the camera bag, set them down on the
ground in position. Lift one leg of the tripod up and wrap the
bag's velcro straps around only two of the legs. The straps will
kinda criss-cross and then further wrap around on themselves.
The tighter you get these straps, the less movement and "slop"
occurs when you walk. Lower the raised tripod leg and then wrap
the loose velcro strap around the tripod legs where we put the
two-inchs of hook tape.

To release, remove the leg-wrap piece, raise the leg, rip the
two straps free and you have your tripod ready to go.

Wondering what to do with the loose strap?  Well, you can just
slap it on one of the tripod legs while you are shooting.

Remember, you read it here first.  If this system really works,
you may hear comments about it from the others. If it doesn't
work, you'll most definitely hear it from the others.

AG

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