At the Interbee show in Japan, Lumica were showing the latest addition to their Bi Rod collection. The new super sized Bi Rod can go up to a staggering 12m and consists of 12 pole sections that are each 1.8m long. The poles are made out of carbon glass fibre and all 12 pieces weigh a combined 8kg.
The design is quite clever. The way you attach the individual poles together uses a similar concept to that on a oil rig. You feed one piece at a time up into a locking mechanism and then attach another pole. You then push that up and attach another one, and so on and so on.
The downside of having such a tall pole is that you need to use it with the tripod and bottom weight plate to keep it steady. The maximum payload is also limited to 1kg, so your choice of camera is a bit limiting.
With so many drone regulations being implemented around the world, the 12m high Bi Rod certainly could make for an alternative way of getting a super high shot. While not really a viable portable option for travel I could see news crews using it at large events with big crowds.
The 12m Bi Rod will be available some time in 2017 and currently there is no pricing available.
