I was very proud of myself, yesterday. I mentioned in my HK equipment article that I needed a screw to cut down on my ballhead weight. I also found out, recently, that the hook for hanging weight on my good tripod was too small to easily hang a 'biner on it for my bag.
I was trying to figure out what to do about these, and was going to get the one screw from Really Right Stuff, and see about buying something professional for the other. But I went to Home Depot yesterday, and found screws to fix both of them. Total cost? Under $2. Win.
(And yes, I probably should not be as happy about that as I am.)
Showing posts with label tripod. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tripod. Show all posts
20130228
20120226
On the ball
I've been a dabbling photographer for a long time, trying to get a bit more serious, lately.
Because of that, I watied a long time to get a ball head for my camera tripod. I have a nice tripod (not a great one, I've read in several places, but a good one) which came with the standard pan/tilt head. That's the only kind of head I've ever used, plus I didn't realize the head could be replaced, so I never gave it a lot of thought. (Mostly of the, "well, when I'm thinking about replacing this one, that's what I'll do. But that won't be anytime soon" variety.)
But recently I read something that led me to think about the head being replaceable, so I pulled the tripod out and started monkeying with it until I figured out how to take the head off. And it's a good thing I did, because I found that the tripod is better than I thought, in that it can go down to only a few inches off the ground. I don't expect to use that feature a lot, but I'm sure there will be times.
But now that I knew I could put a ball head on it, I went out and got the Really Right Stuff BH-55. It's major overkill for my current needs (heck, the mid-size ball head might be overkill right this moment), but I didn't want to find myself wanting the bigger model a year down the road.
One good thing about that is that the knobs are quite oversized, so they're very easy to manipulate.
But the really big difference is just using a ball head. It's amazing how much easier it is to set up than the pan/tilt head. Not only does it take mere seconds to level, but getting the camera on and off with a twist and slide is so-o-o much easier than having to (un)screw it.
I suspect it's also more tightly held than before, but unfortunately I don't have any good way to measure that. But it should help make better pictures, which is definitely the priority.
So if you're thinking about getting a ball head, but can't decide: do it. You won't regret it. Most likely you'll only regret not doing it sooner.
Because of that, I watied a long time to get a ball head for my camera tripod. I have a nice tripod (not a great one, I've read in several places, but a good one) which came with the standard pan/tilt head. That's the only kind of head I've ever used, plus I didn't realize the head could be replaced, so I never gave it a lot of thought. (Mostly of the, "well, when I'm thinking about replacing this one, that's what I'll do. But that won't be anytime soon" variety.)
But recently I read something that led me to think about the head being replaceable, so I pulled the tripod out and started monkeying with it until I figured out how to take the head off. And it's a good thing I did, because I found that the tripod is better than I thought, in that it can go down to only a few inches off the ground. I don't expect to use that feature a lot, but I'm sure there will be times.
But now that I knew I could put a ball head on it, I went out and got the Really Right Stuff BH-55. It's major overkill for my current needs (heck, the mid-size ball head might be overkill right this moment), but I didn't want to find myself wanting the bigger model a year down the road.
One good thing about that is that the knobs are quite oversized, so they're very easy to manipulate.
But the really big difference is just using a ball head. It's amazing how much easier it is to set up than the pan/tilt head. Not only does it take mere seconds to level, but getting the camera on and off with a twist and slide is so-o-o much easier than having to (un)screw it.
I suspect it's also more tightly held than before, but unfortunately I don't have any good way to measure that. But it should help make better pictures, which is definitely the priority.
So if you're thinking about getting a ball head, but can't decide: do it. You won't regret it. Most likely you'll only regret not doing it sooner.
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