What are you using to put your laptop on when tethered? Is it portable? Can you take it on location?
I've seen them placed on a platform attached to a light stand (sometimes with wheels - sometimes not) This option to me appears to be the least intrusive in the overall "studio" area and I can see where it could easily be transported to a location.
Otherwise a card table would work I suppose....although it would take up quite a bit more floor space.
What do you use? Is it a commercially available product or did you make something from scratch? Did you start out with one solution then migrate to what you are using now?
In my studio, I purchased a tether extension from Tether Tools so My Laptop PC can remain on the computer table (digital darkroom) behind camera right in my small studio, and the extension runs up to my ceiling light support grid, along it to above my usual shooting position where the tether cable to the camera is plugged into it. This gives me plenty of camera tether cable to move about the shooting position without it running across the floor. When I set my camera down, I place it on a small Husky Brand roll around tool box with a toolbox tray liner type rubber mat on it's top and it's located camera left. The toolbox has swivel locking casters and a power strip on the right end with USB charging ports included in it, so one of my camera battery chargers that plugs into a USB port is sitting on the toolbox top as well, though I keep 4 pairs of camera batteries fully charged and on hand. This tool box only has one drawer. I keep all of the misc. items that I might want handy during a shoot, colored filters, spare batteries, etc. in this drawer. In the bottom 2 door compartment of the tool box I keep the Grip bag with tools and hardware needed for working on and positioning the strobe and continuous lights and an electronics/LAN service tool bag that has tools for pretty much everything else. On the left end of this tool box I have my lenses, each in a padded bag with a hook that I hook over the top rolled edge of the tool box. On the rear of the tool box is a metal peg board panel that was originally intended to swing up above the tool box, but I left it down, and hang my folding reflectors from it. Before getting the Tether cable extension, the tool box held the laptop PC too, but then was located camera right and a bit too close to my computer table. The present location of everything is working much better for me.
In the field I take the tether cable with me and use a Table Mate brand TV tray type folding table for my laptop PC. It's small and light, and it folds completely flat to about 2" thick, so it's easy to transport. I have one of the folding wagons that I transport my gear to the shooting locations, usually in one of the local parks with paved walkways, so the wagon is ideal for this.
CharleyL wrote:
.........In the field I take the tether cable with me and use a Table Mate brand TV tray type folding table for my laptop PC. It's small and light, and it folds completely flat to about 2" thick, so it's easy to transport. I have one of the folding wagons that I transport my gear to the shooting locations, usually in one of the local parks with paved walkways, so the wagon is ideal for this.
Charley
Charley,
I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to offer your comments pertaining to my situations.
My current "studio" is a little more than half of a 2 car garage and is only available when my wife's vehicle is not living therein. So, everything has to be portable. I have to set up and tear down every time I get a wild hair to photograph something.
I saw a video where someone used a stainless serving cart and I probably would go that route (or something similar) if I had an actual studio. When I did have an actual studio (15 years ago) I used the red Craftsman tool boxes on wheels. Neither of those solutions are practical for transporting to a location.
I am currently in search of some sort of collapsible contraption similar to the serving cart setup. I'll get it figured out eventually.
Depending on the size of your laptop you can make something like this work attached to a tripod. If you are mobile and don't need to place the camera on the tripod you can use it for the tray like this one.
edit: B&H lists this benro one that seems decent for a tripod mounted one
mach250 wrote:
Depending on the size of your laptop you can make something like this work attached to a tripod. If you are mobile and don't need to place the camera on the tripod you can use it for the tray like this one.
edit: B&H lists this benro one that seems decent for a tripod mounted one
mach250,
Thanks for your suggestions. I did see those and thought they were a little pricey by the time you add the cost of the tripod/stand into the mix.
Here are three solutions I am currently considering. To me, they seem to be the most cost effective and efficient for my needs.
Those are simpler but if you already had a tripod you would just be paying for the platforms. If you don't and have no need for a tripod then you can go your way and simply get a foldable/portable cart that you like. Might even be able to check stores around you instead of waiting on it to be shipped.
You are planning to roll one of those carts out in the field? The wheels are too small and will not do well over rough terrain. They would be fine in the garage.
This is what I transport my gear in when shooting in a park. It will handle mowed grass and sidewalks, but nothing much more rough.
What I use for the computer in the field is something like this, but they don't seem to make the one that I have anymore. Mine adjusts in height, as well as table angle, probably handy for holding a book, etc. I don't think it will ever be used in any position, but flat. The advertisement for it had a spring water jug full of water sitting on one to show it's strength. On mine, when folded, the feet turn toward each other, the verticals get shorter, and the table folds down against the side of the legs, making the whole assembly about the size of the table top. It only weighs about 2 lb.
