Currently I'm using a suction cup rig I made from:

x3 5' Aluminum concrete smoothing poles

x2 Avenger suction cups

x3 Manfrotto Super Clamps

x1 Manfrotto Magic Arm

The poles I'm using bend slightly and bounce while moving. Its fairly thin walled aluminum so idk if the deflection to weight ratio is in my favor.


I'm looking to make this rig more stable but having trouble trying to triangulate something that attaches from the top of the car. My thoughts are to run a cable from the camera to a clamp or suction cup on the bottom of the car but I'm afraid that the tension that creates might pull off the suction cups.

Add a suspension wire over the top, almost on the drawbridge concept.

I had a similar problem. I added the steel wire over the top which did prevent a bit of the bounce, but definitely didn't get anywhere near eliminating it. After doing some research.. the biggest factor in determining how stable it is are the poles diameter and wall thickness. 2" diameter is the norm (mine are 1.5), and the thicker the wall the less it will flex. To reduce the flex completely, look into poles that have internal stiffening ribs. They seem hard to locate though as I haven't found any for sale here locally, but they look like this http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/sh...ad.php?t=151730

Oooooh, that looks promising.

where can i buy a complete setup ?

I wanted to build my own, but well I got not enouh time and money!
Anyway, I've found these forums where there are loads of interesting advices for building/using Rigs:
Canon Photography Forum/ Rigs
JDM forum/ build your own Rig

IMO, don't use magnets, first, they don't hold sturdy enough, and two, they won't attach to composite materials (IE, high end cars that have little to no metal on the bottom)...

Go with 2-3 suction cups, the best idea it to make a cross at the suction point. one on the end, with a bar that crosses the main pole with two on each side... wire's are good, but are often a pain in the ass to setup good.

15ft is about where a rig will start to bounce and flex a lot, keep the sections small and tight 3-4ft max.

how do you connect segments of the pole ?

there are different way, sleeves, couplers, screws, Mike Bowen uses a slightly bigger coupler that the poles screw into on each side. The automotive rigs poles use a slightly bigger end piece thats welded on that you screw down with a loop wire thing (escaping my head the name of them)...

will the suction cup leave marks on car paint? can somebody post after shoots photo?

thnx

Every suction cup will leave a mark. There is no way of escaping the horror...
Just tell the car owner not to do anything until he gets home and wash the car, followed by drying.
Inspect with a fluorescent light to see if the ring is visible and decide whether to polish or rub with microfibre or an angry cat on the paint...

thanks any other tips? some say the worst it maybe cracking the paint?

I just ordered a roll of 6" x 84" 3M clear bra to try to eliminate the marks left by the suction cups. I will report back as soon as, well, I have something to report



Interesting... anyone know what these poles are traditionally used for, or where they could be found? looks like a good concept

Sorry, but I don't see the point with that. You will only mess up the suction. It's the outer ring that leave marks and you can't mount the cup on a bra.

I know a few guys who do this, and apparently it helps especially if the car has less than perfect paint... i.e a track car, the clear bra makes a smooth surface that the cup can stick to. either way, if it doesn't work I'm out less than $30 so I'm not losing any sleep over it

edit: to clarify, this is the clear plastic "bra" that's like a film, not a traditional leather/pleather black "bra"

http://www.clearbrapro.com/

thanks for sharing, i think that clear bra will work. keep us posted

I once stuck a suction cup to a clear bra on a 997 turbo. It completely fecked the bra up and all the paint protection film had to be removed.

NEVER will I be doing that again, cost a fair amount of money that mistake.

interesting, well I got the package yesterday so I'm going to give it a shot next time and if it doesn't work out, no harm no foul

I've always asked / told clients not to polish their cars before a shoot if I'm using the rig as the cups just suck through the polish to the paint which leaves the rings. Whilst they do buff out it's a PITA and looks rough afterwards. Never left a mark on paint before and hopefully won't be either ! I do clean the cups with baby wipes before hand though as well which helps.

in my opinion, that look pretty sturdy to me.. my rigsetup is similar without using a cable too.
as long you are not going very fast, i think its stable enough to get a sharp shot (pushing or rolling on a slope)

I've been using some car wax to remove the marks on the paint. They always come off after ~10 seconds of rubbing. At times people mistake it for a car polish which is abrasive and scratches the paint. The wax isn't abrasive.

About the stability - my rig is made of three pieces 1.5m (5') long which connect to each other via short pieces of the same pipes, split longwise. That definitely weakens the construction, so I've added steel wire and made the rig like a suspension bridge. Because I've made the wire quite tight, it removes a significant amount of the vertical movement. I also attach some rope to the rig that prevents some of the horizontal movement.
This way I get some sharp images even with the engine running.