Anyone know of a mini-pod or some kind of gizmo that'll support an XL1 as close to the ground as possible... and allow tilting up at an extreme angle (and panning, of course)? Hopefully something with the same movement as a traditional video tripod head, like my Manfrotto 501...just low, low, low to the ground.

Like a high hat?

i second that andrew..a hi-hat would be the way to go

check out this section of B&H for a decent listing:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh6/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=3912

nail it down to an apple box or a board and throw a sand bag or two on it and you'll have a low to the ground support thats pretty stable

hope this helps

ZGC also sells them for $165. 75mm bowl size - http://www.zgc.com/html/tripods.html 100mm and 150mm bowls also available...

Hey...you learn something new every day! I'd never heard of a hi-hat before.

Thanks!

The funny thing is the origins of the name. Why is it called a high hat? I love industries where they a long tradition of weird terms.

I've got a set of Bogen 3021 tripod legs. They go flat to the ground, minimum of 4.3". I do allot of extensive low angle work & I'm very pleased with it's performance for a "cheap" set of legs. The best part is that you can go from about 65 inches to 4.3 inches & back in about a minute so it gives you a lot more versatility than just having a high hat. $ runs about $135.00
Chris

keith i believe initially it was so you could put the camera up high on a ladder or on scaffolding or something, it just happened to also make a good low-mount for a camera.

i could be entirely wrong though...

That's the explanation I read too.