Autopole Alternative

The autopoles from manfratto that everyone posted a while back for people like me that have narrow studios and dont want to mess with stands. I found a great alternative by accident today.

We are putting the final touches in place on the studio and the guy that is helping me walked in with two of these. Started to LMAO when he told me where he got them and how much they cost. Northern tools has them. They are $39.99 and they work Great. I like them better than the auto poles because they have a ratchet mechanish at the top. And they hold 150 lbs capacity. very cool product that will eliminate my cumbersome stands.

http://www.nextag.com …0a280502-79E060018D1F66FB

here are the manfrattos from B&H for your comparison

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …BSET_Autopoles_​Black.html

i ordered 3 auto ploes for $119.00

Out of interest Mike, have you tried the autopoles? You say you like the cheaper ones because of the ratchet mechanism. Have you been able to compare?

I will be very interested to hear your review on them. I will be interested to know how sturdy they are, how much weight they can hold, how high they go.

I've actually been using those myself for about 8 months. I had purchases a four pack from Amazon for a remodeling project (they work great for making dust barriers too). I was looking at Autopoles myself, then remembered I had these. I use two of them for backgrounds and another two to hold the lights that light my backgrounds.

Here's a link to a thread where I posted a picture of the pole with a Superclamp and a U hook on it, which works great for holding backgrounds using 1 1/2" electrical conduit.

https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=11272921&p​ostcount=8

So far I've been pretty happy with them. I can't say how they compare to Autopoles because I've never used them, but I can say that they work well enough that I have no intention to replace them. You can get a two pack from Amazon for $72 with free shipping. An equivalent Manfrotto setup would cost about 2.5X as much.

Regarding specs, they can go up to 12 feet and are rated for 70 lbs. They're made for holding up cabinets, so they should be able to hold quite a bit.

Interesting! I'm very tight on space, so something like autopoles was always on my mind though rather pricy.

Ive had my hands on the autopoles. These are a little bigger but not a lot. These are red and look like a tool, the autopoles have a nicer finish but they are not as strong as far as i could tell. Once you clamp these in place, and it is super easy to do, they are going nowhere.

these are 39.99 each,,auto poles are 159.00 for a pair. Im going to use the clamps as well with a stud and attach my strobes to the stands. Im sick and tired if tripping over the stands and/or cloning from the legs from the shots. The poles should work great for long narrow studios. Im 12'x33'. cant wait to show you guys how it came out.

I agree, the finish isn't the best, but it isn't horrible either.

If you're going to attach strobes to them, consider using the Manfrotto solution shown in this link. It's what I use and it works great:

https://photography-on-the.net …php?p=8737886&p​ostcount=6

munzzzzzzz wrote in post #12044486
I agree, the finish isn't the best, but it isn't horrible either.

If you're going to attach strobes to them, consider using the Manfrotto solution shown in this link. It's what I use and it works great:

https://photography-on-the.net …php?p=8737886&p​ostcount=6

Munzzzzzzzz

Thanks for that. Thats a better way to go then what i was going to do. Just ordered 3 of them.

Robert (TMR), your a genious. studio is now complete:p

Mike, if you have both, i'd love to see some comparison shots.

The manfrotto auto-pole looked alot thicker to me from what i remembered and bulkier...

Csae wrote in post #12051059
Mike, if you have both, i'd love to see some comparison shots.

The manfrotto auto-pole looked alot thicker to me from what i remembered and bulkier...

I sent the manfrattos back after i saw the red ones. Really funny how it happened. The guy that was helping me with my racks walked in with these and my jaw dropped. When i asked him where he got them, i opened the box that the manfrottos arrived in and compared. Box was taped and returned that day. No doubt, manfrattos look "more professional" but these red ones are as good and latch to the floor ceiling better IMHO. Plus, $80.00 v/s $160.00 was another incintive. Spent enough $$$ on the studio, backdrops, lighting, so when i can save $$$ i will. The studio came out awesome and i will post pics this week for those wanting to build a home studio on a limited budget.

We increased the usable space for the studio, office area, and viewing areas to 1100 SQ FT. Going to be a great write off for the business and i can do just about anything when it comes to portraiture. Some limitations but not enough to worry about.

I got a couple of similar poles on sale at Harbor Freight a while back for $10 each, except they are blue. I'm not sure if they still have them or if it was a one-time special. At the time, I had to keep checking with them because they never had stock.

Ray Irvine wrote in post #12058394
I got a couple of similar poles on sale at Harbor Freight a while back for $10 each, except they are blue. I'm not sure if they still have them or if it was a one-time special. At the time, I had to keep checking with them because they never had stock.

Do you remember a part number or what Harbor Freight called them ? I'm in Simi what store did you find them in ?

Thanks,

Ken

H2OSkier wrote in post #12146854
Do you remember a part number or what Harbor Freight called them ? I'm in Simi what store did you find them in ?

Thanks,

Ken

I got them in Camarillo. It's called the Haul-Master 2-in-1 Support/Cargo Bar. They have changed the item number since I bought mine but here is the link to the current item:

http://www.harborfreig​ht.com …port-cargo-bar-66172.html

These only extend to 112" vs 144" for the other pole listed in the thread but are still useful. They are $12.95 on the website.

66lbs vs 150lbs.... Tbh 60lbs is still enough for me, and at 13$/pop, oh baby. No shipping to CA what a suprise, wheres my phonebook at.

Hm.

The 3rd hand state 300lbs if used as a pair, being able to hang a hammock in my living room has always interested me though...

UK readers can search for the phrase "extension support rod" and will obtain results such as the following:

http://www.screwfix.co​m/p/extension-support-rod/14003 - £16.49