Manfrotto 131TC Table Mount Geared Post with Clamp, Black

I bought it to digitize old family photos of old family members in large albums. Since many photos are glued in or are otherwise difficult to extract/ reinsert, I can get great results with a mirrorless camera attached to this device. It requires both a lateral arm (sold separately and often available on eBay) and a small ball-head adapter. An iPhone would also work, buf if you’re going to all this trouble and expense, use the best camera and lens you can, with telephoto to zoom in on individual photos and to zoom out to get the whole album page. I used two 3”x5” cube lights (rectangular LED lights for studio/ video work…they run about $65 each—ring lights might be better, but I recommend two to eliminate shadows) on Manfrotto pixie tripods to maximize lighting and to make light consistent and shadow-free. Adjust the color to be neutral/white (not yellow). I placed a pane of low reflectance (1% ?) museum-grade picture frame glass (which you can order on line or get at a frame shop—$20-40 for an 8x10-sized pane) on the album to flatten the page and photo. I have tried the Manfrotto flash-shoe level (a transparent plastic cube with two green fluid levels built in) to set the lens view perpendicular to the album page, but found it was much easier and almost as precise to line everything up using the viewfinder. The whole process is time consuming, so I began skipping only to photos that were of the best quality/interest, or had new faces of dead relatives not captured elsewhere. I would also zoom out to get one image of the entire page with all of its photos. In summary, if this is your intended use, this gadget appears to be as good as it gets. I researched a number of other (and generally less expensive) options, and liked this the best. Since Manfrotto is a strong brand, I expect to have no problem reselling it on ebay some day when I’m done.

Works great for macro and product photography.

I bought mine from b&h for $199.95. here are some of my notes: -It is obviously made for very specific use and will not be able to replace your tripod on every case. -my go to in indoor shoots as you could clamp it onto anything. a chair, a ladder, table (basically anything sturdy enough) -it does have much use if you use it stand alone. you have to get a leveling base and a horizontal arm to make use of its full potential. -precision precision precision -you hear it many times and here it is again. it's built like a tank!

Manfrotto 131TC Table Mount Geared Post with Clamp If you have seen the price of a quality copy board or decent tripod with a geared centre column llately, while this item seems pretty dear, it's a relative bargain compared good quality alternatives. It's handy to use instead of a tripod in a small studio or as a copy stand. - You will have to provide your own head. - You need enough depth on your table/ counter to attached the clamp. - 20lb capacity on the gear - You may need to counterweight your camera if you use a hefty rig for off-axis macro shooting (camera pointing downward) such as a Manfrotto 131D or 131DDB arm. I mention capacity as it is claimed on another reputable website. I don't plan on attaching that much kit to this post but it's good to know depending on your intended usage. This is a quality piece of equipment from Manfrotto. Worth shortlisting. Recommended accordingly.