I have a low folding stool that I use with it, and if shooting a model, I have a taller folding stool for him/her to use in the shots as well as just to sit on during shooting breaks something like this one. I think mine came from Walmart. I have two tall wooden stools in my studio that I did buy from Walmart.
The shorter stool that I have looks the same, but is shorter. I picked it up at a yard sale for $5.
I have attached strips of Velcro Fuzz to the side and top edges of the display on my laptop, and made a hood for it myself out of black foam core, attaching the mating hook Velcro to it where needed to attach the hood to the PC. Make certain that you put the fuzz Velcro on the computer monitor and the hooks on the hood. Doing it the other way will have the hooks on the monitor grabbing your clothing and anything else fabric that comes near it. When folded, the black foam core hood will have the hook Velcro folded inside, so not to grab anything, except maybe itself.
LarryBeemer wrote:
What are you using to put your laptop on when tethered? Is it portable? Can you take it on location?
I've seen them placed on a platform attached to a light stand (sometimes with wheels - sometimes not) This option to me appears to be the least intrusive in the overall "studio" area and I can see where it could easily be transported to a location.
Otherwise a card table would work I suppose....although it would take up quite a bit more floor space.
What do you use? Is it a commercially available product or did you make something from scratch? Did you start out with one solution then migrate to what you are using now?
I use one of these Manfrotto projector plates. I've just added an arca swiss plate on the bottom so I can either attach it to an extra tripod or use the Manfrotto double mount arm thingy if I want to attach the laptop and camera on one tripod. The projector plate would be a bit small for a larger laptop, but it fits mine perfectly. I can take a photo of it later if you're interested.
Going to come down to what else are you transporting. If the a large portion of it will fit into one of those collapsible carts then that might be the better solution. For the stainless cart version I would want to add 2 strips of non-skid material to the top self so a laptop would stay put, especially of some unknowing person were to get caught up in tether cord.
I started making my own laptop platform for location photography/tethering and I’m months in on the design process, three iterations later, and finally very happy with what I’ve got. I’m doing a limited run and shipping it starting next month:
I’d used the typical escalating kludges for this type of thing and worked my way up to the iVisor laptop platform that has a shade attached by velcro straps - it’s this:
It’s just “OK”, but for the money it’s not great at all. There’s no elegant way to attach a backup drive, much less a variety of other helpful accessories (e.g. tether cable hook). It also… this is probably my biggest gripe… it has no easy way to grip the laptop and keep it from sliding as you move on location. It’s rough trying to attach it to anything but a tripod, and forget about shifting mid-shoot from tripod to e.g. rolling stand. Plus you can’t tilt it. It was a better idea than reality. If anyone here wants it, I’m happy to sell it used for a decent price
So I recently was looking at the various “laptop plates” out there based around the cheeseplate aesthetic kicked off by Dana Neibert in 2012, which allow for external hard drive, card readers, batteries to be attached to the underside via 3/8-16 threaded holes. A decade, and a personal manufacturing revolution later, and the ecosystem of 3D printed accessories have gotten vast and awesome, but the plate remains largely unchanged.
Initially shocked at their price, I checked out machining my own from a single piece of 1/4 inch 6061 aluminum via a service like sendcutsend - you can check it out for yourself, but needless to say even with just some basic cutting, and factoring in that they charge $1 per tapped hole, it adds up quickly and begins to approach/eclipse what’s on the market commercially.
But the commercially available options, though intentional and made nicely, leave a lot to be desired IMO - too big & heavy, and when not heavy, either too expensive, or too restrictive in their design. Here’s a few I’m referencing:
All of this is to say I felt I could design something that sits at an unavailable intersection of: under 3lb, fits in a Pelican 1510, offers ¼-20 attachment as an option, plus has some other design niceties that are currently unavailable elsewhere. The cost of iterating prototypes was high enough that it put the cost of having a short run manufactured within reach, so that’s what I’ve done.
I recently added a small Hefty toolbox on wheels to my studio. I has one top drawer and then a two door access below. It came with a piece of rubber tool box liner (the black stuff with bumps and little holes) that fits the top, and another for inside the drawer. I keep a wide variety of small things in the drawer that I usually need during a shoot. The bottom of the cabinet holds a satchel tool bag full of small hand tools for various electrical/electronics use. It also holds a VOM meter. a "GRIP" bag is in there too, with tools and hardware that I frequently use when moving lights on the ceiling support grid. Hanging from the top side edges are padded lens bags with the lenses frequently used in my studio. There is a similar bag with a hook that came with a "Shooters Bag" that I bought for carrying my field cameras. It's really intended for carrying hand guns and ammunition to a shooting range, but I found it to be ideal for two of my cameras, lenses, batteries, tether cables, and everything else small that I take with me when doing shooting outside my studio.
