The McNally Tripod Rig

Jan 28

In Equipment at 6:42pm

One of the big questions I get when I teach is about my tripod and computer platform rig.

It’s all off the shelf Gitzo/Manfrotto stuff, available from Bogen…

I use the Gitzo GT-5560SGT tripod, and mount the Manfrotto Accessory Arm 3153B to it, and then the Gitzo G065 Laptop Platform to that. Couple that up with a ball head such as the Manfrotto 468MG, and you be cooking. I keep the platform at eyeball height so I don’t have to stoop to see the computer. I’m tethered via Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 and a USB 2.0 cable with an extension. Everything is taped down, cause I’m excitable and accident prone. It works real well as a location rig.

If the GT-5560SGT isn’t for you, go to Gitzo.com and check out the Tripod Configurator to see what they recommend. I highly advocate purchasing a good tripod to support your camera. You’ve already spent a good chunk of change on the camera, better get a reliable set of sticks to go underneath it. Don’t pinch pennies on a tripod, because if it goes down, your camera goes down too.

Quick tip: On a high pressure shoot, go ahead and tether if you like, but always have a backup camera with a card standing by. If you shoot quickly, you will back up the computer with raw files all trying to scream through the USB connector at once, and my experience is the camera will lock up. At that point, you just put that camera down, let it digest for a bit, while you shoot Mr. or Mrs. Impatient Subject with your other camera, which is rocking and rolling right to the card, in my case a Lexar UDMA 8 gigger.

Mentioned in this post:
- Gitzo GT-5560SGT
- Manfrotto Accessory Arm 3153B
- Gitzo G065 Laptop Platform
- Manfrotto 468MG Hydrostatic Ball Head
- Nikon Camera Control Pro 2
- USB 2.0 Cable
- USB 10′ Extension
- Lexar UDMA 8 GB 300x CF Card

This entry was posted on Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 6:42 pm and is filed under Equipment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

24 Responses to “The McNally Tripod Rig”

clement stevens Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 11:38 pm

Thanks for sharing, it is always an advantage when you can get straight from the pro, I have always been a fan of your work.
Mike Clemons Says:
February 2nd, 2008 at 4:11 pm

Joe, first of all I loved your lighting course on line at Kelby training. Amazing stuff, a lot like following you around asking you questions while you were working and you now getting mad! Can we go another one on small flashes next?

Thanks for sharing the tripod setup secret. That was the first thing I asked Scott about.

I’m also very excited that you’ve started a blog.. welcome to the blogworld, we’ve been waiting patiently.
Mike Clemons Says:
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:49 pm

… not getting mad.
Mat Says:
February 4th, 2008 at 10:14 am

Great one, that helps me a lot. Thank you

By the way can somebody give me a alternative for the mentioned Nikon Camera Control Pro for Canon users? I am using the Eos Utility but it sucks.
So a third party product would be nice.

Thanks again… Mat
Don Risi Says:
February 4th, 2008 at 11:27 am

Joe,

Fabulous work.

I love the laptop support. I shoot tethered whenever I’m in the studio (not often enough), and although I have a second body available, it’s strictly a backup body. When the computer gets backed up with RAW files, I get the client/subject to come look at the files that are coming up on the screen. It gives everyone a chance to catch their breath and to think about changes/improvements we need to make as we continue shooting.

Love the blog. Can’t wait to read more.

Don
Ade Says:
February 4th, 2008 at 12:43 pm

Joe,

As a NAPP member, Scott kelby blog reader, and amatuer photography enthusiast, I’m always looking to expand on my photography competencies.

I signed up for the annual subscription-based online training at kelbytraining.com, and want to tell you that I loved your light video courses.

Great stuff, really!!

I’m looking forward to you having a similar course with the SB-800 strobes, as that’s what I use (2 of them) at the moment with my D300.

Welcome to the blogosphere, and thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Nick Says:
February 4th, 2008 at 7:38 pm

Ok…now thats cool.
Jeff Franzen Says:
February 5th, 2008 at 11:01 pm

Love the new book. Great ideas.

The blog is nice addition also.

One minor suggestion: Could you make the images larger after the jump. Currently look like !:!. Would be great to see more detail if we click.

Keep up great ideas.
Oleg Kurapov Says:
February 7th, 2008 at 1:13 am

The blog is great, YouTube channel too - thanks for delivering us with great content! Love your sense of humor

I appreciate that you’ve shared the laptop/camera combo with us, I first saw it on Nikon’s “Speed of Light” DVD and it seemed like a great idea (although I also tend to get too excited at times which puts my MacBook Pro’s USB port at risk, huh). Can’t help noticing that in the desert shoot there your laptop was also being held with some kind of a clamp (ball head was different as well) - is it just some basic hardware store thingie or a brand-name gadget by Gitzo/Manfrotto etc.? And do you feel safe to clamp down on laptop casing - as I understand, Macs are rather tightly packed inside? Do you use it only on location or in the studio as well?
Alex Rodriguez Says:
February 7th, 2008 at 5:09 pm

Thanks for sharing, I searched all over the place for that setup after I saw the Nikon flash video.

Thanks again!
Ed O'Keeffe Says:
February 7th, 2008 at 9:04 pm

Thanks for the great advice, I saw the video featuring this setup on Kelby training and was wondering who made such a useful tripod head or if it might have been a custom piece of kit.

