Camera Tripod Advice

[auld argonian]

One other thing that I've learned to avoid whenever possible is legs with cam style locking mechanisms. They tend to get a bit of "slack" in them after a while and need constant adjustments...this is even true of some of the Bogen/Manfrotto cam locks from several years ago. The good old screw type locks seem to hold better and last longer.

Best

AA

[Frank McGrath]

I modified a disc magnet to hold the camera on Metal surfaces. I just ran a 1/4 20 bolt thru it and mount the camera on the bolt. I also have a spring clamp that i use for other surfaces. Just look around the shop for things to make a camera mount from. Good Luck.

[Kilted_John]

One other thing that I've learned to avoid whenever possible is legs with cam style locking mechanisms. They tend to get a bit of "slack" in them after a while and need constant adjustments...this is even true of some of the Bogen/Manfrotto cam locks from several years ago. The good old screw type locks seem to hold better and last longer.

Best

AA

That is one thing I miss about my old 3011/3211 tripods... They also seemed a little less fiddly, whereas, the locks on the earlier 3221/3021 pods can sometimes rotate, so you have one pointing downward, instead of upward, like how it's supposed to be. That said, I do like the fact that I can get down really low with the 3221.

-J

[Kilted_John]

Oh, btw, Phil, here's a magnified version of my avatar... Shows me holding my old Nikon F3P (yes, the rare press model)... Taken by Mr. Kilt when he visited the Seattle area a couple years ago. We were on the spit that extends out from Port Angeles...

I no longer own said F3P, since I got a little annoyed with the lack of a cable release socket. Now have a regular F3HP, but I did keep the rare DE-5 finder from said F3P. It works on the F3HP, except for the accessory shoe. Won't fire a flash, and, if a Nikon flash is mounted, will shut off the LCD in the viewfinder. Flex circuit is wired differently between the two versions.



-J

[Don Patrick]

Oh, btw, Phil, here's a magnified version of my avatar... Shows me holding my old Nikon F3P (yes, the rare press model)... Taken by Mr. Kilt when he visited the Seattle area a couple years ago. We were on the spit that extends out from Port Angeles...

That F3 brings back fond memories for me. I'm ashamed to say all my 35mms have been gathering dust in storage. Guess I've made the jump over to digital. I've been using a Sony DSC 707 for some time. Incredible camera and it's lens. Just picked up a Panasonic DMC-TZ3. Not a perfect camera, but it is small and has a nice lens on it.

[Kiltman]

Its like I tell my students - you can't afford to buy a cheap tripod. They're made of flimsy materials and will wear out or fall apart far too soon. A decent tripod with head will easily cost $100 USD or more. A quality tripod (Manfrotto) will last a lifetime, and should you do something really dumb, they sell replacement parts!

Just make sure your tripod is rated to support the weight of your gear and that its tall enough so you don't have to hunch over when you work with it fully extended.

Looks like we have a fair number of photo geeks around here - brilliant!

100% agreement. That's what I tell my students too.

[Riverkilt]

I've an aluminum one that extends out to about chest height and one of those little guys.

Hardly every use the little guy anymore since its so difficult to get my eyeball down to sight from in and difficult to find things to set it on. For all the hassle the big on works fine.

The big one is old...have had it for many years...has the screw into the bottom of the camera attachment so it looks kinda weird with my little digital on top but saves worries about the camera coming loose.

Not much on photography, my best pics come hand held from my lady who's a radiology dept manager and takes pics for a living. I do try and figure out the shot before hand, background, sunlight, etc. Then when peering through the lens I look for a physical marker to stand at. If that don't work I can readjust the next shot...the beauty of digital is the delete button.

One thing we've talked about is how some tartans scramble the brains of digital cameras but that has nothing to do with the tripod.

Show us how it works for you.

Ron

[Kilted_John]

That F3 brings back fond memories for me. I'm ashamed to say all my 35mms have been gathering dust in storage. Guess I've made the jump over to digital. I've been using a Sony DSC 707 for some time. Incredible camera and it's lens. Just picked up a Panasonic DMC-TZ3. Not a perfect camera, but it is small and has a nice lens on it.

Don,

Pick up a couple rolls of Ilford HP5+ or FP4+ and go shoot some B&W. Digital does well for color, but doesn't look right in B&W.

-J

[auld argonian]

I'll second Kilted John's comment above...shoot the B&W and then scan it into the computer. I've finally gotten around to doing some of this and the results are much more impressive than I had expected. Outputing the results through a printer becomes a rather dicey proposition (in my experience...YMMV) but while the prints don't have the depth of a silver halide print, they can be pretty good.

I often shoot 4X5 and these days all they want on the receiving end is a scan anyway...but even an adequate scanner produces an impressive result when it's from a larger format neg. It's sort of become my secret weapon. Fella set up around here doing family portraits and you can just tell that the prints he's displaying in the window are totally digital...there is a difference.

So, with NO apologies to Charlton Heston: You'll get my Nikon when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers!

Best

AA

[pdcorlis]

Cool - another large format guy (he said jerking the thread severely off track...) in the group! I have become a bi-polar photographer with one foot stuck in film and the other firmly planted in digital. Perhaps we need a kilted photographer sub forum