I made a DIY version of this tripod last year using three $5 tent poles I got from Tarptent.com, and the mini tri-pod from
one of these kits. Then as an option, I added a small Manfrotto ball head to it that makes it a little more user friendly. Total weight with the ball head is just 11oz. It looks kinda flimsy, but it's a lot sturdier than you might think. I took this shot of one of our local waterfalls using the DIY tripod and my Nikon D80 with a Tamron 11-18mm lens:
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I was using a 9-stop neutral density filter. The exposure was 10 seconds. There was a gentle breeze coming from the falls, but the shots I got are quite sharp. I didn't have as much luck shooting the nearby Columbia River. The wind there was more like 10 or 15 mph, and the shots I took weren't very sharp. 10 to 20 second exposures for those as well.
Here's what my tripod rig looks like:
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The 3-section tent poles are shock-corded, so it sets up fairly quickly and folds up nice and compact. I haven't measured, but it must stand around 45 inches tall. Useable but a little hard on the back. The leg lengths aren't adjustable but I found with a little improvising I could make it work on uneven ground.
I originally got the idea for the tripod from
this thread at Backpackinglight.com.
I think in general it would work quite well for m4/3 cameras, but it's usefulness for heavy DSLRs is limited to small lenses and calm conditions.
Gordon