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I want to take photos with a tripod that allows the camera to be angled at 90 degrees to the horizontal.

I was looking to purchase this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manfrotto-Aluminium-Section-Tripod-Horizontal/dp/B00FZLBURG/ref=dp_ob_title_ce, as I love the fact that you can extend the arm and then take the photos at 90 degrees to the horizontal. The price, however, is extremely high.

Do you know of a cheaper tripod that can perform the same function?

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  • If it's just for "tilt cam 90 degrees", most heads can do that; e.g. the Hahnel BH-40 which is fairly affordable. The special thing about the Manfrotto is that the whole center column can tilt. Generally, asking for concrete products isn't really the best thing to do here, though; generally those questions grow "stale" quickly on this site – there are other sites out there that can be of much greater help with concrete product questions. – Cornelius Jul 7 '14 at 15:05
  • @Cornelius Many thanks for this answer. I have a Hama Star 61 though, I don't think I can attach a head to it? – BenjaminFranklin Jul 7 '14 at 15:12
  • Also, could you recommend the other sites? I guess sites like dpreview? – BenjaminFranklin Jul 7 '14 at 15:13
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    Can you clarify - do you want to take pictures in portrait orientation, or do you want to be able to aim the camera towards the ground? – MikeW♦ Jul 8 '14 at 0:28
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    Going cheap on a tripod is seldom a good idea... – John Cavan Jul 9 '14 at 12:40
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I've got a Manfrotto 190-series tripod with the horizontal arm, and I can attest to the utility and convenience of this arm design; however, I've found that using this arm just to flip the camera by 90 degrees isn't a typical use case. Most tripod heads can do this on their own, simply by laying the camera over on its side, and if you've got an Arca-compatible quick-release plate, you might want to look into an "L" bracket for your camera, which allows you to mount the camera in portrait orientation while the tripod head remains upright. Not only does this help keep the camera balanced above the tripod, it also lets you orient and pan the camera more naturally.

If you're interested in the flexibility of Manfrotto's arm design for macros, low-level shooting, and so on, though, I greatly prefer the horizontal arm to tripod designs that hang the center column upside-down, for instance. There are other tripod manufacturers that make "flippable" center arms, including Vanguard, which I've heard good things about.

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  • Many thanks for this answer. Is there a cheaper tripod that you could recommend that has a long horizontal arm? – BenjaminFranklin Jul 7 '14 at 16:34
  • The Vanguard tripods I mentioned tend to be priced a little lower than comparable Manfrottos. – D. Lambert Jul 7 '14 at 17:15
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You just need an "L" plate that can tilt the camera 90 degrees and allow it to attach to the quick release plate for your Hama tripod. The most popular maker is probably Really Right Stuff, which custom make them to fit various camera bodies.

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Do you need this for travel or will it be mostly studio? If it's the latter you can probably work something out with a Manfrotto 035 Super Clamp. There's a version that comes with a shorter stud so that the head can sit flush to the clamp. A couple lightstands or 2x2s or ... and there you go.

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