On top of this tool cart are two double battery chargers for the two sizes of batteries that I use with my camera. They plug into the power strip and USB ports on the right side of the tool cart. I have a small LED gooseneck lamp attached to the handle of the cart that lets me better see the top of the cart when working in a dimmed studio. There are small pockets molded into the top at the back that collect all sorts of miscellaneous stuff. The back of the cart has a hinge-up peg board panel for holding tools when hinged up and locked in place. I generally hate pegboard and the hooks that keep falling out, but have left this panel hinged down and added a few hooks to hold my bagged folding reflectors and folding White Balance Target. Along the back edge of the top are about a dozen spring clamps.
When not actually shooting, this cart is a great place to set the camera, and it's usually positioned just camera left of my usual shooting position, but on wheels (replaced with good ones) so I can move it anywhere in the studio if I should want to. My first plan included placing the laptop on this toolbox, but with my computer table/ digital darkroom just camera right in the corner of the shooting room, I have just run the tether cable to it above on the ceiling grid. So the camera gets parked on the top of the toolbox, but my (in use) laptop is sitting on the computer table camera right. I have a 50" Hi Res Smart TV on the wall above the laptop, and the second screen output of the laptop is set up to feed the TV. Each shot that I take displays on the TV as well as the PC screen. The TV is on a flexible wall mount, so it can be positioned/angled for the model to easily see it. Though it isn't perfectly color calibrated, those that I'm shooting seem to respond well when they can see themselves immediately following each shot. Models posing quality improves quickly when they can see themselves as they are working. I also use the TV for watching/editing streaming videos. It isn't connected to cable, but could be. I just don't find much reason for watching regular TV. The TV has Amazon Firestick, so if I want to watch Youtube or a movie, I can.
I can send pictures, if you PM your email address. Most are just cell phone photos, but you should learn a lot from them. At this time, I'm not a paid up member here, so I can't post them. Some still exist though on my account, posted back when I was a paid up member. I haven't posted much lately because of health problems, but that may change soon.
When looking at my folding wagon (my usual means of transporting gear in the parks) I realized that the tops of the corner posts were threaded and had male threaded plastic headed caps screwed into them. This got me thinking about using baby pins threaded into the two posts at the back end of the wagon, and then a piece of 1/8" aluminum plate attached to the top of the baby pins using either 1/4-20 bolts or the original caps that had been screwed into the corner posts of the folding cart. This is a new and untried thought, but I think I'll be working on it when time allows very soon. I'll likely put the attachment holes in the plate about midway down each side, so the weight of the laptop will be evenly distributed, but maybe try adding holes to the corners for a cantilever arrangement too, just to see how well this works.
Well, this isn't going to be quite as easy as I had thought, because I just looked at my wagon and the corner posts of my Academy Sports folding wagon are threaded metric, about the same size as 1/4-20, but they appear to be metric thread. A trip to my shop will be needed to determine just what thread it is
So plan "B" is to get some 5/8 or 3/4" aluminum rod, cut two pieces the desired length for the table height above the wagon posts desired, and thread them, the bottom end for metric to match the threads in the wagon posts, and the top end for 1/4-20 or metric, or larger, if desired, and use wing nuts or knobs to attach the aluminum plate. At least doing it this way allows making the rods whatever length desired. When doing things like this, I always female thread the pieces being made, and then use short lengths of Metric All Thread of the needed length with Loc Tite to secure the All Thread in place in the ends of the rods, thus creating the added male threaded end to fit the wagon. The top end threads could be anything, if the original threaded caps from the wagon aren't used, and All Thread added for wing nuts, or left female threaded, if you find knob bolts with the right threads to match.
About 10 years ago, when I was looking for a "laptop station" for tethering in my basement home studio, I decided to make one that'd work for my purposes. I wanted something with a smaller footprint than a tripod, so I made this with PVC tubes and wheels for easier maneuverability. The laptop plate is a baking pan and the laptop is secured by bungee cords. It was for my home studio use, so it's not transportable for location shoots. I liked it enough to make two of these, and after 10 years, they're still in good use.
I could not find a link to the item but I bought a platform that attaches to the top of a light stand/c stand. It is rather heavy but I think that I paid around $30 for it off eBay. The Tether Tolls option is impressive but I simply didn't want to spend $200 on it.
