Hey Robert,
I agree with you! The info you have provided is amazingly helpful!
You are also right about proper titles or specialized fori - you always need to find someone with similar interests and willingness to share… With off topic I mean simply in terms of the thread title. Some admins are more strict than others in that respect. And even though I can understand it in principle, most hits probably come from search engines, so not really any harm done!
I will shut up about that now… 
So you have a bigger drone too?? For the “real” stuff? 
The gimbal you use seems like a very good deal! Is it reliable?
Do you think it could be easily altered to be mounted on a rod?
The base plate would need to come off in any case.
I guess I could just remove the motor at the 4 screws and make a new, smaller one…
What interface do you use to control the movement?
The panorama mount seems like an interesting alternative, although I would also need up and down adjustment.
While this could be achieved by a mechanical system with a string, that would be too much of DIY for my taste… 
With RAW processing I meant mainly for photogrammetry.
Because noise reduction is usualy a big no-no, as I understand.
On the other hand, it did work to a reasonably accurate degree even with (as I now realized) completely mangled jpegs…
The stacking method you mention is really interesting, although I doubt it would be practical for larger photogrammetry sets.
About the rod:
I’m sure you know that one: http://www.seaportdigital.com/store/27- … stand.html although I am sure it could be a bit cheaper.
I was contemplating something with a mechanical gimbal bearing on top of a tripod, which I could then mount on a wheeled stand so I can cart it around buildings without much effort. Something like this http://www.geodatasys.com/gimbal.htm only not as gigantic and more stable. The end of the rod would then be weighted so that it stays upright even on slightly uneven terrain. A bit like this: http://www.ebay.de/itm/Jinbei-BM-185A-B … 1246005702 only with a longer rod and bigger base and wheels.
For lightweight, reasonably priced rods, have you looked into supports for portable radio aerials? http://www.qsl.net/dk9sq/dftt.htm The guy is an enthusiast who developed this privately as a hobby. He has a partner in the states - I’m sure you will find the equivalent page. The only thing why I am sceptical is because there are no proper fasteners, so I would be afraid it could collapse (eben though they say it won’t and that people also use it for our purpose). The spiderbeam http://www.spiderbeam.com/index.php?cat … asten.html is more professional, but also more expensive…