Changing the height of a tripod whilst the 8 x10 camera and lens are fixed upon it.

[Tin Can]

Show us your setup one day!

I enjoyed the Millennium in London

and visited the big motor bike museum before it burned

it was rebuilt!

[Ed Burlew]

To RAISE an 8x10 camera already on a tripod I hold the camera tight and kick down at the earth to shove it down a little When the Earth is lowered enough I extend the tripod legs down to the earth. I learned this little trick when working for Einstein.

[Vaughn]

To RAISE an 8x10 camera already on a tripod I hold the camera tight and kick down at the earth to shove it down a little When the Earth is lowered enough I extend the tripod legs down to the earth. I learned this little trick when working for Einstein.

Warn me next time -- I was wondering why some of my long exposures were fussy. Since you worked with him, did Einstein really have a filter designed to correct for Redshift when using Kodachrome?

[Michael Jones]

I agree with Brian that the center column is stable for minor adjustments, not adding height that should be corrected by changing the legs and/or camera position. That said, consider locating a Burleback Mulda with lever locks on the legs. Very heavy duty tripod with solid locks on legs and head with a geared center column. I believe the current model is TRIPOD UNI 27C. Perfect for a 15 pound Toyo.

[Kino]

I recommend Manfrotto 058 too.
Very fast setup and central column is usable if you know what you are doing.
It is my main workhorse with medium digital format on locations.

If I recall correctly, the 058 also has quick height adjustments for each leg located just under the head. You push a lever and can vary the height of one or all of the legs quite a bit without having to bend over and mess with knobs.

So that coupled with a center column would probably work for you.

The weight cuts both ways; more stable but harder to haul...