Tripod manufacturer, Velbon, create model designed by photographer.

The brief from Keppler was to create the ideal travelling tripod. It had to be sturdy, all-metal, weighing less than 2lbs, folding to 20 inches or less, yet had to extend to beyond five feet to SLR level. The tripod had to extend ready for shooting, and collapse ready to be carried in 45 seconds or less. The tripod also had to have both rubber tipped feet and spikes, plus each leg would need to be separately extended for rough terrain.

A challenging brief, but Velbon's president Mr Nakatani, came up with a solution and developed the Maxi 343E.

By looking at triunions of ancient military front loaded gun barrels, Nakatani created a tripod design that incorporates non-piercing bolts at the top of each leg. This allows the leg extensions to slide the entire inside length of the tube, making the tripod compact, yet tall when fully extended. Velbon have named the system the Triunion Shaft.

The 69 Maxi 343E has a maximum height of 154.4cm, folded height of 44.4cm, a weight of 860g and comes with a removable ball & socket head.