This Guy is Selling an Insane ‘Ultimate’ 5-Lens Rig on Craigslist, and It’s a Steal

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More often than not, when a reader sends us a link to a Craigslist ad, it’s some troll (or moron… or both) asking for free wedding photos or something. That is definitely not the case with the crazy for-sale ad one of our readers sent our way today.

In a post on the Savannah, GA Craigslist, an unnamed photographer is selling what he has dubbed “The ‘ULTIMATE’ Photographic Shooting Platform.”

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By his own not-entirely-complete description, what you’re looking at here is a Cartoni C-40 Fluid Head on top of a T624 two-stage tripod of some sort (a rig that can allegedly support 100lbs of gear). On top of that, you have a custom-built plate with custom-built blocks attached, each of which sport a Manfrotto 577 Rapid Connect Adapter with Sliding Mounting Plate (3433PL).

Finally, on top of THAT, is the shooting rig itself:

Nikon 800mm f/5.6 Lens, with a Nikon F4S camera with a High Speed Battery Pack MB-21, and a MF-23 Data Back.

Nikon 600mm f/4 AutoFocus Lens, with a Nikon F4S camera, with a High Speed Battery Pack MB-21, and a MF-23 Data Back.

Nikon 400mm f/3.5 Lens, with a Nikon F4S camera, with a High Speed Battery Pack MB-21, and a MF-23 Data Back. (Note: This lens is only ‘1/2 stop’ slower than the f/2.8! And for an experienced photographer, it can be ‘hand held’.)

Tokina 300mm f/2.8 Lens, with a Nikon F4S camera, with a High Speed Battery Pack MB-21, and a MF-23 Data Back.

Tokina 150-500mm f/5.6 Lens, with a Nikon F4S camera, with a High Speed Battery Pack MB-21, and a MF-23 Data Back.

Here’s a closer look:

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The ad goes on to explain that this rig was created for the poster’s “particular photographic specialty,” and that all the equipment pictured is in perfect working order.

“Once I had set all this up, I picked out an object out in the distance, and adjusted each camera/lens combination so that each were aimed at that same object,” he writes. “That way, when shooting my images, all I had to do was move my eye a few inches from one camera to another, and what I was shooting would be perfectly framed in all the other cameras.”

We’re not sure how necessarily useful this “ultimate” platform would be, but we did do some quick math.

The current Nikon 800mm f/5.6, Nikon 600mm f/4, and Nikon 400mm lenses alone will run you 30K if you bought them on B&H right now. And even though the poster doesn’t name the specific model number of that tripod head, Cartoni C40 fluid heads can go for $6,000+.

Assuming all this gear is in great condition, the “ultimate” shooting rig is a total steal since the Craigslist poster lists it for just $26,000.

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The post leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but if you live in Georgia or some state nearby and you need some long-range glass, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better (or weirder) deal. Plus you get a bunch of Nikon F4s cameras in the bargain… and those are nothing short of iconic.

Check out the Craigslist post for yourself here, and let us know if you pick this puppy up (safely)! We’d love to get some more info and maybe some video of the rig in action.

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