Looking forward to taking delivery of “the moment it clicks” book in the next few days, I ordered from Amazon on Tuesday. Never knew that you had a blog until I clicked through from the Nikonains blog. Time to get your RSS feed into my reader I think. Thanks for sharing in the tip Joe
df Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 3:12 am

Mat:
“By the way can somebody give me a alternative for the mentioned Nikon Camera Control Pro for Canon users? I am using the Eos Utility but it sucks.
So a third party product would be nice.”

I use DSLR Remote Pro from Breeze Systems. Works like a charm:

http://www.breezesys.com/DSLRRemotePro/index.htm
Dennis Kielhorn Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 1:23 pm

What happend to your “Magicball” seen in “Speed of light”? Why you’ve changed?
http://www.novoflex.de/english/html/tripod_heads_and_accessories.htm
Dennis Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 4:21 pm

Joe, I saw the video on Kelby and noticed that you had a second monitor, I have camera pro and was wondering how you got the single large display on the second monitor while on the laptop had nikon pro up.

Thanks
Brad Moore Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

Dennis,

In the Mac OS, go to your System Preferences, then to the Displays panel. Make sure your external display is plugged into the computer and turned on, then click the Detect Displays button. The computer should detect the display and start using it. You can go into the Arrangement section and play around with mirroring (checkbox at the bottom) and mapping options.

In Windows, go to the Display Properties (I usually right-click on the Desktop and go to Properties), then to the Settings tab, and click the Advanced button. From there, I think it’s something under the Monitor tab maybe, but it’s been so long since I’ve dealt with dual monitors on a Windows machine I couldn’t say for sure. That’ll get you in the general area though.

On the Kelby video we have the monitors mirrored for illustrative purposes, but not here in the studio. Need the extra screen real estate for projects and the like. Hope this helps!

Brad
Charles Says:
February 13th, 2008 at 10:14 am

I should be careful what I wish for! Ever since I first saw it, I was curious about this tethered set up. But a quick price check had me looking for alternatives; I was hoping that I might be able to get away with Gitzo’s 3540XLS (not that it’s cheap by any stretch of the imagination). I called the friendly folks at Bogen for their counsel. Unfortunately (for my wallet), they said that if you’re going to have a computer and monitor being supported, you really need the 5-series Giant — not so much because of weight, but torque. On the bright side, they told me, if I bought two I could put a bar between them and do chin-ups, no problem!
Mohammed Says:
February 14th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

Sir, like Many people I have enjoyed looking at your work. I have one question. First of all thank you for mentioning what you used in the Nikon Speed of Light. I would also like to know what stands you used for the speed lights and also I noticed that the speed lights were attached to the stand via clamps. Which clamp was it? Last but not the least, the large diffusing surface you used? Could you let me know the details on these items as well.

By the way just ordered your book. Have been waiting for it to come out since a long time. Finally am going to get my hands on it, soon.
Charles Says:
February 14th, 2008 at 10:08 pm

Mohammed, those stands are Avenger A225SCB C-Stands (century stands) with Grip arms/clamp (part D520B & D200B). The clamps are Bogen/Manfrotto 175F “Justin” clamps. The diffusion panels are Lastolite Skylites. All of these products are distributed by Bogen in the US. You’ll see all of this in the book when it arrives. Enjoy!
Mark Westman Says:
March 6th, 2008 at 6:22 pm

He’s got a BOOK? I loved the DVD Speed of light..

I wasted my TIME and MONEY looking to build a system…and almost bought a bunch of pocket wizards….because I’ve heard that the SB800 set up was not totally reliable. I’ve only got 2 SB800’s…been playing with both, and not ONE problem (via D200 camera). So I’m very, VERY stoked!

Glad to join this blog and looking forward to more!!! YOU ROCK!
Photoshop Insider » Friday News Nuggets Says:
March 27th, 2008 at 9:26 pm

[...] I had a lot of people asking about the rig I used to hold my laptop while shooting tethered during that wedding shoot on Monday. Joe McNally turned me on to the whole rig, and you can find out all the details, complete with a link to the gear, on Joe’s blog (here’s the link to his list). [...]
Jim Cutler Says:
April 1st, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Joe, Looks like the crossbar part of your Tripod rig is no longer made by Manfrotto. What a bummer cause I really want one. (The Manfrotto accessory arm 3153B). All sites previously selling them say “No longer available from manufacturer” and no replacement is offered on the Manfrotto or Bogen websites. Rats!
R. Scott Says:
April 7th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

The replacement crossbar support is called Manfrotto MN 131DDB. Retails for around £60-75 in the UK.
Fabiano Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:02 pm

that gitzo laptop platform is relly beaten up, isnt it? it looks twisted or something. this combo is working too hard, Joe. Give it a break…send it to me.
DiyPhotoBits.com » Blog Archive » Free Tethered Shooting Script for Nikon Says:
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:21 am

[...] you’ve been keeping up with the blogs of various big photography bloggers out there you’ll certainly have been seeing quite a bit about tethered shooting [...]

About Joe

Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed American photographer and long-time photojournalist. McNally is known worldwide for his ability to produce technically and logistically complex assignments with expert use of color and light.

Joe McNally

Welcome to the blog of professional photographer Joe McNally.

Jan 28